By Simon Shepherd
Plastic surgeons are concerned over a medical council ban on the use of "before and after" photos in advertising.
The council believes some photos can mislead or glamourise surgery, but doctors and surgeons say the pre-op, post-op snaps are used to educate.
New medical council guidelines say: "You may use before and after photos during consultations [but] you must not use them in advertisements."
Dr John Adams, of the Medical Council, says photos are misleading.
“It is very important that such advertisements not be glamourised, patients need full information and photos don't convey full information,” he says.
In an industry dependent on image, the decision has come as a shock.
“Patients need these before and after photos to make informed decisions about treatments that are available,” says Dr Teresa Cattin, from the College of Appearance Medicine.
Plastic surgeons say the photos play a key role before the consultation.
“Patients that I have spoken to on the councils view on this are quite upset saying why do this we, why do we need to take away because it is useful and important to understand about making choices about surgery,” says Murray Beagley, of the Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
The council argues photos can foster false expectations but publisher for cosmetic surgery magazine Beautiful You says local photos are realistic.
“If we don’t have that or get that from our surgeon then we have to run aspirational, false American images, and that would be worse because they are going to have false expectations,” says Vanessa Green.
Appearance medicine doctors have already written to the medical council asking it to reconsider its position.
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