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Surgery Saved My Life (Discovery Channel)

common sense media says

Real health dramas make good medicine.

parents & educators say
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this intense reality show focuses on patients undergoing surgery in life-threatening situations. Viewers learn, in detail, why a person's life is at risk. In one show about spine surgery, for example, viewers find out how a deformed spine presses in on the lungs, making it hard for the patient to breathe. Subjects are sometimes children, making the situations even more emotional. Scenes from the surgery include close-up shots of the inside of bodies, including shots of blood, bone, and organs.

Positive messages: The show's focus is on helping people feel better and live healthy lives.
Violence: Some surgical operations can be quite bloody and require forceful pulling, squeezing, and stretching.
Sex: Some naked body parts, but nothing sexually suggestive; no genitals.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Surgery Saved My Life

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about medicine and science. What aspects of medicine do teens find most fascinating? Are there any budding doctors in the house? What part of practicing medicine would be the most fulfilling? The most challenging? What surgical methods or instruments seem the most technologically advanced? Which seem the most crude? Do you think real-life medical problems belong on TV?

What's the story?

What's the story?
The documentary-style series SURGERY SAVED MY LIFE follows people with life-threatening diseases or injuries as they undergo surgery and face the serious physical risks and emotional repercussions of their procedures. In addition to the personal stories, viewers get all the details of the surgeries themselves -- both by watching the actual operations (complete with bloody close-ups) and through digital representations of the repairs. The stories are often intense and emotional, as in one episode that introduced viewers two children stricken with scoliosis -- one living in New York and the other in Sierra Leone. The children have the same surgeon, who grew up poor in Ghana, and while the doctor is equally kind to both his young patients, viewers can't help but feel the sharp contrast in the type of medical care received by the two children because of their environments.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Teens interested in medicine or social issues -- as well as those with any familiarity with disease or serious injury -- may well be fascinated by this well-made program. And even those without a connection to the issue might find the personal stories compelling. That said, due to the emotional nature of the life-or-death situations, parents may want to watch along with their kids (or at least be on hand to comfort and explain as necessary) and consider keeping especially sensitive children away all together.

TV themes & details

TV Details
TV Rating: TV-14
Network: Discovery Channel
Genre: Reality TV
Where to watch: Discovery Channel
This review was written by Sierra Filucci
 
 

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
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