David A. F. Ellis, MD

I have been a patient of Dr Ellis for 30 years for a variety of non-surgical facial improvements. Any patient can feel confident with Dr Ellis as he is very experienced and knowledgeable. I believe he has always been on the front edge of new technologies that will benefit his patients. Friends and acquaintances always tell me I look much younger than my age, so I know his efforts have been very successful.

Currently I'm 5 days post op so I thought I'd write a review, considering how helpful this site has been. I had a size small Implantech extended anatomical chin implant placed via an incision under my chin. I also had liposuction done under my chin as I had a lot of excess fat when my face was at rest. I wanted a size small, as I just wanted a modest improvement, but still look like myself. For two weeks pre-op I avoided Advil, NSAIDS, vitamin E, and garlic, ginger or cayenne supplements, alcohol, and limited caffeine. I also avoided high sodium foods, and refined sugar. The night before surgery, I had nothing to eat or drink after midnight. The morning of surgery (Dec 19th, 2015), I was given I.V sedation, versed and fentanyl. Within about 5 minutes I fell asleep through the whole procedure. He injected local anaestethic while I was out, so I didn't have to feel the freezing/needles. I woke up at the very end of surgery, they were just finishing up, making sure it was in the right poistion before suturing. I was aware, but still groggy, and mumbled that I wanted more meds. They had finished up in a few minutes, and that was the end of the procedure. My chin was taped up and I had a tensor bandage wrapped around my head. I was feeling pain right after waking up, so they gave me two extra strength Tylenol. During the drive home (my husband drove of course ;) I felt nauseous, but it faded. 4-6 hours later I took two Tylenol 3s, which helped the pain. I threw up later that night, and felt better after.
Day 1-5: The pain was very manageable, I was surprised. I only needed a few extra strength Tylenols throughout the day. Lots of tightness in the chin, and swelling. I developed some bruising which I the hardest part about going out in public. I would recommend buying a turtleneck, or a huge scarf lol. I was very limited in opening my mouth, I ate soft foods I didn't have to chew. My neck muscles after the lipo feel really tight and stiff, but not painful. I've been sleeping at a 45 degree angle on my back every night. I iced under my chin for the first 48 hours off and on. Now at 5 days post-op, I'm using moist heat. Stitches come out on day 7. I have no numbness in my lower lip, or across the front of my chin. I am numb around the incision site though. My biggest struggle so far is my speech/smile. At 5 days post-op I still have trouble pronouncing certain sounds, like S, P, B, and F sounds. The muscles to move my lower lip are still very tight, so I can't smile with my teeth yet, it's more of a grimace. But I can smile fully with my lips together. Will keep you updated, feel free to ask any questions! :)

Updated on 30 Dec 2015:
So I'm on day 11 post op. My speech returned to normal around day 8. I still really had to try hard to pronounce my words, but I didn't sound too bad. I still have the occasional issue with "S" sounds, due to the stiffness under my chin, but it's not noticeable to anyone at this point. No one has noticed or commented on anything, friends, family, or workmates, which makes me happy as I wanted a subtle improvement. I still have a bruise patch under my chin, but I have covered it with makeup and no one noticed. My smile is about 90% back to normal today. I still can't move my lower lip all the way down yet, but it's almost there. I have a very firm, tight, area under my chin where the lipo was performed, under the bruised area. It should soften over the next few weeks. I might have a little residual swelling around my chin implant, but not much. Under the chin will apparantly only tighten up over the next few weeks/months. I love the look of the implant/lipo. It projects my chin forward just enough :) I used to always slide my lower jaw forward when my face was at rest, but now I don't have to do that!

Updated on 5 Jan 2016:
So I'm still very pleased with the results. The swelling is gone, bruising is gone, mine lasted the full two weeks where I needed make-up to cover it. I'm left with the hard lumpiness under my chin from the lipo, it's a little tender I understand this will go away on it's own within a month or two. I've been doing warm compresses and light massage to hopefully speed things along. Need to stretch my neck a bit as my range of motion is limited. A couple of my friends have asked if I had dental work or if something was going on, as my speech is still a little stiff. My lower lip is only about 80% back to normal, so I still struggle with laughing and smiling. The lipo has already greatly improved my neckline :)

Updated on 20 Jan 2016:
Speech and smile are back to normal. Still some hardness under my chin, but it gets better week to week. Super happy I did it, I don't notice it at all, it doesn't feel weird anymore. I didn't tell anyone I did it. My mom told me that she can't pinpoint what it is, but that I look really good lately :)

Updated on 18 Feb 2016:
I'm just about 2 months post op. Everything healed wonderfully. The swelling is gone, my speech is 100% normal now and so is my smile. The liposuction under/around my chin is my absolute favorite part. I have a jawline now and no double chin. I'm happy getting the size small, I think it's the perfect size for my smaller face. I feel like I no longer have to "try" all the time. I used to constantly be aware to push my lower jaw forward when around people, while my face was resting, and when smiling. Now I'm much more confident :)

Updated on 1 Mar 2016:
Just wanted to make a side note. I'm about 2.5 months post and any weird lumps/bumps have finally disappeared. The hardness under my chin is gone from the lipo. I also had a small bump on the left side of my chin that was there for two months. It's finally gone, so I'm sure it just takes time for all the fluid/swelling to dissipate. Even up until about a week ago, I still had days where the muscles felt strange over the implant, but now I feel 100% normal. Patience is a virtue!

Updated on 2 Nov 2016:
So it's been about 10 months following my chin implant surgery. Everything is normal, just as before regarding speech, movement, expressions. It still feels foreign to the touch and I have a tiny area of reduced sensation on the tip of my chin but it's no big deal. I'm really happy I did it, no regrets.

Updated on 21 Jun 2018:
Thought I'd post an update. Still happy with the appearance, still feels foreign and I have reduced sensation in my chin. Overall feel it's worth it.

Hello All!

I joined this site on a few days ago, and today was my first day post op (day 1 of my recovery). I've wanted my nose done since the age of 12, and finally all the factors (being 100% sure, timing, money) came together.

The surgery wasn't bad, and the post pain is a breeze, however the swelling has been quite a challenging! Last night (the day of my surgery) I started to balloon up, mainly around my cheeks, eyes, and between my eyebrows. My surgeon warned me before hand given our procedure, he would expect a lot of swelling (Open Rhinoplasty, fracturing the bone, shaving the bump, sewing the side cartilage to contour my nose, drop the tip, slightly narrow the tip), NOT A WALK IN THE PARK! ;)

I know my poor face probably took a beating, and it is only my first day of recovery so I'm going to give it some time. Overall things are going well, my nose doesn't look too swollen and I already love the tip! I'm getting my cast off on Monday, I will keep you posted on my progress w/ the swelling. For now I shall ice & elevate!



Updated on 5 Jan 2013:
Forgot to mention they also evened out the size of nostrils to match!

Updated on 5 Jan 2013:
So today is day 2 post op, the swelling isn't as bad as yesterday (my eyes, between eyebrows are still very swollen) & the bruising is lightening up. Today when I woke up I began to manually clean my eyes when I noticed the far corners of my eyeballs had broken the blood vessels (I had to pull my swollen eyes back to notice it, thats how swollen they were waking up). My right eye isn't as bad as my left, my left eye bruised instantly after surgery and has been way more intense. The broken blood vessels in my right eye have calmed down, but the left one still looks pretty rough. I'm going to start taking Arnica today (both topically and supplements) to try to subdue a bit of the swelling (I really should have started taking it 2 weeks prior, no idea why I didn't!). Hopefully it will only get better from here!
Cheers!
Jo :)

Updated on 6 Jan 2013:
So today is day 3 post op, swelling is slowly but surely residing. I get my cast off tomorrow, which means I'll only be wearing my cast for 4 full days (I thought that was a little short, but my P.S thinks it will be fine). I'm expecting it to swell a lot once it comes off (given how much my face swelled, & it seems to be a common thing when your cast comes off) So I'm just going to keep calm, get rest, take arnica, eat pineapple, and be very patient. :)

Updated on 6 Jan 2013:
So tomorrow is my cast reveal! I'm getting better by the hour, the swelling has gone way down & I no longer look like a character off of Star Trek (lol seriously). I started taking Arnica orally (I know I'm super late -- it's post op day 3) and putting the gel on my eyes from time to time (I'm not too crazy about the gel, it's drying and kinda stings). I was able to take my bandage under my nose off for a few hours this evening to let my nose breath, but then I started getting some drip action going on so I suited up again (I actually had a minor cold when I went in for my surgery... I think it's the mucous backed up from that, the blood has pretty much stopped now.) Any who...I'll keep you all posted on how my unveiling goes tomorrow!
xoxo

Updated on 7 Jan 2013:
So my cast just came off and I'M LOVING IT ALREADY!!!! I know its swollen and will continue to swell due to the fact that the cast if off now, but I'm so happy! They did such an amazing job, it's everything I wanted & more! I can't wait to see the final result, but I will because good things come to those who wait! ;) (not that I have much of a choice anyway!) :-)
Now I'm going to try to keep the swelling down the a minimum by lightly icing the areas, taking my arnica, drinking the pineapple juice, and loving life! weeeeeeeeeee! I'll post pics soon!
xoxo

Updated on 7 Jan 2013:
So today my P.S took my cast off (as you could tell in my previous post), I'm thrilled. The removal of the cast was painless, overall it has been a pretty painless experience (not so pretty appearance wise though!). I'm 4 days post op and yet to experience any major pain, the only time I really felt any real pain was immediately after the surgery...the nurse gave me 2 T3's and 30 minutes + beyond that has been a breeze. The swelling on the other hand is another thing all together....I really didn't expect myself to balloon up as much as I did, I know it sounds silly but I'm pretty resilient. I believe the hemorrhaging in both my eyes were actually caused by the INTENSE swelling that I experienced (I'm talking practically swollen shut, defiantly resembled a Star Trek character at one point). I'm a pretty quick healer, today is day 4 and most of the swelling has subsided. I was able to cover most of my bruising (which is fading ever so quickly) wear makeup and went to see Django Unchained (Great movie BTW). The only thing that is really bothering me at this point is my blood shot eyes (I wore sunglasses out), but that will heal on its own in the next 1 or 2 weeks. I'm expecting some residual swelling to appear tomorrow due to the fact that tonight will be the first sleep post cast removal. Also, I had my stitches placed at the bottom of my nose and they are fading quite nice already! All in all things are going great and I can't wait to see how it heals this next year!
xoxo

Updated on 8 Jan 2013:
Day 5
So today is post op day 5 and the morning after my cast removal. I'm pleasantly surprised with my swelling, I was expecting the worst! The swelling isn't too bad.., and if it's only going to get better through the year, I'm a very happy camper! Also my right eye is beginning to get a big better (regarding the redness in my eyeball). I'm continuing to ice, clean my nose w/ saline rinse & spray, and relax!
:) :)

Updated on 8 Jan 2013:
Day 5 - NEW PICS

Updated on 23 Jan 2013:
20 DAYS POST OP***
So my eyes have healed! YAYYYY, no more vampire eyes!
So I've discovered the angle and side that is less flattering, looking at my nose from the left side is definitely the loosing angle. I find I can notice a tiny bump on that side, however I think it might be caused my swelling on the sides of my nose (I've come to this conclusion because when I lightly push the side down I no longer see it) Or maybe I'm just going mad? :)
Any who, all in all it's a 100% better & only been 20 days so I can't really complain.
....But I do want the tip to thin out more (as I'm sure we all do) I here that takes the longest to come down :-/
I hope everyone is having a healthy healing process as well!
xoxo

It is not uncommon for bio-alcamid filler to become infected. You need to have removed by an expert. Don't waste your time with inexperienced doctors as they can make matters worse.

I contacted Dr. Ellis' office to see about having Artefill, a permanent filler, removed. His office informed me that, yes, he removes Artefill, quoted a price, made me two appointments one month apart as that was required, instructed me to begin taking antibiotics two days before the procedure. At great expense and time, I arrived for my appointment, only to be told by Dr. Ellis that Artefill "is impossible to remove" after his confusion that I was there to have BioAlcamid removed. I was so upset that I waited until I got home to ask to have my travel expenses reimbursed because of their "little misunderstanding" (that's what the front desk called this debacle). Dr. Ellis responded, saying it would be unethical to remove the filler when it couldn't be removed, as if that were the issue, as if two appointments weren't made because I was told COULD remove it. He tried to pass off my appointment as a consultation and ignored my question: "why would I be instructed to take antibiotics for a consultation?" I have tried to contact several times after consulting a lawyer and have not heard a word back. Unethical? Oh, yes. Condescending? Incredibly so.

I went to Dr. Ellis for Botox. The entire procedure took about 5-7 minutes. It was only when I went to pay that I found out he had injected 100 units. I’ve had Botox treatments several times before but only 50 units, which was more than adequate. About 8 or 9 days later I began experiencing difficulty with my vision. At the beginning it was blurry and by into the 10th day I was seeing double, which was only corrected by covering one eye. After going on line I found that although this is not very common, it certainly has happened to several people. The upside is that it wears off along with the Botox. I went back to see Dr. Ellis, who told me that in all his years he has never heard of this, nor was it ever discussed at the numerous lectures he’s attended which I find difficult to believe. I referred him to the Internet. He couldn’t wait to get me out of his office. That same day I saw my Optometrist. Apparently the Botox leeched into one of the eye muscles causing inability to focus resulting in blurred and double vision. Thankfully my vision started improving about 3 ½ weeks after the treatment and at 4 weeks is at about 90%. A responsible doctor would have researched it and called me to assess my progress. I’ll never return.

I had rhinoplasty and a chin implant placed over 8 years ago. Following surgery I was unhappy with the appearance of my nose, and within a year of surgery it was determined by an ENT surgeon that I had a hole in my nasal septum (which was clearly created during surgery since I had no history of trauma or drug use that would cause me to develop the hole). The hole has caused me to have breathing issues, irritation and chronic nasal discharge ever since. The chin implant was placed asymmetrically, appears too big for my face and is uncomfortable. I have hated the results of my surgery ever since but have not had the time (or money available) to undergo a second surgery with a different surgeon. Additionally, within a few years of my surgery the bridge of my nose developed an irregular bump on it, and on consultation with other rhinoplasty specialists recently I was told this is likely due to the surgical technique used during my original surgery. In order to have revision rhinoplasty performed now to have my nasal septum hole corrected and the malformations of my nose changed, I have to pay a great deal more money due to the complications and increased surgical risks. I found Dr. Ellis at the time friendly enough but also arrogant, and I greatly regret taking his recommendation to have a chin implant placed in conjunction with rhinoplasty.

I was a student that just graduated from University and wanted to get the rhinoplasty I so longed for. I went for the consultation ($150) and Dr. Ellis was confident and charismatic. I wanted ethnic rhinoplasty. I am African And Caucasian mixture. Dr Ellis showed me pictures and I thought his work was conservative. I wanted my bridge built up but didn't want my nostrils altered. He said he could achieve what I was looking for while maintaining a natural look. He didn't explain that the tip of my nose in relation to the bridge where the implant would be placed wouldn't connect like a natural nose. It basically looked false and unnatural. I was made fun of on several occasions. I became very depressed and began suffering with anxiety. The good thing that happened was he didn't make too much of a mess so that when I took out the implant my nose looked the same as it had before. The bad thing is that it left a bad scar. I am ethnic so dissolvable stitches do not work well on my skin. He didn't even recommend dermetix, an ointment to make scars heal better and not be as unsightly. Now I have to pay more money to take care of my scar with dermabrasion or laser treatment. When I wanted the implant taken out, he wanted to charge me full price ($3000). I wrote him a letter expressing my disappointment with the whole experience and within a few days his kind staff responded and he only charged me for the sedation($1500). In total I spent $9,500 and my nose looks the exact same except with a scar.

Had a consultation with Dr. Ellis a couple of weeks ago and finally I'm going to get this done.
I am an athlete and always had a double chin. I consider liposuction but glad this is an option now.
My consultation n was very informative and I know this treatment is new is Canada. I know to expect swelling nothing some tylenol can't resolve. Very excited I'm doing this tomorrow.

Updated on 22 Mar 2016:
I had the Belkyra treatment today. very excited!
The process didn't take more than 30 mins. The injection didn't hurt.
Dr. Ellis was very meticulous with his process. He mad markings of where the fat was under my chin and then applies a stamp like application that placed dots on on my chin to indicate where he will inject. Right after my treatment I immediately felt numbing under my chin. During the day I slowly noticed the swelling increasing and mild discomfort... not pain. I didn't need tylenol.

I'm a happy person. I smile a lot. I laugh a lot. But when I'm not animated my face turns upside down from a smile to a frown. And I'm tired of people asking me if I'm OK. So, rather than looking like an always smiling idiot, I've decided after many years to get some "work done". I'm starting slow. Although I definitely need a neck and lower face lift, I'm going with filler for now. Altho I live in Fla, my significant other lives in Toronto where the American dollar is worth about 30% more. Armed with Arnica 30 and cream. I'm having the filler injections on Tues, 10/27. I did a lot of research, including your info on here and "interviewed" several Drs. My last trip to Toronto. I decided to go with Dr. David Ellis. I like his credentials, his resume and his assistant, Yan. She is terrific, patient, answers all questions and always available the few times I've called. BTW, I'll be 73 in November. That's why, if the photos are sidewise, I don't have a clue how to turn them. Just turn you head.

Updated on 23 Oct 2015:
Posting another photo that's not so scary. Was going for really really bad photos so the "after's" will look better. ;-) I Ieave for Toronto in the morning the weekend before seeing Dr Ellis on Tues.

Updated on 26 Oct 2015:
Granted I'm not having "real surgery"...just filler. But, it is my face, we're talking about and I've had a version of it for nearly 73 years! Yes. I'm a bit apprehensive but mostly excited. I will update with comments and photos as I can. In the meantime, thank you for all your support and kind words.

Updated on 27 Oct 2015:
Had my filler today. Dr. David Ellis wound up injecting 5 syringes in all. 2 syringes of Voluma in my cheeks. 3 Volift in the lines around my mouth, chin line and lips.
I was really very pleased with the result. Although I have been icing, I am getting some swelling this evening. No real bruising maybe thanks to Arnica Montana 30. I'm curious to see how I look in the morning. Total cost including tax was $3107 (Canadien). My cost is $2368 (American) less another $357 tax that will be refunded by the USA in a couple of months. Dr Ellis is a pro. I will definitely come back to him for more work; probably this winter. The photos are from shortly after the injunctions before some of the swelling began.