An Istanbul-based cosmetic surgery clinic is garnering attention on social media after posting before-and-after photos showing dramatic improvements that experts deem impossible to achieve.
Last week, Esthemed Clinic took the internet by storm when it published before-and-after photos of a patient known only as Michael. In the after photos, Michael looked at least 20 years younger, with his wrinkled skin firmer, his hair fuller, and his nose perfectly sculpted. Michael looked so good in the after photos posted to Instagram that some users wondered if the clinic had just put him in a time machine. If the two photos hadn’t been posted together, most people would never have guessed they were the same person. But this was just the beginning: Esthemed’s Instagram profile reveals dozens of other astonishing changes that even plastic surgery experts wouldn’t believe.
Photo: Este Med Istanbul/Instagram
“I want to see their dental records, fingerprints and blood test results because what on earth are they doing in Turkey?,” one Instagram user commented on Michael’s photo. “What? They’re working miracles in Turkey.”
“I want to see all the pictures of your post-op and post-op recovery process in the months after so you can be amazed,” wrote another. “Unbelievable. Now excuse me while I book a flight.”
In the original Instagram post, Este Med claimed that Michael underwent several procedures to achieve his incredible transformation, including a facelift, neck lift, lower blepharoplasty, upper blepharoplasty, cheek fat removal, rhinoplasty and hair transplants. Este Med advised potential customers to get in touch with a specialist to discuss the best procedures for them.
Photo: Este Med Istanbul/Instagram
But some experts question whether even multiple surgeries can produce the results seen in photos of Michael and other patients, saying the changes are so drastic that digital editing or something similar must be at work.
“If you look at the texture of the skin in the before photo you can tell this guy is either a smoker or very old,” Dr Nigel Mercer, consultant plastic surgeon in Bristol, said of Michael’s before photo. “In the after photo he has the skin of a 35-year-old, which is just not possible.”
“The shape of his eyebrows is completely different before and after,” Mercer added. “The shape of his face is also completely different. It’s hard to believe that something like this can be done with just buckle fat removal, which removes the fat pads in the cheeks to create a slimmer, more angular facial appearance.”
Photo: Este Med Istanbul/Instagram
The before and after photos of “Direc” posted by Esthe Med Clinic also went viral shortly after Michael’s, but this one is even more astonishing: an older woman transformed into a beautiful young model, and while makeup undoubtedly helps, the two photos look completely different.
“These photographs are completely different and not the same person,” NHS plastic surgeon Mark Mikhail told Mail Online. “Despite having had surgery, they have completely different skin textures and different eye colours.”
Dr Mercer was modest in his ruling, noting that lighting can play a big role in before and after photos and arguing that the effects of plastic surgery can be amplified through the addition of make-up and digital editing.
Photo: Este Med Istanbul/Instagram
“Before and after photos need to have the same lighting, and this after photo has been bleached out,” the doctor says, “so this no-makeup before photo and this after photo could be the same person, but it’s highly edited.”
The jury is still out on whether Este Med uses the same people for its incredible before-and-after photos or whether it uses digital editing to enhance the results of plastic surgery, but the attention can be a double-edged sword: It may attract customers, but it could be a disaster if expectations aren’t met.
