Face, Neck Lift and Nose Revision - Greenwood Village, CO

ML I assume he showed you lots of b4/after photos none of which looked like your results. At the very least you should encourage him to always include your photos so that prospective patients can see something in addition to the several excellent results he exhibits. So I hope you will ask him to do that! Tell him you may send in a "plant" just to see that he is including you in his show and tell. Even if you had asked to speak with patients who are 10 yrs post op I guess he would have been able to give you a few so as prospective patients all these b4 and afters do nothing but showcase the handful of successes out of the 1000's of procedures he has done. Is 2% a reasonable sampling? Or a complete RANGE of sampling. That's why I think you will want to suggest that your photos always be included and if he doesn't think he'll do that...why not. It is afterall an example of his surgical results. Hope you'll offer to be contacted by prospects and see how many calls he sends your way. Do you have any idea what technique he used? SMAS (either ibrication where they cut a piece of the SMAS out to tighten OR plication where the excess, rather than being cut out is folded back on itself at the cheek level toward the ear) or deep plane I'm beginning to think that most surgeons have a preferred technique that they have mastered and then no matter the anatomy of the patient they use what they know even if the result will be less than ideal. Judging from your initial review in the first several months you didn't have any issues ie hematoma, infection, distortion, assymetry that would have suggested a compromise to your long term results might have been possible. Everything rolled along except the lift began to fall. It looks as though the cheeks are high, then there is a hollow, then a raised fold or ridge running alongside of the upper jawline. Photos taken at angles are sometimes distorting so maybe that is just an optical illusion. I can't imagine having to redo this but he should pay for whoever can help you or at the very least, in the interest of full disclosure, ethics and honesty include your results on his website and in consults. Best to you in a resolution to all of this....grace60

At the get go, I thought I had eliminated doctors without their PS credentials from my list of potential docs. My recall of exactly what Dr. Menachof's credentials are not clear and I will have to check. He is personally a very nice man, very engaging and interviews extremely well. I had complete confidence in his ability. It is beyond words as to how shocked I am at the lack of results, it just never occurred to me that the outcome would be less than beautiful. Then, it was very surprising that he seems fine with the results. So I do not and can not say if he thinks my face/neck/nose looks good. His direction was filler if I was unhappy. Which will not fix the bent/bump nose, lose jowls dent/flab under chin and deep nasolabial folds. It may soften the festoons. (those are the major issues not the little quirky things one over looks if all is great)

ml, MY Bad....it seems that he is a Fellow in the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery so in the section on board certification he only lists the Otolaryngology board which reviews and renews certification BUT he is a Fellow in these other Societies. That description is further down in his bio to distinguish his certification from his area of study. So to review, he does have a attachment to cosmetic affiliations just not to the board certification of plastic surgery.

KJan & Grace60, You both are so right and make such good and valid points. My suspicion is that it was mostly skin tightening, not the underlying tissue and muscle. And.. of course the skin will not hold up underlying muscle or tissue. And Yes, if you are charging $18,000 (Plus what my insurance paid towards my nose) You are playing with the big boys and need to deliver like the pros. This was not a mini or string, and I did not even get the results I have seen from them. I tried to email New Beauty Magazine to question their peer review. Since Menachof is not a PS, but.. he clearly states in his "add" in the magazine that he does fl, is this with in his realm of expertise? You two have given me much food for thought and I am looking for a second opinion, Thank you!!!

Ml, sorry your great results were so short lived. Are you sure your ps really tightened the muscle and not just the skin? It sounds like you had a pretty easy recovery and that can sometimes indicate that the muscles weren't tightened or at least, not enough. I can't believe your ps is so clueless that he actually thinks you have an acceptable result after only one year and $18,000 spent! Kind of makes you realize what an expensive, risky crapshoot this ps nonsense is.

Hopefully more people would do follow up 6/mo to a year later. What you see upfront is not necessarily what you will have a year later. Interestingly, there are several other women I know, that I noticed very similar beautiful upfront results only to have less than stellar results a year to 18-mo later.

Thank you for your updates! It's so helpful when folks like you come back a year later and let us know what's going on. Sorry to hear your results aren't lasting, though. Disappointing!

mldenver, I see what you mean on your new pics.  Maybe taking the time to have other consults with local PS' in your area is the answer.  Although, I know how I might feel about having to go through this again so I feel your frustration and pain.  I didn't see in your writing if you've gone back to your original PS for his opinion.  I see often that a good PS will make revisions if the results are not what was expected.  If it was a case of taking a more conservative approach then just maybe he might suggest a revision himself?  Good luck.  I know how disappointed you are and I really am sorry you've had this experience.  Keep us posted on what your decision is. 

Absolutely agree, and IF I still looked like this I would be ecstatic! But... In reality, the jaw line soften, under the chin there is a little pouch and the neck looks like it is sagging a bit. The mid face does not appear that it was lifted at all, but the outer cheek area was which results in a swept, flat, heavy look at the nose/cheek area. The festoons are very pronounced. Once the swelling was gone, so were the great results. The nose is not straight, and it was before, there is a distinct knot on the right side of my nose at the bridge area and it looks like it has a bend in it.. So, now, one year post, there is still some improvement, very underwhelming and there are things that are worse, (Festoons and parts of the nose). I am trying to upload current pictures and can"t get them to load. I will keep trying.

MLDenver, I'm hearing your disappointment in your writing, but the pictures I'm seeing are a huge difference and really the results look great!  I'm not sure that they are current pictures as of 2013 though so I'm confused.  Am I correct?   This really isn't an exacting science and I would imagine very subjective by each PS.  So maybe other opinions is precisely what you need.  Good luck!

now you look like the a distinguished older woman nice!

You look fabulous and congratulations.

Thank you very much! It is very exciting to have a new fresher look. I can't express how happy I am. Hopefully you all realize what a valuable website this is and it was extremely helpful in my decision making process. I faithfully read all of your feed-back and blogs which gave me more questions to ask my doctor and things to watch for. So a Big Thank You to the RealSelf bloggers you are part of a great service as are the doctors that give their professional guidance. And of course, a Huge thank you to Dr. Menachof and his staff.

Wow, great results and so little downtime! You look very youthful and pretty. :)

Congrats! What a great result. You look fabulous!