Cellulaze: Stories

Write a Review

Is This Too Good to Be True? - Los Angeles, CA

cbg
posted 1 year ago
updated 1 year ago

Not Sure
Marina Plastic Surgery (Los Angeles, CA)

I have scheduled an appt to have the procedure...

18 Apr 2012
13 days pre

I have scheduled an appt to have the procedure after my very 1st consult. I have 4 more consults scheduled, but want to get it done sooner vs later so I can be in a swim suit by the end of June. I'm scared- is this for real? Has anyone had a bad experience? Does this really work? I am a vegetarian, totally healthy, workout 5x a week from treadmill/weights, tennis, hiking, spinning, yoga, and a variety of classes. I'm not overweight and overall, have a good figure, and like my body... but I have cellulite which REALLY bothers me. It's the only thing I wish I could change. I constantly cover my bum/thighs in a bathing suit and avoid the backside being naked in front of my husband. Pathetic, but true. I've never had a procedure done ever. Nothing. A facial here and there, hair coloring and teeth whitening, but that's it! I'm scared. The MD I met today seemed great, but their office has only done about 8-9 procedures so far. One of those was an office employee who showed me her before pictures and was kind enough to drop her pants (literally!) and show me her "now". I must say, I didn't see any dimples (and they were there in her "before" pix). She had procedure 7 weeks ago. I'm scheduled in two weeks for the procedure. Should I continue to meet other MDs who have more procedures under their belt with this? It's newly FDA approved, so the MDs who participate in the clinical trials will have the most experience and those MDs don't have consults open for a month to 6 weeks off. I'm being girly here, but I want it ASAP so I have time to heal and can be in a bikini without covering my ass constantly by 4th of July. Am I being ridiculous? Should I take my time and continue to have other consults and just miss a summer of bathing suits (I live at the beach in the summer, not literally, but I'm there constantly) or can I go with the first MD I met? My husband and I liked her a lot. But is this too good to be true? Help.

I did not end up going with Marina Plastic Surgery...

10 May 2012
8 days post

I did not end up going with Marina Plastic Surgery. I had a very bad experience there and was treated really poorly.

Great review?

My Doctor: Join to view doctor's name

My rating:

Comments (28)

Sort by

AlmostFamousxo 9 Jun 2012

AlmostFamousxo 9 Jun 2012
Is it still normal to have swelling at 3 weeks? My one side thigh is def more swollen than the other. I'm going for my 1 month next week but still have minor bruising under my butt so I can't really evaluate my full results since I think I'm still healing but the swelling scares me a bit, it's not horrible but it's there
Reply

Megan P (Community Manager) 11 Jun 2012

From a layperson's perspective I wouldn't be too surprised to see swelling still at the 3 week period. I can understand how it would worry you though, especially if it is pretty much only noticeable on the one side. Have you called your doctors office to see if they want to bump up your post-op?? Might not be a bad idea if you're concerned.

I asked a couple of questions in our Q&A section so we could all learn a bit more about what is expected as far as the swelling goes after Cellulaze:

How Long is Swelling Expected to Last After Cellulaze?

Should the Amount of Swelling After Cellulaze Be About the Same on Each Side (Thigh)?

(It usually takes 24-48 hours for the doctors to start posting their opinions)

ihatecellulite 12 May 2012

Allycat: on bad experiences with Dr. Petti, I never was able to find the review but I think it was only one person's remarks. And it was for a consultation only, not a procedure. I have not been able to find anything negative on Dr. Petti so far. And as for her staff, they seem very thorough and on the ball.

ihatecellulite 12 May 2012

Thanks Spinchick, I will definitely post pics, but I am afraid of you guys making fun of me haha. I'm not kidding when I say my cellulite does not show up in pictures..so the after might look worse than the before initially.

Allycat: I am freaked out too lol. I am 29. And I did ask Dr. Petti how many cellulaze procedures she has done and I think she said around 30 if my memory serves me right. So surprisingly not as many as I would have thought. I have decided to go through with it Wed. even though I do view it as a risky procedure and possibly a waste of money but every day I'm praying that it actually works!

LaurelC (RealFriend) 12 May 2012

Allycat: I think Dr. Nikolov has done about 20. Dr. Petti will definitely have the most experience, along with another male MD in Pasadena who participated in the trials (but he was booked through October!). But here is what I understand - if the MD does a lot of Smart Lipo, there is a very short learning curve with Cellulaze b/c it employs the same technology (made by same company) and they rolled out Cellulaze first to the MDs who do a lot of Smart Lipo. See what happens with your consult with Petti. You can make other consult appts and cancel if you decide to go with her. It doesn't hurt to be on the books for a consult elsewhere in case you decide you want to shop around (they are booking up quick b/c there are only about 5 MDs in SoCal who do it)- just be sure to cancel them so all the other gals who are dying to get in can! And in my opinion, droopy skin without cellulite is better than droopy skin with cellulite. xx (I'm 43 BTW)

ihatecellulite 12 May 2012

"And in my opinion, droopy skin without cellulite is better than droopy skin with cellulite."

LOL LaurelC..couldn't agree more! But only we women with this nasty problem get that haha

SpinChick 12 May 2012

Allycat695, have you seen anything negative about Dr. Petti? I haven't, I have about that one in the Marina, that's not Dr. Petti. Please do tell! I'm 50 also and I think it does firm the skin about, isn't that the 3rd of the 3 phases? skin 'thickening' I believe is how they refer to it. there are other threads about that topic. I think the biggest think that cause that drooping is sun damage. self tanners are our friends : )

Allycat695 12 May 2012

Oh gosh - now I'm getting completely freaked out! I have a consult with Dr Petti on May 25th because of the fact that she participated in the clinical trials. I wasn't even planning on consulting with anyone else because I'm sure she's done quite a few of these procedures and experience is invaluable BUT...now I'm worried since some people had a bit of a bad experience with her. Oh my GOSH - LaurelC - do you know how many procedures Dr. Nikolov has done, by chance? I also wonder if any of you gals that have had it done are older (I"m 50) or are you all young? My skin in general is starting to get a little "droopy" which I know cellulaze can't do anything about but I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth it for me becuase even if my cellulite is gone, I'm sure I'll still have jiggly skin on my legs. Oh what to do, what to do....!

Lumps and Bumps 11 May 2012

Why did you not go with DR. SPRING?
Is this the place thge lady dropped her pants?

cbg 14 May 2012

yes, there were super unprofessional and rude and super non-communicative. I have never been treated so poorly in a MD office. Also, the lady who dropped her pants had it done with Stevens, not Spring, which was who my consult was with.

Megan P (Community Manager) 11 May 2012

cbg, sorry to hear about your bad experience. :-/ Would love to hear what your plan is now.

SpinChick 10 May 2012

Laurel, I am interested in Dr. Petti as I assume she has done more procedures given she participated in the trials. It is so helpful when people post their before and afters on this site so we can see the real world results! I would be willing to consult with Dr. Nikolov too. I don't think mine will be too much $, it's fairly localized, it's only from the top of my hamstrings to under by butt. Not sure if I would even do any on my butt. I'm toned, not skinny, as much as muscular - size 4. Frankly, the cellulite I have is mostly the result from lipo from about 15 years ago which is not uncommon. Lipo can cause cellulite!

ihatecellulite 10 May 2012

Oh just noticed you mentioned consults, not procedures, with Dr. Petti. Curious to know if anyone here has gotten the cellulaze procedure done by Dr. Petti, and how it went? Thanks!

ihatecellulite 10 May 2012

Hey LaurelC, can you refer me to the comments on Dr. Petti? Thanks!

LaurelC (RealFriend) 10 May 2012

Okay, I just found a girl who had it done by Petti and liked her. There are also comments by another girl who did not like her consult with her. Search the word Cellulaze on this site and look at the reviews and read the threads. You'll find it. There are only about a dozen reviews so far, so you'll find it. Good luck!

LaurelC (RealFriend) 7 May 2012

spinchick: go see Dr. Nikolov in Beverly Hills, he just did my Cellulaze! Dr. Petti does a free consult vs Dr Nikolov is $250, but that money goes toward the procedure if you have it with him. Dr. Petti is booked pretty far out as she only does Cellulaze consults on Fridays (I had an appt with her I cancelled, which is why I know this stuff) But she was involved with the clinical trials. I've seen some other ladies post about their consults with Dr. Petti in other conversation threads on this website, they didn't describe their particular experiences as great. But her consult is free and it never hurts to get yourself educated.

SpinChick 7 May 2012

Has anyone else gone to Dr. Petti? Can you share experience, cost? Would love to hear! Thank you!

ihatecellulite 10 May 2012

Hey Spinchick, I had my consult with Dr. Petti last month and I really liked her. She has a busy office but she gave me more than enough time to go through all my questions (and I had plenty). I'm scheduled for my procedure next Wed and it's $4,500, but I think I got a better deal than most because my legs are on the skinny side (I'm 5'4 105lbs) so there isn't as much area to treat.

I'm starting to feel panicky about the procedure since I've never had anything done either, but I'm hoping this will all end up being worth it in the long run. Will keep you guys updated on my experience! And anyone else with experience with Dr. Petti please post! :)

SpinChick 10 May 2012

Thanks for answering. It would be great if you would post pics. If you don't want to post publicly I think there is a way we can share information off line. On another thread there is a brave girl who posted her pics from Dr. Nikolov. She is doing great. From what you describe you have less. I'm not as small as you but I don't have much either, I'm 5'7 and a toned 135, size 4. I"m excited for you!

cbg 10 May 2012

email me privately spin chick. You can send me a private message on here.

fazhionista 3 May 2012

Where are you going to get the procedure? How much? I have a consult with Dr. Petti June 8. I want to get full thighs, bum and stomach done. I agree with HereIam....you have seen in person the real results of the doctor. Way better than a picture! If it eases your mind, and you have the time, go to the other consults. Otherwise trust your instinct with this doc!

ihatecellulite 10 May 2012

Hi Fazhionista, please see my post below on Dr. Petti's cost. Curious to know why you decided to go with her? I'm trying to find patient reviews on her but having difficulty finding any...

Here I am 27 Apr 2012

You know i am no expert but I would go with you gut and go with that first dr. you meet with. The one where the girl dropped her pants. If you see real life results in front of you I say go for it. What is that dr.s name I think I too would like this done. I live in the O.C.

LaurelC (RealFriend) 10 May 2012

Here I am, I would try to find a MD close to you b/c you have a pre op, and many many post ops, so you'll be seeing this MD a bit in the beginning. I think the closest to the OC is Dr. Petti, but I would contact the company who makes Cellulaze and see if they are adding any MDs in your area soon - maybe Newport Bch?

Darryl J. Blinski, MD 20 Apr 2012

Hard to believe there is a 6 month wait Very hard to believe. Experience can not be replaced. are the fees in same range? Are both docs boarded PSs? Are either using Smart lipo also? (if the Marina surgeon is than they have the experience vs a doc that was not doing Smart lipo, in my opinion). Guess you could ask this "very busy/booked surgeon to put you on a cancellation list if an opening arises. Keep us in the loop. Regards Dr. B, MIAMI

View answers from Darryl J. Blinski, MD