One of the most fascinating human observations in plastic surgery is how quickly patients forget what they looked like before surgery. Patients remembered ‘perceptions’ of their face and body is often quite erroneous…or their memories are quite short. Therein lies the value of preoperative photographs. Not only to marvel at how significant the changes were after surgery (how do you think we get the before and after photos for patients to look at) but, most importantly, it serves as a forever reference. In the past, I would only use them (pull them out) when there was some debate after their plastic surgery as to how much improvement they have had. Now, I routinely provide them to most patients fairly soon after surgery, in the recovery phase, to help remind them that it will be all worth it.
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana