My first visited to Dr. Joseph office was in 2002 to have my eyes bags removed; 12 years later my eyes are bags free. I started visiting Dr. Joseph again 2 years ago for Restylane filler; which last from 10 to 12 months for me. This is my first time getting ArteFill, I hope it last the expected 5years. I love the look, my friends and family cannot understand my youthful look ( hope they don't read this review). I am absolutely always pleased with the outcome of each procedure. Take a look and you decide what you think...I think it's Awesome...
I was part of the 5 year long term test study on ArteFill. I had labial lines forming around my mouth and I was only 34 years old. It is genetic in my family. It was making me look older. ArteFill was used in the labial folds next to my mouth. My doctor was highly familiar with ArteFill and how to use it. He was conservative with the fill and a small line was visible when he was finished with the injections. I had to ice the area down and had small bruising that went away in a couple of day. I had a couple whitehead pimples pop out every now and then around the area, but went away after the first 3 years. The body is meant to create it's own coligan and bonding with the plastic filler. Mine has done an outstanding job of this and I have no lines. I will be 40 in June of 2013. My treatment should last at least another 5 years.
Dr. Joseph did a PAINLESS rhinoplasty for me in 1993 with an incredibly natural looking outcome, and I've been an extremely satisfied patient ever since. He also did a PAINLESS repair of another surgeon's botched ear surgery for me in the mid 1990s, and I've been visiting his office periodically since 2005 for regular "maintenance" injections of Botox and Restylane - all of which have given me a great, youthful appearance with minimal to no discomfort. It's actually a pleasure to visit his office, especially knowing how happy I always am afterward with the result!
I'm sorry I don't remember the cost - it has been years. I had abdominal lipo to "sculpt abs" where the fat is removed between the stomach muscles. Post surgery, I developed a large (!) collection of fluid on my stomach that just would not resolve. The doctor that did the surgery put in a stint to drain it, but it would not resolve - for weeks. I gave up trying to get help from on MD that performed the surgery and looked elsewhere. A friend recommended Dr. J in Los Angeles, as a skilled plastic surgeon that could make corrections. He was wonderful. For a while I came in to his office every day and he was draining 20 or 30 ccs of fluid from the trauma of the surgery. After the fluid resolved, my result from the lipo was irregular with lumpy scar tissue, and asymmetrical - the exact opposite of the desired result. Dr. J was able to use cortisone extremely skillfully, and conservatively, combined with a new dressing. I received a series of light injections over time. This combined with heavy tissue massage saved me from having a lot of scar tissue and significantly improved the outcome. I cannot recommend Dr. J enough - I was lucky to find him.
I am 54, male. I have never had work done on my eyes, but I was getting dark shadows underneath. I even went to MAC to get concealer. With great apprehension I had Restylane. Surprisingly, it only took 1 syringe, which I think is 1.2cc? I had slight bruising but the next day I had red circles around my eyes where the restylane was place. I was told I would be swollen or possibly bruised for 2 weeks. Well 3 weeks has passed and I am beyond thrilled. I was considering doing a lower eye job, but $550 worth of Restylane filled the depressions beneath my eyes that were creating the shadows. I am extremely satisfied. BUT, I would say the skill of the injector is key.
I went in for a rhinoplasty a few years ago. Not knowing much about plastic surgery at the time, I mainly just wanted my bridge narrowed. He also recommended a chin implant during the consultation so I agreed. Later he called and said he noticed I had a "deformity" and the parenthesis at my tip needed to be reversed. I told him I trusted him and that was that. The grand total was around $17,000. After waiting about a year I realized my bridge was asymmetrical and there was a bump on the left side whereas the right side was more or less straight. It threw off the symmetry of how my nose that attached to the skin of my cheeks on either side. Also had breathing problems. Reversing the "parenthesis" where I never had a problem before with a drooped tip created a kind of beak on one side of my face. One the other side my profile looked alright but you could see the bump from the asymmetry on the bridge. I expressed these concerns at my checkup and Dr John Joseph said he could just "push in the bump" which he did. It immediately came back. Then he was quite rude and said, "If you still don't like it, there are more important things to worry about in life." WTF?? THIS IS MY FACE! Why did I hire you dude? After waiting almost 4 years being self conscious about my nose which I wasn't ever really before, having never had a droopy nose, I decided to go in for a revision rhinoplasty with someone else. During the surgery there was soooooo much scar tissue in my nostrils from my last rhinoplasty and my new surgeon said both sides were deviated. I can breath soooo much better now and when I look in the mirror I feel like a much improved version of my old self!! I cannot believe the utter lack of eye for symmetry Dr John has with such incompetence. He has such a bad attitude as well and doesn't listen to you! Do yourself a favor - do some research and go somewhere else.
John Joseph recommended a chin implant to help with a slightly recessed chin. I had zero previous asymmetry. I was very unhappy to discover after the procedure that the implant was installed crooked, he did not affix the implant properly to the bone and left me with a noticeable deformity. Further, he did not shape the implant to match the contours of my face, but instead just shoved in (crookedly) an off the shelf generic implant with no modification. I brought this to his attention immediately and he suggests that since "it's not too bad" that he doesn't want to fix it. He suggests trying to hide the deformity using injectables. We tried this, it didn't work. What's more, he caused nerve damage which has left half of my mouth partially paralyzed. I pointed this out to him and he claims that this is normal and will go away. It's been a few years and has not resolved. Rather than filing a lawsuit (which I should have done) I gave him the opportunity to correct this. However, he refuses to do this and in fact became quite belligerent. His statement is "nobody will notice it." It is very noticeable if looking closely, and remarkable if you touch it. His response "well, just don't touch it." This is not something I would expect from a facial plastic surgeon. He apparently has no eye for symmetry and does not understand the art that should go into adjusting someone's facial contours. His lack of correcting a gross error on his part and his blatant disregard for his responsibility for his malpractice is shameful. If you seek a caring, compassionate, communicative facial plastic surgeon with a great eye and skill for beauty you really should stay away from John Joseph, M.D. I truly wish I had.