Lifestyle Lift recovery - Swelling and pain normal?

If you've had the Lifestyle Lift, please come start your review on RealSelf so others can learn from your experiences! You can go here to write up your story. (http://www.realself.com/review/create?topic_id=162) (Please note that because LSL is somewhat controversial, a photo is required to post your Lifestyle Lift review in the community).

Dear Josie Gent and anyone else who reads this.... The friend who took me in on the morning of the "proceedure", and if they are not put out of business, they should be made to advertise exactly what happens and stop lieing on their website. My friend waited for me in the aftercare room that is waaaaay down the hall from where new people enter. She saw scars and people wrapped up with faces that looked like 3 lb. of raw hamberger meat, slits for eyes. One of the ladies was talking about having her ears cut front to back and the pain they were experiencing. She said she nearly came through the door to get me out of there, and I wish she would have. You don't even know there is a separate waiting room until you go in to get unwrapped and walk into the main entrance, only to see the shock on their faces. They rushed me out of there and said they were supposed to tell me to go to the after care waiting room down the hall. I felt so sorry for those women. I had stitches sticking in my right eye as well as the wrapp chocking me so badly,swolling was next to impossible. With that said, I threw up the first night in that condition and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. I have read posts where they say that is common, and when I called the doctor he dismissed it and told me it was normal. I told him I had nearly choked I could barely swollow, and after drizzling the anti-nausea medicine down the back of my throat, I threw up a few minutes later possibilities of success when the entire process is so clandestine. Employees are even speaking out to the extent that they may aid in criminal charges being lodged. The resignation of the Top Doc in the Corp. The Doctors of LSL are suppose to be the Leading most cutting edge surgeons in the nation if you believe LSL website and the Oprah, Dr.'s, Abc, Cbs,Nbc, Montel....Since when is being gullible a felony, and cutting up and permently scarring and now in a case I know, death and near death experiences,not criminal,would you PLEASE?

Best Regards,
"2trusting

I had the LSL about a month ago and my right ear continues to ooze where the incision was made...i had a hematoma as a result of poor drainage...but it is painful and the oozing continues...when I returned a few times they assured me that it would heal...and prescribed stronger antibiotics

I am considering getting a Lifestyle lift in Jan 2010. I am in Albuquerque NM. I would like to hear from anyone who has had it done here.

Moderator note: Your comment has been moved to the Lifestyle Lift Albuquerque discussion.

DON'T DO IT. It's awful and it simply is not worth the anxiety and discomfort for almost no results.

I had the lifestyle lift January of 2008 and this is March 2009 and I still feel tightness. Sometimes very annoying. How do you get this to go away, it has been a year.

Hater - This is a pretty big horror story. The procedure isn't faulty, it seems to be the individual who did the procedure. It's been six weeks since the eye lift and LSL - still seeing some swelling and yellow under my eyes, and some numbness under my ears. Nothing painful. Makeup easily covers all scarring, which is not unsightly. Scars are flat and smooth. Still using Vit E oil and Arnica, along with anti-inflammatories to minimize swelling. Husband says I look pretty and all swelling isn't completely down yet. Life is good.

My experience with LL was totally traumatic. I was in mid-surgery, and wanted to yell, STOP--something just didn't seem right, but the surgeon had already started cutting. I did not find out until MONTHS AFTER surgery that I had a surgeon who was just LEARNING, and I had only consented to having a board-certified surgeon, so I was flat-out lied to. During my follow-up, which was negligent in my opinion, I had somebody sick working on open wounds when I came in with a problem!! They ignored the complaints I had about serious problems, and I was actually left with one ear lobe hanging. At first, I was asked, Do you want it attached, or just leave it like that? WHAT???? I said OF COURSE I wanted it fixed but I have been unable to get them to fix it and it has been over 2 years! Not only that, I have had continuous pain the whole time behind both ears, other problems they have refused to address, both right after surgery, and as time has gone on. I would love to find somebody who is filing a class-action lawsuit. They are definitely in need of some accountability. You can believe me, nobody they've used in their ads had a 1-hr procedure. I was in there for 6 HOURS! My recovery as far as bruising was about 2 MONTHS--not 2 days, like they say, and full recovery has never happened, as I am STILL having active problems. The pain was unreal, and I still have pain behind my ears. This only scratches the surface--I had a list of about 20 problems, none of which they were willing to do anything about, and the list didn't even include one of my worst problems, which a different doctor actually informed me of. To add insult to injury, their "special financing" ended up costing me an EXTRA $1,500 because they screwed it up. Wonder whose pockets that went into. At least other people are getting there intial fees back--in the Denver, CO clinic, I was told flat-out, no refund. They have no REAL compassion (but are good at pretending), no REAL personal attention, treat you like a piece of meat on assembly line,--including EXTREMELY high-pressure sales tactics--and horrible post-surgery care. One doctor I consulted with, after finally getting to meet with the clinic director about my problems, actually confided in me that she was quitting because of their assembly-line and high-pressure approach. She told ME before she had even given notice! They are absolutely disgusting! DON'T DON'T DON'T GO THERE--FIND SOME OTHER MORE REPUTABLE PLACE!!!!!! And if you've already gone, and had a bad experience, GET THE WORD OUT! I'm going to contact every consumer protection venue I can think of--BBB, the TV reporters that cover this kind of stuff, etc. I even want to find out the "picketing" laws and see if I can drive away some of their business, or go into the lounge and talk to everyone until they throw me out! My doctor mutilated me, had no interest in even the routine after-care that should be provided to EVERY patient, and was even worse about dealing with the problems I had. He just did NOT want to be bothered. After all, their money was already made, right? So anything other than the actual surgery is a "waste of time," i.e. not profitable. I went in because I wanted to increase my ability to find work because I deal constantly with age discrimination. How do we contact each other? We need a class-action lawsuit. THESE LYING, AVARICIOUS, GREEDY, INCOMPETENT BUTCHERS NEED TO BE STOPPED!!

It took about 4 weeks for all the bruising to go away and at 5 weeks, I still have numbness and some swelling. I have really sensitive skin, however, so I expected it to "go long". My surgical tech told me that the surgery heals from the "top down" - give it some time and ELEVATE when you sleep and ICE at every opportunity! It really helps a lot. Good luck!

oh yea, i got my $400 back pretty easy. they kept tiring to put me through to the sales girl. i heard it is easier if you do not see the doctor. so i cancelled the appointment with him and surgery date and got a check back in about 2 wks. they were very friendly about it.

i am 44 and had lift style lift 2wks and 2 days ago. at 44years i just thought i looked saggy when i looked down. after reading all postings, like everyone, i got nervious and didn't want to hear "i told ya so" if i didn't like the results. i have had other "things" done and BASICALLY always liked the results and therefore i am more ready then most, to take the plunge. What i got from the blogs was to find the right doctor. liftstyle lift gives detailed bios on their doctors. Go with a doctor that has the most certification and has been with them a long time. i think this company is "super cuts" for plastic surgeons. (which is not a bad thing) they get lots of practice and many clients to FOR THIS SERVICE. (probable more practice then most doctors). all plastic surgeons do this style of service. Go to "life style lift" AND a "real doc" :O) and compare. let them know how/why you are there (to get a second opinion). the san mateo life style, california. center referred me to a doctor that i thought would be fine. however, i noticed another one of their doctors that had more certificates and i read two great reviews on him. i called to change to him and was told he would be leaving in two weeks. i found him online a booked a consult. he charged me the same as i was quoted. {edited} he also notice the looseness of skin on my neck and suggested a pinch of lipo (which he did at no extra charge) he said, "the neck will drape better after the procedure." the office was friendly, organized... the procedure was easy and comfortable. i seem to not feel any type of discomfort except late at night. It felt like i over flossed my teeth. my jaws ached a little.(VERY minor) i would take a pain killer only then mostly to help me sleep sitting up. the fourth day i looked good enough to go out. i would pull my hair forward and put a scarf around me. i was swollen and had a stitch on my chin. no one would have noticed if they didn't know me. I had him take a 3 day picture and a 1 wk picture. i told him that recovery was a big concern when i was deciding. i was happy and relieved with the recovery. in 1 week i was still swallow. no one SAID they noticed. however it is 2 weeks now and i finally feel like i look like myself. (better) hint: grow you hair out and lose weight. when you come back with a NEW HAIR CUT, people think the change is your hair :O) Editor note: If you would like to review your experience with a particular provider or clinic, please write your treatment review and enter the provider or clinic name in the field provided.

Recovering from the Lifestyle Lift required very little time. In fact, most people who go through the procedure return to their regular plans in a week or less, and the results can be seen right away.

So, several years later, are you satisfied with the results? I had both the eyes and the lift done on Jan 5, 2009 and on the 6th day, the swelling and bruising is significant. Pain level is manageable with Tylenol, and only the first stitches are out. Everything is turning yellow, which is normal, but I would like to escalate getting the swelling down!!

I had LSL in May of 08 and am happy with my results. I am 60 yrs.old. I took my own before and after photos and there is a big difference. I get compliments on my appearance often although I told only one person outside of immediate family that I had this done. I am glad I did it. It all depends on the skill of your surgeon. Ask to see prior patients. I went to a seminar that my doctor held and spoke with several of them, saw their scars etc. That convinced me to go ahead with it.

If you do it on your jawline, your going to have this horrible lump/swollen looking scar on your ear and when you call their going to tell you it's normal but it's not. It's been almost 2 years and my mom's ears still hurt and the scars a still very big. She wears headbands all the time because she is embarrassed of it.

I have an appt for lSl on 10/6/08 to have my face done. I did not see a dvd , I did talk to people who had their faces done and they were very happy. Idid see the Dr.K.V. and he was very nice and he answered everything I wanted to know. I didn't give then any money or make an appt at that time. When I did call back that't when I gave the the dept. and made the appt date. This is at the Westbury NY off. Has anyone gone there? Reading this after making the appt.is getting me scared. So if you went to the Westbury office please lot me know how your doing good or bad and how long ago you had it done. Thanks

To the lady that emailed me about a class action lawsuit. I would be interested in participating in a lawsuit but, would need other dissatisfied clients from this area to make a stronger case against them. I feel I have alot against this office in Coolsprings; that would hold up in a court of law. Feel free to contact me again. And maybe, we can get together if you don't get the results you want when you go back. We both could walk in their office and tell them we are going to get more people together if they do not resolve this issue.

Is there some place to go and they tell you exactly what they do? Any youtube videos of the surgery. A friend of my goes for consult on 9-23-08. Thanks

when i had mine done,i had swelling on my left side like you are describing.i ended up having a hematoma and had them drain it when i had my stitches removed after one week.it,s been 8 weeks for me and my left side is still a little swollen but doesn,t hurt.i am going tomorrow for "after"pictures and will be asking the doctor about my results.my neck is still bruised looking on that side and might take quite a while to dissapate.