Here’s the dilemma: are online plastic surgery before and after photos educational or too personal? Many believe before and afters help potential patients set realistic expectations. We certainly think they are an important tool for understanding, but at the same time we recognize that these images also publicly show the bodies and faces of people in our community, our friends, our neighbors. And admittedly, these clinical before & after photos do not emphasize glamour, they are stark and often unflattering.
During a plastic surgery consultation these photos are viewed in context and as a practice we feel very comfortable sharing these images in our office. But when it comes to the web, we worry. There is pressure from the larger plastic surgery community to show results online and we are proud to show them. Many fearless women and men choose to allow us to share their before & after images online. The question is: should we be asking the first place? Should we show plastic surgery before and afters online?
We want to hear from you. What is your take on posting before & after images? Are they helpful to you online? What would you think of a plastic surgery practice that does not share their results online? Currently, we provide results from body procedures and do not feature any facial surgery before and afters, except cleft palate treatments. Should this change? Let us know what you think in the comments below!