Photoshop vs. Plastic Surgery

I recently learned some nifty little tricks in Photoshop-- tricks which enable me to give myself a digital nose job, brow lift, or even butt lift (not that I need any of that, of course). I am learning that photo editing software can in fact accomplish pretty much anything a cosmetic surgeon can, sometimes more. I can erase wrinkles and stretch marks, shave a few inches off the hips, even enlarge the breasts of my subjects. If you don't want to take the time to learn and do your own photo editing, there are even services who specialize in doing it for you. Some even focus solely on creating faux "weight loss" through digital retouching.

On one hand, it's great that we can edit out those little things that make us want to tear up (or delete, in this pixel-tastic world) a photo we would otherwise treasure. On the other hand, the improvements are on paper only, and we can't very well walk around with glamorous retouched versions of ourselves taped to our foreheads. (Can we?)

Now that the average Jane can create an idealized version of herself with a few clicks of a mouse, it makes me wonder: Will this cause a new plastic surgery boom as people try to match up the real thing to the airbrushed version? Or will we see people becoming increasingly isolated, hiding more and more behind text messages and doctored profile photos?

There is one definite advantage photo editing software can provide to the world of plastic surgery. That is the use of digital imaging in the pre-operative consultation. In this process, your surgeon takes a photo of you and then uses software to alter the photo in a way that is meant to depict your approximate probable surgical outcome.

Of course, you should not take these digitally altered images as a guarantee of your results. They should be seen merely as a visualization tool. For instance, you don't like your nose, but you're afraid that maybe you won't look good with the smaller nose you've been dreaming of. Digital imaging can show you what you could look like after rhinoplasty. It can also be a very valuable tool in helping you to evaluate your surgeon's aesthetic  and his listening skills. (If you say you want a natural-looking small C-cup and he shows you a couple of double-D torpedos in your imaging session, he's not listening to you and he doesn't share your vision of your ideal breasts.)

One very important tip: If your surgeon offers digital imaging, ask to see before and after photos which show other patients' results compared to the results predicted in their digital imaging sessions. (The photos should be of those who had the same procedure you're considering, and your surgeon should make clear whether or not additional procedures were performed to achieve the results you see.) This will give you a better idea of how closely your results may resemble what you see on the screen during your consultation.