07.11.2026 15:32
The digital beauty perception rapidly spreading on social media has brought along unusual demands in aesthetic surgery. Associate Professor Dr. Emre Hocaoğlu, a faculty member in the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, warned, “There are patients who apply to us with super-aesthetic expectations such as broadening shoulders and narrowing feet. Children have started asking their mothers for lip fillers as summer vacation or report card gifts.”
In recent years, while the demand for aesthetic procedures around the world has frequently been on the agenda, experts say that digital content that presents an almost flawless appearance through the use of filters on social media platforms, various applications, etc., has also brought changes in people's demands.
Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. Yakup Çil and Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emre Hocaoğlu stated that some people can come to them with requests such as shoulder widening or foot reduction after seeing images in digital environments. Stating that every surgical procedure brings risks with it, the experts drew attention to the fact that procedures must be performed by skilled hands. Stating that the age in requests for aesthetic procedures has decreased, Hocaoğlu made striking statements.
"WE HAVE STARTED RECEIVING COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED REQUESTS"
Speaking about the applications, Prof. Dr. Yakup Çil said, "Aesthetic procedures have begun to become much more widespread with the influence of social media, and recently we have begun to have patients coming with completely unexpected requests. Patients who want their feet reduced have begun to appear before us, saying, 'The shoe will look nicer and more stylish if my foot is smaller.' While women want to have their shoulders narrowed, saying, 'Let my shoulders be narrower so the clothes I wear look more stylish,' men want to undergo surgery so their shoulders appear wider. These surgeries are not as simple as they appear on social media. Such surgeries can be performed if there is a congenital anomaly," he said.
"THERE ARE MEN WHO WANT TO WIDEN THEIR SHOULDERS"
Continuing his remarks, Çil said, "Every surgery has its own specific complications. Men say, 'Doctor, I want to look a little more athletic, I work out, but my shoulders will never be that wide—can you widen my shoulders?' In some congenital anomalies, enlargement can occur in the hands and feet. Of course, we have surgical procedures appropriate for that," he said.
"AGES 20-30 CAN BE VERY DEMANDING"
Continuing his remarks by saying, 'It is necessary to know the limits of aesthetic procedures,' Çil said, "The influence of social media is very great; we all see it all over the world. It is beneficial to avoid unnecessary surgical procedures. The 20-30 age group, which uses social media very heavily, becomes very demanding for this kind of surgery. For shoulder widening, ages 20-30 among men become very demanding. Not all of our body structures are the same; the proportions are different, and we provide the necessary information. Sometimes people get angry at me; I even receive reactions from my own relatives," he said.
"THIS IS JUST LIKE CUTTING A COLUMN IN A BUILDING"
Starting his remarks by saying, 'Our Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Plastic Surgery Outpatient Clinic is a very busy clinic,' Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hocaoğlu said, "Plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgery has such a wide range that applications can indeed come before us in very broad variety related to these. People caught up in digital illusions and ideas also apply. There are patients who apply to us with expectations such as shoulder widening or foot narrowing—let us call it a bit more of super aesthetics. To make the foot thin and delicate like Cinderella's foot and make it look that way, bones can be removed from the metatarsal bones, and we can make it thinner and smaller, but disrupting one of its components, removing one of its columns, is just like cutting a column in a building," he said.
"WE MUST ALSO EVALUATE THEIR PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION WHILE LISTENING TO THEIR REQUESTS"
Drawing attention to the fact that they make evaluations from many perspectives in the face of requests, Hocaoğlu said, "While listening to patients' requests on the one hand, we also truly evaluate their psychological condition on the other. When we sense a pathological condition, we first ask them for a psychiatric consultation as well. In such cases, with extreme procedure requests, we will definitely also have this kind of evaluation," he said.
"DON'T BE DECEIVED BY 15-SECOND BEFORE-AND-AFTER IMAGES"
Saying, "A patient may come before us with an image they really like," and drawing attention to the necessity that procedures be performed by healthcare professionals, Hocaoğlu said, "It may also be a virtual image popularized on social media; in all medical cases, we proceed by making calculations. We explain the facts scientifically. We explain that the procedures are not actually a touch as in the 15-second before-and-after photos shown on social media, but medical interventions that can have their own specific complications, that every medical intervention can have a complication, and that as a result of complications they may experience loss of function that they may carry for the rest of their lives," he said.
"THEY COME WITH FRIGHTENING REQUESTS"
Also drawing attention to the fact that the age limit in requests for aesthetic interventions is gradually decreasing, Hocaoğlu concluded his remarks as follows: "A father, a doctor, and on top of that, as a plastic surgery professor, I would like to share a matter that has really been on my mind and disturbing me recently. The age limit for plastic and aesthetic surgery expectations has dropped so much that now sometimes children have begun asking their mothers for lip filler as a summer vacation gift or a report card gift. They come to us with this kind of frightening requests. Every medical procedure has a possibility of complications. It is necessary to be very sensitive about these matters."