If you’ve seen any ads or websites for plastic surgery procedures, you know that many of them use before and after photos as proof of the quality of their work. But can you really trust those photos to be accurate?
The real answer is, it depends. There is currently no regulation on how before and after images can be used, or that says they have to be authentic. When trying to decide whether you can trust a particular set of photos, there are two things you should take into account:
How realistic the photos look — some procedures can make a drastic difference, but if the results look miraculous, the photos are probably doctored.
AND
How reputable the business is —are the photos you’re seeing on a late-night infomercial, or do they belong to an accredited surgeon? The latter are obviously more trustworthy.
If you notice something about a before and after picture set is off, you should feel free to contact the plastic surgeon with your specific questions. From their answer, you may be able to glean additional evidence about how trustworthy that particular plastic surgeon is, and how much he or she cares about customer service.
The easiest thing you can do if you want to be sure you’ll be getting consistent, quality results is to contact a surgeon that’s certified by the board of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. As the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world, the ASPS has the goal of ensuring a high standard of quality among all its members, and of being a go-to for patients looking for the best in plastic surgery procedures.
At St. Charles Plastic Surgery, as an ASPS certified doctor I stay on top of the latest developments and techniques in the industry to offer our patients the safest, most professional, and best looking plastic surgery procedures in the Chicagoland area. Feel welcome to take a look at the Before & After section of our website for some great examples of my work.
