January 5th, 2009
By: Norma Wes
Plastic Surgery Before and After Photos – What to look for
Just recently I saw a piece on ABC 7 about a laser center that has doctors on staff that are not board certified plastic surgeons (American Board of Plastic Surgery). I will not even begin to talk about that aspect. However I do want to address the thing that I noticed the most. The before and after photos of the Plastic Surgery Patients were terrible. To the untrained eye, sure the after shots look different from the before, however different isn’t always a good thing when it comes to bad Plastic Surgery.
The before & after photos that many cosmetic practices show on their website, if you know what to look for, show terrible results. Terrible Plastic Surgery Before & After Photo results are: lumpy and bumpy skin, patients who still have loose and hanging skin, Lipo-suctioned parts of the body that have deep dents and grooves, breast lifts where nipples have been placed too high, the list goes on and on.
Good Plastic Surgery Before & After Photos
So what do good Plastic Surgery Before and After photos look like? There are so many thing to look for. Is the skin smooth and is there symmetry? Does the skin on the stomach from a Tummy Tuck look tight but not over stretched and shiny? Are there deep groves (cannula marks) form the over-suctioning of fat? There are more than the simple visual factors to consider. What about Patients who are not candidates for a procedure because of skin laxity, however they get cattle called into a procedure?
The Wrong Procedure for the wrong Candidate
There are so many practitioners out there that are not certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, performing procedures for rock bottom pricing, only to leave patients with unrecoverable photographed evidence of botched plastic surgery.
Many clinics will cattle call patients. Meaning they will give everyone a liposuction procedure, just because they are a laser center for liposuction. The problem with this is that these patients may have been better candidates for a Tummy Tuck and so on.
Comparing Good and Bad Plastic Surgery Before and After Photos
Below I’ve bumped up some “bad results” after photos next to Dr. Thomas’ before and after photos. You will see the difference.
Let’s look at the photos below to compare:
(A unnamed Laser Center Laser Lipo Before & After Photos – No American Board of Plastic Surgery Physicians on Staff)
This is laser lipo. See the Irregularities in the skin (after photo). Lumps, bumps and deep wholes. This is because the laser can melt through the fat too quickly and burn too close to the skin. After the laser damages a certain layer of fat too close to the skin (deep burn), it produces a lumpy effect. A typical Patient surfing the net for before and after photos won’t know to look for this type of irregularity. Patients typically will only look at the amount of fat that has been removed but not the total end results.
(Dr. Thomas’ Liposuction Before & After Photos)
Take a look at a set of Dr. Thomas’ traditional Liposculpture (without laser).
No lumps and bumps and irregularities.Patient looks natural and “not done”.
Other ways to trick the consumer with plastic surgery before & after photos are: Distance – The distance between the before and after can be farther apart tricking the eye to think the patient looks smaller. Lighting – Brighter lighting after shots can portray better results and may not show irregularities. Arms Up & Down – Patients may have their arms up for the after picture making Breast Lifts & Tummy Tucks appear more lifted with better results. When in actuality lifting of the arms creates the lift. For more examples of trick photography compared to good results let me know. I have seen plenty of bad photos flooding the internet lately.
thankyou very much, I must say your site is fantastic!
I just would like to say that plastic surgery can signifficantly improve the appearance of people. The photos show that body after operation looks much better.