What to Know About Cosmetic Surgery Before-and-After Photos and Visual References | Dr. Wayne Carman

What to Know About Cosmetic Surgery Before-and-After Photos and Visual References

When patients are considering cosmetic surgery, it is common for them to seek out before-and-after photos of people who chose the same procedure. While this is an ideal way to get a sense of possible cosmetic surgery results, Toronto based Dr. Wayne Carman cautions anyone looking at such images to remember that no two surgeries are alike. Surgical results cannot be precisely duplicated or replicated from one person to another.

A patient’s ultimate look depends upon a wide range of factors, including his or her unique anatomy, the procedure or procedures performed, the surgeon’s skill and preferred techniques, the healing process, and more. When considering breast augmentation, for example, the same size implants will look different on a short, thin woman than they will on a tall, heavier woman. This is why a surgeon cannot simply give you the exact look of a celebrity’s nose or a friend’s toned belly. What works aesthetically for other people does so because it complements their features as a whole.

In other words, while a long, thin nose may look elegant on your favorite movie star’s face, the same look might be completely incongruous on your own.

What before-and-after photos can do is give the viewer a good idea of the types of results available, both generally and from a specific surgeon. Women interested in breast augmentation, for example, may browse images to see how the various shapes and styles of implants change the breasts once inserted. Rather than a template to be “copied and pasted,” however, the photos reveal what is possible. Photos provided by a specific surgeon will also provide a library of that surgeon’s results, revealing how well scarring is camouflaged and other details.

Anyone seeking to browse before-and-after photos should try to find patients who resemble their own body as closely as possible in terms of height and build for body-focused procedures and facial structure for face-focused surgeries.

When it comes to expectations, Dr. Carman works with each patient as an individual, explaining what a particular procedure can and cannot do and making recommendations based upon that unique patient’s anatomy, goals, and other variables. Learn more by scheduling a consultation at the Cosmetic Surgery Institute in Toronto by calling (416) 322-7108 or 1-888-451-1140. You may also visit drcarmanplasticsurgery.com.