Plastic Surgery Before and After Pictures
How Did I Look Before, Doctor?
Before and after pictures are beloved worldwide.
Here, Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon Stuart Linder, M.D. (who blogs as Dr. Body) and colleague Robert Kotler, M.D. (the “Dr. Face” blogger) – also a Beverly Hills board-certified cosmetic plastic surgeon — provide insider tips on knowing exactly what you are looking at when seeing the before and after pictures of plastic surgery patients.
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Dr. Face (Dr. Kotler): Did you know that one of the most requested search terms by people using Google or other search engines are for plastic surgery’s before and after pictures?
Dr. Body (Dr. Linder): Yes, I also read that people worldwide are crazy for before and after pictures of not only people, but refurbished homes, cars, motorcycles and even places that have changed over time.
Dr. Face: Psychologists say it’s because Americans are crazy about reinvention.
Dr. Body: Well, I don’t know if we can reinvent people but we do more than a fair job of improving their appearances!
Dr. Face: So, looking at before and after pictures can be a good way of judging a cosmetic plastic surgeon with superior skills and years of experience doing the procedure you want.
Dr. Body: The first thing I look for on a surgeon’s website is many, many before and after pictures. For instance, I have about 1500 before and after plastic surgeries on my website.
Dr. Face: While I’ve done a little over 4,000 rhinoplasties, my website has about 300 of the most representative outcomes.
Dr. Body: What do you think if you bring up a plastic surgery website and don’t see any before and after pictures?
Dr. Face: I think what any wise consumer would think – there aren’t any!
Dr. Body: Well, when you do find some before and after plastic surgery pictures, what do you look for?
Dr. Face: I’ll tell what I don’t want to see: just a collection of random shots. For medical as well as purchasing decisions, you should be able to see pictures in which everything – the light, the distance from the patent to the camera, the various angles – are all standard. The only different thing should be the appearance of the patient’s face or body.
Dr. Body: And of course, it should be real patients – and not models – that are pictured.
Dr. Face: If I were in the market for, say, a face lift or a tummy tuck, I would look for pictures of others who have had that same exact procedure.
Dr. Body: What about the various angles you mentioned?
Dr. Face: There should be a set of befores that show a front view, a profile and one taken from left and right oblique angles. And the afters would be taken from the same angles.
Dr. Body: What about captions and medical privacy?
Dr. Face: People who show their faces give permission, because there are strict laws in America about medical privacy. If they don’t grant permission, the eyes are usually blocked.
Dr. Body: I don’t have that problem because all my surgeries are on the body with no faces shown. But the pictures should list a few things, like the age of the patient, the procedure, what was done and how far out from the operation the “after” was taken.
Dr. Face: Look for a natural appearing result in the afters. Many patients who are interested in Botox always mention that, in the before pictures, the patients are sandbagging because they are grimacing and exaggerating the folds, lines and wrinkles on purpose. Well, the actual purpose of that is so the surgeon can see exactly where the facial muscles are located so the injections will be on target. If you’ll look at the after Botox pictures, you will see the patients can’t make the same faces. Those muscles were deactivated!
Dr. Body: When you are looking at before and after liposuction pictures, patients should not have their arms raised in the air. That can create a misleading impression of the procedure. If you are looking at breast augmentation pictures, patients should also have their arms at their sides.
Dr. Face: Some after pictures of the face may show close-ups to better reveal the changes after, say, chemical peels and laser treatments.
Dr. Body: Good point, doctor! Looking closely at breast augmentation after pictures, you may see a slight scar around the patient’s nipple. That scar can last up to a year so be sure and check to see how long ago her surgery was.
Dr. Face: I’m thinking one more thing about close-ups.
Dr. Body: What’s that?
Dr. Face: Do any of your movie star patients from Hollywood ever announce they are ready for their close-ups?
If you want to know more about before and after plastic surgery pictures, you may want to read a summary about Secrets of a Beverly Hills Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr. Kotler’s book on cosmetic plastic surgery.
Dr. Linder’s book, The Beverly Hills Shape, is also about plastic surgery and contains a wealth of before and after pictures.
