An Istanbul-based plastic surgery clinic has been drawing a lot of attention for taking to social media with before-and-after photos that show improvements so radical that experts have deemed them impossible to achieve. The Este Med Clinic took the internet by storm last week with a before-and-after photo of a patient referred to only as Michael. The after photo showed the man at least a couple of decades younger, his wrinkled skin now as tight as a youngster’s, a full head of hair, and a perfectly sculpted nose. Michael looked so good in his ‘after’ photo posted on Instagram that some users wondered if the clinic had simply put him in a time machine. Had the two photos not been posted together, most people would never have guessed they were of the same person. But this was only the beginning, as a look at Este Med’s Instagram profile showed dozens of other incredible transformations that even plastic surgery experts found hard to believe.

Photo: Este Med Istanbul/Instagram

“I need to see dental records, fingerprints, and blood work on both of these men. Because WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN TURKEY?!!” one Instagram user commented on Michael’s photos. “What? They’re out there in Turkey performing miracles.” “I’d like to see all the post op and intervening months healing photos too. Then I’ll be amazed,” someone else wrote. “This is virtually unbelievable, excuse me while I book my flight.” In the original Instagram post, Este Med claimed that Micheal had gone through several surgeries to achieve this incredible transformation, including a facelift, necklift, lower eyelid blepharoplasty, upper blepharoplasty, buccal fat removal, rhinoplasty, and hair transplant. It advised would-be clients to get in contact with its experts to discuss the best procedures for them.

Photo: Este Med Istanbul/Instagram

However, some experts have declared themselves skeptical that even multiple procedures could yield the results seen in Michael’s and other patients’ photos. They are saying that the transformations are so extreme that digital editing or something similar must be at play. “If you look at the texture of his skin in the before picture you can tell that man has either been a smoker or he is quite old,” Bristol-based consultant plastic surgeon Dr Nigel Mercer said about Micheal’s ‘before’ photo. “In the after picture he has the skin of a 35-year-old and that’s not possible.” “His eyebrow shape before and after is completely different,” Mercer added. “His face is a completely different shape, and I can’t believe you can do that with just buckle fat removal, which is removal of the fat pads in the cheeks to create of slimmer more angular facial appearance.”

Photo: Este Med Istanbul/Instagram

Another before-and-after of a “Ms. Dilek” posted by the Este Med Clinic went viral shortly after Michael, and this one showed an even more amazing transformation. An elderly woman had somehow been turned into a young, beautiful model, and while makeup definitely helped, the two photos couldn’t look more different. “These pictures are wildly different, these are not the same people,” NHS plastic surgeon Mark Mikhail told Mail Online. “Even with the surgeries they have said. The skin quality is totally different and her eyes are different colors.” Dr. Mercer was more reserved with his verdict, pointing out that lighting can play a great role in before-and-after photos and claiming that the addition of makeup and some digital editing could amplify the effects of plastic surgery.

Photo: Este Med Istanbul/Instagram

“With before-and-afters, you need to have the same lighting. Here the after pictures are bleached out,” the doctor said. “So, before with no makeup on, and then this one after with makeup on, it could potentially be the same person. But it’s been highly, highly edited.” The verdict is still out on whether Este Med used the same people for their unbelievable before-and-after photos, or whether or not it used digital editing to improve the results of plastic surgery, but all this attention could prove a double-edged sword. It might draw in clients, but failing to live up to their expectations could turn out to be a disaster.