patricia348

Recent comments

• Posted to Lifestyle Lift Controversy on NBC on 14 Mar 2012

  p,S. during the lsl surgery I had liposuction on my chin.There was a huge painful scar,That scar is completely gone.I can't even see where it was.So you see I do not keloid.My conclusion is that the right type of stitching was not done around my ears.I worked with a physician who did procedures for years and he knew how to do the proper stitching with the proper size sutures and right way to do the sutures without scarring.The physician's assistant told me they had a hard time with me because my chin was down to my chest .I guess that was difficult for suturing-do you think repositioning might have helped ?

• Posted to Lifestyle Lift Controversy on NBC on 12 Mar 2012

  I went for a consultation for a lifestyle lift in Albuquerque.The consultant pulled my face back up to the ears to show me how the improvement would look.My b/p was elevated so I was scheduled to have my lsl in the hospital.During surgery my b/p rose,I had necrotic hyperthermia,airway stricture ,wheezing and a fever ,low sats due to the airway stricture.I spent the night in the hospital.I came home to a head wrapped to the size of an elephant.I did as instructed slept a month in a recliner with head wrapped and ice packs continually for that month,I cleaned my face exactly as instructed but noted that the crusted blood continued even with 3-4 times a day scrubbing.One day one side of my face was bleeding and swollen,I was very alarmed and went to the office to be told I had a blood clot and had it manually pushed out of my face.I noticed both my ears were now sewn to my face.When the sutures were removed it was a nightmare for the sutures that were stuck especially in front of my ear-without any type of local anesthesia they were yanked out of my ear.I was told at consultation that the sutures would be in front on my ear.I found that the sutures were in front and back of my ear.I had tingling and pain on my face for more then a year and nerve pain.When everything cleared I found myself with terrible scars and keloids.( no not every black person keloids as I was encouraged to believe.My keloids were so bad that I went as an outpaitient for perhaps a year and half for painful cortisone injections.These injections were very , very painful and without lidocaine to ease the pain,I tried to explain to the physicians that I had never had keloids or scars even after two abdominal surgeries.I kept going for those injections often leaving with blood and always with pain.I tried to keep a pleasant demeanor throughout the pain.At one point my face looked infected and I was asked to ask my pcp to write for an antibiotic not the surgeon.My scarring looked so bad that the scars were reopened and resewn.One side is barely noticeable.The other is completely the opposite.It is to the point now that people ask me what happened to my ears from the scarring,I still get pain especially in the back of my ears where the scarring is horrible.The lift did not last -the neck is the only part that looks just "suitable" not great.My treatments lasted for probably two years after the procedure and I'd still be going if it weren't for the fact they took away Saturday appts.This lifestyle lift is certainly one of the most painful periods of my life and you get what you pay for.I was not offered a laser treatment post lift as others were,I could hit myself for the time and cost of the procedure.What for most was a 4500 dollar procedure cost me with the hospitalization approx $8000-I was told by an assistant that during surgery my chin was on my chest and it was very difficult to do my surgery.Is that why I was in pain for over two years and left scarred,Don't get me wrong the staff was very nice and at least feined concern.My advise is to go to a regular plastic surgeon who does only that and have a proper procedure or nothing at all,This was a nightmare for me.

• Posted to Lifestyle Lift Controversy on NBC on 25 Sep 2009

  I had surgery in albuquerque, new mexico.I was told that I needed to have surgery in the hospital due to my blood pressure being high and my pulse rapid.This was not the case when I went to my primary physician.I also went to the consultation and had my face pulled up and back and was informed of what I would look like afterward. I was told there would be a small scar in front of my ears that would be hardly visable.I was told I could use their financing to get the procedure done and that it would be approx $4000.Because I had changed my cell number but had many other identifying capabilities their finance turned me down. I was now convinced after watching their films that I actually needed this procedure.The other complication to my credit was that I had lifelock and since I started with a different cell number listed their credit agency could not finance me. I tried to get this all straight with lifelock and the credit agencies to no avail. I got credit with Sears , however without a problem.The procedure had to be done under general anesthesia I was told due to my b/p and pulse and it was. I suffered malignant hypothermia,constricted airway, asthma that I had never suffered before under any other surgeries. I came home with a face that looked like a giant full moon.I was in tremendous pain.I slept for a full month upright in a recliner with ice packs strapped to my head with a chin strap.I was getting terrible blood caked scabs in front of my ears and behind,swelling up into my scalp ,my ears and cheeks.One morning I woke up with one side of my face blown up like a balloon. I was going to go to the urgent care and was convinced to go to their office instead.I had a few of them pushing the blood clot out of my face because my face had a clot and was bleeding.I have had stitches that could not be pulled out gently pulled out with force.After the scabs and bloody sores were finally gone the scars remained.I have scars in front of my ears and huge ones behind my ears.The scars to one side in front of my ear is along the edge of the front of my ear-the scar on the otherside is an ugly zigzag pattern. I had numbness in both ears for months and terrible pain, and to this day have unbearable itching.Behind both ears are terrible scars. I was told this is common in black women.I prided myself with my fair skin and was always the source of envy because of my beautiful skin. I now have unremovable scars.Huge scars behind my ears ,like ropes. My piereced earrings irritate these scars that have continuous pain.I use phones constantly in my job to talk to patients and cannot wear the earpiece provided but must hold the phone to my ear with more pain.I am ashamed and embarrassed and in eight months I see little improvement from the surgery and no improvement with the scars. I have been injected with kenalog constantly which has done nothing but further irritated and reddened the scars.Constant pain is the result of my lifestyle lift. It is evident to all that my ears were just about amputated and then put back with a different shape at the lobes then I previously had.The surgeon did tell me that he could complete my surgery for the same $4000 from his office. I had to pay for the stay in the hospital due to "complications".The anesthesiologist supposedly agreed to $963.00 His office called several times a week even got my email at work and phone at work and every call the price went up until it reached $1800.The injections of kenalog went on and on.Sometimes 12 shots in all to already irritated scars without prior lidocaine to dull the pain.The physician, an elderly kindly gentleman with a D.O. after his name (does this mean osteopath) injected me time and time again.I began to complain , I have had many surgeries and never a scar , ever.My last set of injections were finally given with the use of lidocaine.Since eight months have not dulled the pain of my scars the pain was unreal.I had complained previously that the steroid injections were so painful without lidocaine but with it was unbearable and eight months of shots finally had me crying out loud.They finally decided that the shots were not accomplishing anything and took affrontage when I explained that I cannot see the scar from my hysterectomy or from gall bladder surgery.They told me this is a different type of suturing-the skin was flapped.To dated a simple lifestyle lift that should have been $4000 has cost me $8000.I would not recommend this quick fix to anyone.Not only am I embarrassed by my scars, my face now is almost the same as before.They are really kind and sympathetic and are great at giving you a tissue to cry in,but that does not minimize the daily pain. I cannot sleep with anything touching the scars.I cannot wear much of my earrings.I cannot talk to patients on the phone without pain.My husband cannot put his hands around my face and ears without pain and feeling my scars.I had my whole abdomen slice from surgery and cannot see the scar.I joke with the girls at work that since they took off my ears and put them back on I cannot hear .I have the phone on full volume.I have to listen very closely to hear what the patients are telling me.I am a nurse who should have known better.