Plastic Surgeon Accused of Editing Viral Before-and-After Images of Clients

A plastic surgeon went viral on social media with astonishing “before and after” photos of his clients, but he’s now being accused of using Photoshop to fake their transformations.

Turkish plastic surgeon Dr. Farzan Malekzadeh has gained fame online for his dramatic transformation photos of the women he has worked with.

The images — which have racked up over 17.7 million views on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) — purportedly showcase Dr Malekzadeh’s “Picasso technique” where he reshapes women’s faces using non-surgical procedures.

However, social media users are now questioning the legitimacy of the before-and-after images, accusing the plastic surgeon of using photo-editing software to exaggerate his work.

A disclaimer on platform X now confirms that the viral images have been Photoshopped and says that he allegedly paid influencers to share his edited pictures on social media.

“This is Photoshop,” the X disclaimer says. “He is not a licensed doctor in Iran and has paid influencers to spread Photoshopped images and comment on these types of posts to scam interested parties out of money. Beware.”

The Mail Online reports that that Reddit users have also accused of Dr. Malekzadeh — who has over 461,000 Instagram followrs — of Photoshopping his transformation pictures. One Reddit user describes the plastic surgeon’s images as an “organized scam.”

According to U.S. cosmetic procedure review company Real Self,, social media users shouldn’t take before-and-after photos at face value. Some plastic surgeons manipulate these images using photo-editing apps or camera tricks to exaggerate results.

Harsh lighting in “before” photos can highlight flaws, while softer, more flattering lighting in “after” shots creates a smoother, brighter appearance. Camera angles and facial expressions also play a role. Patients may be photographed from an unflattering, straight-on angle in the “before” photo and then slightly tilted or smiling in the “after” to enhance their features. These subtle changes can create the illusion of a more dramatic transformation than what was actually achieved.

Real Self reports that with the widespread use of photo-editing apps and filters, it can be difficult to spot when a plastic surgeon’s pictures have been altered, and there is little regulation to prevent doctors from manipulating images.

“It gets a bit trickier when doctors actually use Photoshop,” Dr. Daniel Barrett, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California, says. “Picking up on this can be really hard, but if you look at a before and after and the after photo looks like something out of an Instagram or Snapchat filter — where it’s just shining and glimmering without any blemishes—the lighting might be the same, but it might have been airbrushed.”

While skilled photo editing can be nearly impossible to detect, cheaper editing apps like Facetune often leave behind telltale signs.

“You really can’t tell if it’s a solid background or someone is really skilled at Photoshop, but if there’s a fence or something with a grid, look at the background in the photo to see if that’s pinched in or distorted. That’s just some cheap editing that you can catch from a mile away,” Dr. Barrett adds.

“And in general, with real results, you’re always going to see little things, like pores and scars. So, if you don’t see any of that or something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”