Nashielli Torres Espinosa Chiu, MD

This was my first experience with facial surgery, and the doctor more than exceeded my expectations. The results are AMAZING!! I couldn’t be happier.

As an international patient with limited Spanish, I felt completely safe and confident with my decision. She is warm and caring, and her team went above and beyond to ensure I was comfortable and had a safe recovery.

She was recommended to me by an acquaintance, and for this I will be eternally grateful. The bruising and swelling subsided dramatically after one week, and almost completely disappeared after about ten days. I am nearly two months post-op at this point, and am amazed by how refreshed I look.

Thank you, Dr. Nashielli!

I am writing this review on day 28 post op. There is so much to share, I hope it all fits in the limited space.
After thorough internet research and conversations with woman who’d had a facelift in US and three dermatologists (one with Beverly Hills patients who referred me to Real Self), I chose Nashielli because of her focused practice—facelifts only—the before/after pics, and her reviews.
Let me begin by sharing three most outstanding features that might be of concern to Americans considering Medical Tourism.
1) The hospital in which she practices is partnered with the Mayo Clinic...top technology and training. It is more sophisticated (modern), organized, coordinated, and cleaner than any U.S. hospital I have been in. The care from everyone with whom she works are all strongly skilled, personable, and caring. I do speak Spanish, but English speakers are always available no matter where you are. I heard from everyone, “Patients are most important!” and their actions are proof.
2) The communication and coordination between Nashielli and all who work with her (her supportive assistant, hospital staff, and recovery house) for patient care is astounding! I have never experience this direct and responsive communication and coordination in U.S. (except for a friend under traumatic brain injury care).

3) Nashielli (doc’s first name that everyone uses) coordinates recovery care with Galicia House. Emma (business owner/operator and fluent bilingual speaker) exemplifies the TLC that benefits every patient with skilled care, warmth, and sincerity; three meals/day; private bedroom en suite (4 in the house); shared space; and transportation (with her friendly “tour guide” husband, Luis). The house is located in a safe area and near a mall to pass time (after day 5 or so). Having other patients in the surgical recovery house is also supportive.

What you can expect under Nashielli’s care:
~ Email responsiveness, organization, and clarity (English is excellent) is superb.
~ Zoom appointments as you need them (pre and post).
~ Thoroughness and follow through with medical history. [Because of my recent and untreated high blood pressure, she requested that I send EKG and echo cardiogram results to her; sharing with her cardiologist teammate before surgery. Also, Nashielli’s team coordinated pre and post op appointments with cardiologist. Side note: cardio also goes by her first name and is equally sincere.]
~ Recovery at Galicia House: You contract independently but it is coordinated with Nashielli’s availability. You’ll need at least a week (10 days is more beneficial). Know that, you will not be able to return to anything near your “normal” at home until two to three weeks.
~ Price: 1/3 of U.S. costs for care that is far superior!

To demonstrate what you might anticipate, I offer a walk through of my experience: It is important to keep in mind that every patient’s experience is different. You’ll read about mine below, but the other patients in the recovery house had different experiences/stories to share.
* Pre op (day before surgery): Because I stayed at Galicia with Emma, she coordinated all appts and Luis took me, accompanied me, and translated as needed. Very comforting and trustworthy coordination.
Nashielli, very warm and comforting, explained all, encouraged questions, and took fotos. Cardiologist appt: also warm and caring (Luis accompanied me to ensure my Spanish understanding) included thorough medical history; took EKG and since my BP had dropped to within normal range, she decided to monitor (not medicate) during surgery. I appreciate the caution to medicate unnecessarily.
Late afternoon, Luis accompanied me to check into hospital for early morning surgery. Private hospital room, calm and friendly skilled care. I suggest you bring your phone with translation app if you don’t speak English (but staff use theirs as well). All meals are healthy and fresh (unlike U.S.).

* Surgery: Relaxing and friendly atmosphere. I was greeted by her team (additional surgeon) and then got wheeled into operating room. All was quite easy going.
* Recovery: Nashielli’s assistant checked in on me and offered and texted my daughter to say that I was in recovery. All meds are administered through hospital stay and then pharmacy after first post op appt. (on day 3).
* My head (around hairline and neck) was wrapped very securely (to limit swelling). I had no pain at surgical sites, but the compression wrap was quite painful on my ears, and strained muscles hurt for several days (muscle relaxant were prescribed immediately and for 10 days). I slept in recliner, not the bed (it hurt to move my head at all). Reading books, watching TV, and researching guided tours were my pastimes.
* Post op: I slept as I could — day and night. Emma was always available for my concerns, and questions. If she couldn’t answer them, she relayed them directly to Nashielli and received answers promptly. Impressive!
* Day 3: Appt with Nashielli to remove compression bandage and examine sutures, discuss concerns, etc. I’m sure she offered info about suture care (ointments, creams), but I didn’t register the info and later on I neglected to follow up. But I encourage you to do so.
* Day 7: Nashieli removed eye lid stitches and supported my concerns, questions and took photos. Her warm hearted assistant gave me a lymphatic massage (to reduce swelling and relax muscles in face and neck...heavenly!) When I left this last appt with Nashielli, I felt that I was leaving a newly found friend; sharing hugs was sincere. A follow up appt with cardiologist took place next.
* My sleep was disruptive until I got home on day 24. I had booked a hotel for my last 7 days (left recovery house on day 11) and took guided tours and dined with wonderful foods over Christmas time.
* Day 10: Because eye lid stitches and swelling was gone (cheeks and chin were still swollen— looking overweight. My ears and sutures behind them were quite tender), I ventured into public...in hat and sunglasses! Guadalajara is sunny all year long.
Without asking for instructions (my bad), I began to apply ointment to my sutures. Other patients in recovery house applied ointments earlier.
* Day 18: Sutures were softer and began to fall off under chin, lower ears, and neck.
* Day 23 (after holidays): Nashielli emailed to ask about my recovery and make appt for a zoom follow up (on day 32).

Comments: Remember that every patient’s experience is different. The most painful part for me was the side muscles in my neck, but no one else mentioned this extreme pain. Swelling does subside over time (on day 28 I still have some at my jowls and neck); numbness across my neck and into my ears is still present (since surgery).

In conclusion, after doing your research and deciding to work with Nashielli, trust that you are in expert and caring hands...from Nashielli to everyone on her team. Let your concerns go by the wayside and focus on allowing yourself to heal. You will “look mahvelous, dahlink!”

I had an amazing experience! She is a very professional surgeon, I love how she explains every detail, her assistant Magda she was great assisted me to all my needs of care, I'm starting to see results. I'm very happy with seeing my results

I was hesitant at first to travel out of the country for a procedure, but after researching Dr. Nashielli Torres and reading good reviews, I was encouraged by what I saw. She has exceeded my expectations and I was impressed with her work. She is a doctor that listened to my needs and cares. I'm very grateful to her and her staff.

I'm 12 days out from my face and neck lift and I couldn't be happier. I was so appreciative of everyone in the practice. Lori kept the communications completely open and I never felt like I couldn't reach out with a question. I knew exactly what to expect every step of the way. Magda is an absolute sweetheart and was made me feel very comfortable, even though my Spanish is not good! Dra. is not only a talented surgeon, but an artist as well. She has really good taste, and treats you wholistically. The look that she creates is natural. When I look in the mirror, I just see a younger me, not a 60 year old with a facelift. I especially appreciate the work she did on/around my eyes.

I'll add that the advice I received from Lori about travel plans was extremely helpful. I don't think that there is a single thing that I'd change about this experience.

I'm 53. Jowls had begun - the beginning of the aging droop. After doing AirSculpt in January of this year (you can read my positive review here), I felt inspired to do something a little more drastic. The cost in the US, though, for an excellent surgeon, is cost prohibitive, so I began to look into medical tourism. I'm so glad I did because I found Dr. Nashielli. She is a true artist who cares deeply about the quality of her work and her patients. Let me start with that part because her team was a huge part of why this was such a good experience. A wonderful expat - Lori - works as her cruise director (best way to describe her). English is Lori's first language, so she was always there on every call and every visit to make sure the translation was clear. She also takes you everywhere you need to go in the hospital - for the pre-op tests, etc. - and coordinates with the caregivers so you're always cared for and comfortable. She checked in constantly to see if I needed anything.

Then, the caretakers - this is optional, but highly recommended. Dr. Nashielli and Lori work closely with this beautiful, lovely couple Emma and Luis. Emma has a business where she houses, feeds, and cares for people doing medical tourism. Luis, her husband, drove me to every appointment and even to the airport at 3am and made sure I was completely set before leaving. They are wonderful, special people. I can't say enough good about them. It's not so often you meet people whose hearts are this big and who I honestly was sad to say goodbye to when I left. I consider them my friends now (Lori too!) and next time I'm in Guadalajara, I'll spend time with them for sure. Anyway, I stayed in the apartment on their property (they also have a recovery house with rooms and private bathrooms). Emma brought me three meals a day, ice water to use for swelling, and lots and lots of tea. I basically stayed in bed and worked on my computer and watched movies and TV shows for the ten days I was there.

Now for the surgery: maybe this seems naive, but I don't think I truly understood what I was getting into until the day of the surgery. Luis helped me check into the hospital and stayed with me in my room until the nurse arrived to prep me for surgery. I had become quite nervous at this point, but everyone was so kind, which helped. They rolled me up to the OR waiting area. Dr. Nashielli came to say hello and introduced me to the nurse who would be assisting her and the guapo anesthesiologist. I was like, hi there, doctor anesthesiologist. I know you're about to see the inside of my face, but just remember that in about a month I'm going to be stunning *wink wink*. They rolled me again into the OR, Dr. Anesthesiologist gave me those sweet sweet drugs, and I was out. Apparently, the surgery took 6 hours! But if you've ever had surgery, you know that you go to sleep, and next thing you know you wake up to them saying your name and telling you they're done.

Something I really admired about Dr Nashielli is she cared about real, natural beauty. She has a couple pieces of art in her office that are Picasso-esque as a way to represent the fact that she honors that human faces are naturally asymmetrical. Did I take a photo of one of the pieces of art and send it to my friends back home - who were worried about me - and say they were real life photos of her patients post-facelift? You know I did. I also sent a photo of a troll after the surgery and wrote, "She's a miracle worker!" Har har, they said. This didn't calm their concern.

After the surgery, your face is wrapped, Goodnight Mommy style. And they wrapped my stomach because she takes fat from your stomach area and puts fat into numerous spots on your face! I was so happy about that. I have like no wrinkles now! I asked her if she could take *all* the fat from my stomach and put it anywhere else, but she said six hours of surgery was enough. As they rolled me back to my room for recovery, I was fluent in Spanish. Apparently, I'm fluent in Spanish when on drugs. I need to remember that.

This is where the photos come in. The first one is the Goodnight Mommy photo - same day as the surgery. You have to sleep sitting up, but at some point in the night a nurse came in and injected some sort of amazing drug - morphine? dilaudid? Oxy? No clue, but while it was meant to help me sleep, I tried hard to stay awake so I could enjoy how freaking good I felt. Speaking of drugs, Luis took me to the pharmacy before the day of my surgery to get all my prescriptions - anti-inflammatories, anti-biotic, pain reliever, stuff like that. You can get a lot of stuff there, too, that doesn't require a prescription, such as Tramadol, of which I bought a bunch. I used it to help me sleep during my recovery, and I also brought a bunch home.

The photos span three weeks. I was verrrry swollen, but I didn't have a ton of bruising. The first week I didn't recognize myself in the mirror. Also, I had to wait 6 days to get the disgusting drain out. Once it was out, I started taking short walks, but I tired easily and still took naps pretty much every day. Three weeks later, there is only one spot on my neck that is still a little swollen. The stitches are almost completely dissolved. Parts of my neck and ears are still kind of numb and tight but nothing like when my face was double in size from the swelling. I feel like I'm seeing the real results. I was told it takes 6 months for full results, which means I'll only be happier over time.

I had a face lift, neck lift, and upper & lower eye lid lift (blepharoplasty) done by Dr. Nashielli just over 6 weeks ago. The entire experience went very smoothly and I couldn't be happier with my decision. Dr. Nashielli is not only a talented surgeon, but she is a very sweet, gentle, and caring person.

The same could be said about Lori, her assistant, who is also extremely organized and helpful. She attended my pre-op appointments with me - jumping in to help translate whenever needed. And, she checked on me in the hospital and afterwards when I was at the recovery house.

Emma, who owns and operates the recovery house, was another extremely caring and competent person. She prepared great food, checked on everyone, and was always ready to jump in and take care of any issues that came up.

Overall, the entire experience went very smoothly and I was well taken care of. I would recommend Dr. Nashielli to anyone seeking to do cosmetic surgery - especially any facial work. People tell me that my results look completely natural - I just look 10-15 years younger.

I researched facial plastic surgeons for *3 years* as I saved money for the procedure (facelift, bleph, neck). Dr. Nashielli is the one I kept coming back to, and after my initial consultation I was sure I'd made the right decision. I can't stress how important it is to get someone that specializes in facial surgery to perform surgery on your face. Dr. Nashielli is kind, intelligent, really cares about you, and never makes you feel rushed.

I'm so happy with my results! I'm a month post-op and everything's looking really good. I still have a tiny bit of swelling, but for me the bruising completely resolved in a couple of weeks. I look like the "me" I always think of until I looked in the mirror. I was most worried about my eyes possibly looking strange, but again, they look like the former me.

Like many have stated, the hospital is a beautiful world class facility with a wonderful staff. Lori is amazingly helpful at holding your hand through all the pre- and post-op (as well as helping me get in touch with someone great to cut my hair (-; Thanks Lori!) The receptionist, Magda, was kind enough to try to help me figure out a transportation issue. I had my husband with me so didn't use the recovery center, but you definitely need someone the first few days.

Thanks to the whole Nashielli team, and the wonderful hospital staff!

After much research and surgeries it was truly a blessing to find Dr.Nashielli.. she is not only beautiful outside but inside as well.. she transformed my face with lower facelift and lip lift. She took excess skin and took 10-15 years off my face.. she is friendly, efficient and professional. The hospital is world class and aftercare is incredible.. I cannot thank her enough..

You are an amazing surgeon.... With such care!
Thanks for transforming my face too the way it use too look 15 years ago .
We Loved Guadalajara Mexico and the hospital were we stayed in. Such a beautiful area .
Healing fast
Sammy
Canada