berta2

Recent comments

• Posted to Cinderella for 2 Months, then Back to the Pumpkin on 29 Feb 2008

  I posted recently regarding 2 out of 3 people I know, deciding against LSL, after discovering the doctors' insufficient training and experience. The 1 woman who decided to go ahead with it, had her under-eye "bags" removed on February 15, 2008 and the stitches out on February 22. Initially lots of swelling, bruising and pain, which lasted about 2 weeks. It's now 3 weeks post-op and there is still some swelling, but so far there is improvement. Unfortunately, I haven't seen her since her surgery, but another friend told me these results. I put a call into this friend for a precise and current update and will share it when I know. She had it done in Little Falls, N.J. and surgeon was Dr. Jeffrey Wise.

• Posted to Life Style Lift: A Dangerous Procedure on 20 Feb 2008

  I got interested in researching LSL because 3 friends of mine wanted to do it. I checked the education and training of about 12 LSL doctors and it didn't make sense that they are doing plastic surgery procedures. Most are certified in OTOLARYNGOLOGY (which is head and neck disorders); and most were very NEW doctors, only out of residencies for 1 to 4 years. Most have 1 year of general surgery. Some are OSTEOPATHS. WHY ARE THESE DOCTORS DOING YOUR PLASTIC SURGERY?? No wonder there are so many horror stories. Also, my friends all had initial consultations with non-medical personnel. ONLY DOCTORS ARE QUALIFIED TO GIVE A MEDICAL CONSULTATION. For anyone interested in knowing if their prospective LSL doctor is qualified to perform this surgery, you can easily check for yourself. Go to the LSL site and go to "doctors". Find the location of your prospective surgery and click it. Your doctor will come up. Click his BIO. You will see his medical training and see the year he completed it. You will see that most are NOT BOARD CERTIFIED FOR PLASTIC SURGERY. You can then compare the LSL doctors with the qualifications for Real Plastic Surgeons, who are certified by the AMERICAN BOARD OF PLASTIC SURGEONS. You will be quite dismayed to see the significant differences. 2 of my 3 friends cancelled their LSL, after comparing their LSL doctors' backgrounds to that of members of the A.B.P.S. Please be careful and educate yourself. I support you in your wish for plastic surgery, but go to a member of the A.B.P.S. My 3rd friend had her lower eyes done on Feb. 15, 2008. Her stitches will come out on Feb. 22. I will post her results soon. Roberta

• Posted to My Lifestyle Lift Nightmare on 13 Feb 2008

  Be very very careful of the LSL. Check your doctors' bio (plastic surgery training, board affiliations, certifications, number of procedures he/she performed like yours, years in practice), and compare it to the backgrounds of Plastic Surgeons who are members of The American Board of Plastic Surgeons. This will give you some idea of WHO is doing your surgery, and perhaps this is why there are so many horror stories on these message boards. Look up the qualifications of members of The American Board of Plastic Surgeons and then compare that to your LSL doctor. Also, www.cosmeticsurgery.org may be helpful. There are some LSL doctors who are, in fact, members of ABPS or ABCS, however, there are so many who are not. When LSL states, "board qualified" or "board eligible", they don't tell you "what board?" and that is so important. Also, look up your doctor's bio and see when they finished their training. If it was within the last 2 or 3 years, well then, that tells you how many years experience in the field they have. I would want a doctor who has many years in practice of plastic surgery!! not 2 or 3. Please check them out. Do your research, BEFORE you agree to the LSL surgery. Be kind to yourself, and Make a well-educated decision for yourself.

• Posted to Lifestyle Lift Controversy on NBC on 12 Feb 2008

  I started looking into Lifestyle Lift because 3 friends of mine were interested in it. I was disturbed by what I found. And, based on what I discovered regarding the differences in medical backgrounds of 12 LSL doctors compared to the medical backgrounds of plastic surgeons certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery, 2 of my 3 friends decided against the LSL. Here's the info I learned. The Montel Williams show on 2/8/08 dealt with plastic surgery, and one of the plastic surgeons stated that there are 4 criteria that a prospective plastic surgery patient should look for; 1)Member of The American Board of Plastic Surgery, 2)Credentials, 3)Number of procedures done, and 4)Previous patients to speak to. I got the next piece of info regarding doctors performing plastic surgery, from "plasticsurgery.org." They state that they should be an ABPS Member Surgeon. Members are Certified by The American Bd. of Plas. Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada, complete a combination of at least 5 years of gen'l surgery with a minimum of 2 years in Plastic Surgery training, operate only in accredited medical facilites, adhere to a strict code of ethics, and fulfill continuing medical education. I then checked the background and training of a few plastic surgeons who were members of The ABPS. One doctor in Southlake, TX had 3 yrs in general surgery, 3 yrs. in plastic surgery and a 1 yr. Fellowship in Aesthetic Surgery. His memberships were in: Am. Soc. of Plas. Surgeons, AMA and he had numerous yrs. in practice. Other ABPS doctors had similar backgrounds; in fact, being an ABPS member implies having the highest qualifications to meet their strict requirements. Comparing the training and backgrounds of the LSL doctors, gave me pause. The 12 I checked had somewhat similar backgrounds to each other and were significantly different to the ABPS doctors. After their medical degree, one LSL doctor had 1 yr. Internship in general surgery, 4 yrs. Residency in Otolaryngology of head & neck and facial plastic. He was board certified in Am. Bd. of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery. Professional Society: Am. Acad. of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery-Fellow. Another LSL doctor had, instead of an M.D., was a Dr. of Osteopathy. He had 1 yr. Internship rotating; 4 yr. Residency at Osteopathic Hosp., Otolaryngology/Facial Plas. Surgery, and 1 yr. Fellowship at a Cosmetic Surgical Ctr. for Facial Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery. Board Certified in Otolaryngology/Facial Plastic Surgery; Professional Society: Am. Aca. of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck surgery; Am. Osteopath Assoc., Am. Osteopathic College of Opthalmology & Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Christian Medical & Dental Assoc. The other 10 LSL doctors had similar backgrounds. Also, these 12 were NEW doctors, who had finished their medical training in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. I will continue to check the other LSL doctors' backgrounds and report on a larger sample. So... please research your LSL doctor's training and backgrounds very carefully. There is so much valuable information on the Internet regarding Plastic Surgery, certification, board memberships and what exactly it all means. Look up the specialties of "Otolaryngology", since the few LSL doctors I checked spent many years training for this. I think you will be surprised. Also, check out "Osteopathic Doctors", since this specialty came up, as well. After I read so many of the LSL horror stories on numerous message boards, I'm not sure if this could possibly be a factor, as well as the relatively short period of time practicing medicine. My sample of LSL doctors is very small, but I believe, it begins to tell part of the LSL story. You can do the checking for yourself, in order to see a much larger sample, and then compare it to the ABPS member backgrounds and training. I don't think surgery should be about price, and getting a bargain or sale. It needs to be about the prospective patient researching her Plastic Surgeon thoroughly and asking many questions, and getting referrals. Good luck and I hope this helped.