The Role of Before & After Photos

It's no secret that before and after photos on plastic surgery Web sites get a huge amount of traffic. For those who are just dreaming about a shapelier midsection, a more youthful face or more beautiful breasts, the images satisfy natural curiosity. What kinds of people elect abdominoplasty in the Sacramento area? How do they look afterward?

If you're seriously considering plastic surgery after weight loss, before and after photos serve an additional function. They can give you a good idea what results are possible for people in the weight loss community, and they can offer a preliminary indicator of a surgeon's experience and skill level with body contouring after weight loss.

Judge with a Critical Eye

As you research plastic surgeons, spend some time reviewing their photo galleries. Here are some things to look for.

• Sheer numbers: After weight loss, plastic surgery can be complex, and not just due to the challenges of removing and resculpting. Post-bariatric and other weight loss patients have special medical needs. You want to be sure the physician you choose is skilled in delivering great results with a high degree of safety, and for that, he or she needs to have performed surgery on a large number of patients.
• Excellent results: Even without medical training, you can certainly see when a group of patients has experienced excellent results. Saggy skin is gone, pockets of fat are gone, and the inevitable scars are in places you would expect. A good photo gallery will indicate the procedure(s) each patient had and include notes about recovery.
• Customized procedures: As you review before and after photos, read the associated descriptions. They should give you an idea of each patient's goals for surgery and demonstrate that the surgeon tailored the procedures to meet those goals. Every post-bariatric and other weight loss surgery patient has a different set of needs. You want to find a plastic surgeon who will listen and respond to yours.

Dr. Kaufman encourages you to look through his photo gallery and see some of the many after weight loss surgery patients--from San Jose, Stockton, Chico, Redding and all over the state--he's had the pleasure to work with. And he invites you to ask to speak with one his patients.

To see more photos, meet other patients and find out what plastic surgery after weight loss can accomplish for you, request an appointment online or give the doctor a call at 916-983-9895. Meeting with him in his Folsom office is your next step.