“Bad Face Lift... - Englewood, CO”

Hi Chrystal,
I'm am not just an LSL doctor. I have my own private practice. I was Chief of Plastic Surgery at the Level I Trauma Center of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. I'm board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. I'm fellowship trained in Facial Plastic Surgery by two of the most famous facelift surgeons on the planet. I specialize in Facial Plastic Surgery. I realize that you had a bad experience with a Lifestyle Lift and I'm sorry for your situation. Hopefully it will be remedied if it hasn't already been done so. That being said, even though I work at LSL, I do my own operation that is custom-tailored to each patient. I don't take a "one size fits all" approach to the facelift. The assumption by most lay people and non-LSL surgeons is that we practice "cookie cutter" surgery which in my experience is the farthest from the truth. If you take the time to try and find a number of complaints about the Denver LSL office you actually won't find much. That's simply because the surgeons there try hard to provide a high quality service to those who expect low cost facelift surgery. The value of what I personally provide is indisputable. Frankly we are quite successful, but only if the patients seeking LSL realize it's limitations. I'm not sure how you were counseled prior to your surgery, but my patients are given an exhaustive evaluation to make sure they understand the differences between my LSL procedure and my traditional SMASectomy facelift. My policy has always been to provide no cost revision surgery to those who desire it. All it takes is honest communication with me. That being said my revision rate is less than 2%. If gw8denver were to come to me to ask for revision surgery, he or she would have no trouble getting it. So far they haven't and in my opinion that is short-sighted. The Denver office is like a family and those who work there take the happiness of our patients seriously.
Warmest regards,
Dr. Shah

Dr Shaw, thank you for taking the time to reply to me. I still stand by what I have said in the past and present that I too underwent a Lifestyle Lift and had to have it redone by ANOTHER Surgeon who is not affiliated with the LSL face factory. He too (LSL doc) had his own private practice that I was unaware of and I was never offered any kind of re-do or refund in anyway by him or by LSL. In-so-far as you being a reputable surgeon, I cannot say anything bad against you or your practice, but what I can say over and over again is that any person seeking out facial rejuvenation (surgery) has to be very careful of what they choose. A Lifestyle Lift is not for everyone! I do hope that you stand by your patient and help her in anyway possible to alleviate her fears and help her overcome all the obstacles that she now faces. As far as LSL being a low cost alternative to a face lift, that is simply not the truth. The LSL address the lower 1/2 of the face and neck area and after all the add-ons, other private practice surgeons can offer the same type of lift done under local and be competitive although most do not want women to suffer through the procedure being awake. Maybe your office is different, maybe you do care more than most, I hope so. It is a shame that any person feels like they cannot go back to the surgeon and speak frankly -- but after what I went through with my LSL, I can frankly say "I know how she feels." Best, Chrystal Eckes

Hi Monica28,
Read what I've written carefully. I'm not defending myself or anyone else. I have no idea who gw8denver is and if I did I would be helping her the best I could. I don't have an idea if gw8denver is making anything up because she hasn't shown her face at my clinic. My door is open to her. As far as your comment about trolling for patients, I come on to Realself and other similar sites to help answer questions that all patients have and don't seem to get the needed answers to from their own surgeons. I answer questions from patients all over the country and around the world in some cases. These patients will never come to my office so I don't really think that qualifies as "trolling." I've trained surgical residents at various programs so teaching is what I enjoy. I think you do a disservice to medical professionals when you lump them into a "99%" group. But that is your experience, not mine, and probably not the experience of many patients.
Dr. Shah

Hi Chrystal,
I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm only saying what I do and how I work. Based on the Colorado Board of Medicine's Office Surgery standards, we do communicate with patients the exact nature of the whole surgical process. Most of my patients are awake during surgery and I answer any and all questions they have during the procedure. Our prep is pretty thorough, but that's because I designed the system at the Denver office and I vet is constantly to make sure that quality control standards have been met. I get medical clearances regularly and I correspond with primary doctor's offices as needed. Every center is different and that's the point I'm trying to make to you and now to Monica28. I'm a busy surgeon simply because I care and I communicate this routinely to my patients. Commercials of any kind are misleading, I agree. LSL is selling something so they use sales techniques, but frankly this process is carried out in private practices all over the country. You won't see a commercial but the pressure of the sell exists behind closed doors. Everything in life is "Buyer Beware."
Good luck,
Dr. Shah

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Hi liz.7,
As I said on complaintsboard, I am happy to help you since you are unhappy. I've spoken to everyone in my office who answers the phone and no one can corroborate that you have called. Send me a personal email to drshah@drmanishshah.com and we'll get you into the office to see where you are. You know that I do not charge another surgeon's fee for revision surgery. I can't comp some other facility's anesthesia costs or facility fees. That is clearly stated on my revision policy that you sign at your preop. I've tried to contact you through each board you've posted on (and there have been several!!) and you have not contacted me back. I keep a detailed list of all my nasal surgery patients and can not find anyone from the time period you claim to have had surgery who is unhappy. So if you are who you say you are, you really just need to come in and talk with me about your concerns. Finally I said the same thing to gw8denver because I mean it.
Warmest regards,
Dr. Shah