berta2

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.

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

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.