People these days go any lengths and measures to get plastic surgery done on them to have themselves looking all the more enhanced and also to attain the ‘perfect’ physique. Doctors in the UAE are now very much concerned with the latest trend that is now becoming a norm gradually.

Dr. Leon Alexandar, specialist plastic surgeon, Universal Hospitals Abu Dhabi, said, “Young patients are wanting to reconstruct or ‘photoshop’ themselves to look more like the people they follow in the virtual world. Social media does more harm than good because a lot of patients have false high expectations about plastic surgery and we are at the receiving end of that.”

He also says that, “Patients even believe plastic surgery will have no scarring because they see photos on social media of actresses and influencers without scars. “They say: I want my face to be perfect like hers. I tell the patients: No, I can’t do that for you, these images are all photoshopped, retouched and makeup is used to hide the marks and scaring.”

He even stresses that despite the efforts that are put forth by the doctor and despite the amazing expected outcomes that come post-surgery, the patients still expect much more. This has now raised concerns over health standards and some patients don’t even mind going extreme to get the looks that they have always dreamed of. Thus Doctors like him have a lot of pressure.

“We have to be realistic to them, the surgeons and experts in the field must inform the patients to not expect the results they see online, the results depend on the body requirements, the healing and skin type. I always underplay my results, because I don’t want to give patients a false expectation or promise. But it is not just the celebrities and social media influencers negatively affecting young generations today, it is the “unethical” doctors themselves”, states Dr. Alexander.

“Many surgeons are also guilty because they promote themselves and even reveal aggressive clips of their procedures on social media, which is not only something we are not supposed to do, as per the Emirates Plastic Surgery Society, but it is also unethical.”, further going on to state that one must not fall for those clinics and other places wherein which they promote themselves on social media, but rather must choose those physicians and clinics that are recommended by those who have been under their performance.