Before / After in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery

In France, “The publication of photographs, even when anonymized, or of ‘before and after’ iconography could create confusion between the duty to inform and an obligation to achieve specific results. The National Council further considers that such publication may lead to advertising-related abuses aimed at an uninformed public. Similarly, the presentation of an individual situation under the guise of a ‘clinical case’ is formally prohibited.”

It is true that when a practitioner shows before-and-after photographs, they tend to show their best cases. One cannot exclude the possibility that the photographs have been retouched, sometimes in a very natural way simply by playing with lighting. On the other hand, I fully understand that patients may need to picture themselves after surgery. In all cases, the consultation remains the ideal setting to receive fair and honest information about what can be achieved, what cannot be achieved, the recovery process, and possible complications.

Forums could be an excellent source of information. Unfortunately, some are infiltrated in order to direct patients toward a particular surgeon or clinic. One must be very cautious, as this is sometimes done subtly, with deliberate spelling mistakes, approximations, offers of direct contact, and so on. In France, there are several hundred reputable surgeons capable of performing all plastic surgery procedures, or, where appropriate, referring you to another surgeon in the case of a rare or specific problem. If the flow of messages seems to point toward one particular surgeon, this should raise suspicion.

As always, the best way to choose a surgeon remains word of mouth from a friend who has undergone surgery, or advice from your general practitioner, who, in a way, assumes a moral responsibility toward you.

A doctor’s website is intended to present their own professional activity. You should question a practitioner’s personal website if its name is too generic. The name of the website should correspond to the doctor’s identity, and not solely to their specialty. A personal website called, for example, www.aesthetic-something or www.maxillo-something would serve only to fraudulently influence search engines. This should alert you: the website does not make the surgeon.

Finally, Article R4127-19-1 of the French Public Health Code states that a doctor’s communication must be fair and honest, and must not use any third-party testimonials (Légifrance). In short, a patient may give a testimonial on their own channels, but a doctor may not share letters of satisfaction or testimonials on their website or social media.