I've had surgery from famous docs in LA, but my recent upper blepharoplasty, vscar removal, cheek lift and chin implant are bar none. Apart from his expertise, Dr. Fante's bedside manner is approachable and warm. My former surgeons were very nice, but they had to consult their notes when they saw me and it is doubtful they knew who I was. Dr. Fante, however, takes a personal approach and it feels like a relative operating on you. Bottom line is I can already see the results, and I am thrilled. I'm healing now, but I'll update with before and after pics.
Had eyelid surgery with Dr Fante and it was amazing! His staff was the best (especially the coordinator). he took his time and did a wonderful job. i am so happy! His surgical skills are amazing and his work really shows. My friends think I look 20 years younger! amazing! Thank you dr fante! You are the best!
Dr Fante is a master but still had a complex job of reconstructing my disfigured features after I initially entrusted my face to an unethical quasi surgeon. I feel lucky and will always feel grateful to Dr Fante for reconstructing my eyelids after going through horrors of facing an unfamiliar, unhealthy, and ugly reflection in the mirror on a daily basis. Dr Fante had to repair ptosis which developed following the first surgery, upper eyelid excision to get rid of crude and uneven incision lines and scaring, and collapsed orbital structure. He also needed to reshape the natural contour of my eyes which was obliterated by the first surgeon. Dr Fante is one of the few oculoplastic surgeons in the country who is highly unlikely to fail a client. He is progressive, highly skilled- a few decades in his specialty, his results are consistent, he is a natural aesthete, he has complexities of facial anatomy in his little finger. He works with authority and confidence, and no vanity. Of course, his intelligence, kindness, and objectivity were also much appreciated. Anything I might add about Dr Fante would be in superlative. PHOTOS 1st Surgery- Weber, Lone Tree 2nd Surgery- Dr Robert Fante, Denver Updated on 5 Mar 2016: Bilateral canthopexy was also part of reconstruction.
I underwent eyelid surgery with Dr Echalier with the hope of correcting a slightly uneven eyelid, but unfortunately, the results were far worse than expected. Instead of improving the symmetry, the procedure left me with a significantly more uneven appearance. I developed ptosis (drooping eyelid) on one side, and there’s a noticeable bulge under my eye that wasn’t there before caused by misplacement of the artificial tissue. The first surgery didn’t fix the issue, so they offered to do a second surgery (which insurance did not cover so I have to pay thousands out of pocket). Sadly, the second procedure only made things worse. They then offered to do a third surgery for free, but after two failed attempts, I didn’t have the confidence to move forward with the same surgeon. I even consulted with Dr. Fante (main surgeon) from the same office, but despite the situation, he wanted to charge me for the full service. At this point, I believe the center should take responsibility for such a poor outcome, instead of continuing to charge patients when they switch surgeons within the same office. While the surgeons were polite and professional in their demeanor, their skills were not up to standard, and this entire experience has been extremely frustrating. I am now facing the possibility of going elsewhere for corrective surgery, which is not only costly but emotionally draining. I regret choosing this clinic and urge anyone considering surgery here to carefully research their options and get multiple consultations before committing.
I had two Ptosis repairs (one bilateral and two on my left eye) with Dr. Fante and I am extremely disappointed with the results. My eyes are still extremely noticablely asymmetrical. Dr. Dante tried to suggest a third surgery, but with the results of the first two I don't think I would trust him with my eyes again.
I typically don't write reviews; I only read them. But, I felt compelled to write a review to this community because it was such a great resource to me when I was considering upper eyelid surgery. Yes, I am that person who spent hundreds of hours watching videos, reading reviews, reading articles, reading journals... anything I could get my hands on to make an "educated" decision about the procedure I was contemplating. And, probably just like many of you, I'd read a good review and feel hope and confidence in my decision, and then I'd read a horrible story about a surgery gone wrong and then I'd be filled with fear and indecision. Back and forth... back and forth. At 42, my upper eyelids had such extensive hooding that my peripheral vision was being affected... in addition to making me look very tired all of the time. If I was only considering the surgery for a cosmetic improvement, I would have waited until my 50s; however, I was tired of having heavy eyes and headaches from the constant raising of my eyebrows to see better. My friends and family all told me that I didn't need the surgery but deep in my heart I knew I couldn't take it any longer. So, I set the appointment and despite all of the reviews that had me excited and then scared and then hopeful and then horrified... I decided I was going to do it and have my own experience and that would be that. It's true that I didn't sleep for two weeks prior to my surgery as my mind was taken over by the "What If's" and now that my surgery is old news (relatively speaking), I will tell you that worrying was a complete waste of energy. I know that’s how I’m built… I’m a worrier, but it really was unnecessary. Many of you read these reviews to understand procedures step-by-step and I will provide a detailed recap so if you are a detail person like I am, you can know what to expect (instead of trying to fill in the gaps in your mind). It is important to note that my surgery was a skin removal only surgery (no fat or muscle was removed). I’m guessing that if more probing and removal of fat and muscle were involved, my experience would have been different. I decided to have my procedure in the doctor’s office and not the surgery center to save on cost, and given how easy it was, I am glad I did. There was absolutely no need for me to have an I.V. or be plugged into monitoring machines. It really is that simple of a procedure. As far as the actual procedure goes, I will tell you that the drugs they gave me prior to surgery were nirvana. If someone would have told me how wonderful the drugs were, I wouldn’t have stressed as much. I am a person who never even takes an aspirin for pain, so the one Promethazine combined with ½ Zanax was enough to make me not care if they were going to shave my head or tattoo my face. My heart was pounding with anxiety for three weeks before I sat in the surgery chair, but once I was in it, I was totally calm. This was the one time I could claim to be a complete advocate of drug usage. ? The doctor discussed the procedure with me, drew the “cut lines” on my eyes, and began the procedure. Surprisingly, the worst part of the surgery for me was at the beginning and not the actual cutting. The three or four numbing shots I received in each eye did hurt. And I am a person who does not mind the needle. But, they really stung. Thankfully, that only lasted a few seconds. Next, the metal shields they put over my eyes to protect them from the laser (my doctor used a laser to do the “cutting” instead of a scalpel) was unnerving. Being that I don’t wear contacts, to have something over my eyes made me feel a bit uncomfortable. And, when they pulled them off (I think it was before they started stitching up the cut), it felt like a suction cup and that perhaps my eyes were going to pop out. Ok, it really wasn’t that bad, but it was an odd experience for me and I wasn’t prepared for it, which added to my distaste for it. The actual cutting was a breeze (no, I didn’t smell my skin burning) and by the time he stitched my eyes up I was so high that I nearly fell asleep. The entire procedure took less than an hour. Easy peasy. Right after surgery my eyes were definitely swollen and a little bruised, but wait… what was that? Eyelids! Wow, I hadn’t seen those in a decade. I was expecting to also see suture lines back and forth, up and down over the incision line on my eyes, but my doctor did some magical subcutaneous stitching so the only actual stiches I saw were at the inside (near my tear duct) and at the outside corner. That was it. Of course the stitch line was red and a little raised (due to the stitching and my skin being angry) but that was easily hidden in my new eyelid crease. Brilliant. The next day I was of course still swollen and bruised, but the bruising maintained above my eyes and in the outside corners (where the blood pooled at bit) – no black eyes at all as I was told to expect. I couldn’t believe how fast I was healing and within 48 hours of surgery, I was at a local restaurant for a social event and nobody could tell I had eye surgery (even with the little stitches at the corner of my eye). They thought I just had some bad makeup on. Crazy. It is now four days and a few hours post-surgery, and I am still amazed at how quickly my eyes are healing. I don’t get the stitches out for a few more days and I know it will take some time for the scars to fade, but overall I am very surprised and pleased. Recovery has really been a breeze. There is a little tightness on top of the eyes for the first few days (to be expected) but the pain was only a 1 or 2 on a scale of 10. My eyelids are still a little numb, and I’m told it takes a while for the nerve endings to reconnect, so that can be standard for a while. Not a show stopper, although touching your eye lashes and not “feeling” them is a bit odd. Still, no biggie in the big scheme of things. I apologize that I can’t post pictures but I’m incognito (most of my friends and clients don’t even know I had the procedure, and I want to keep it that way). I do want to stress that I followed all pre-care instructions and post-care instructions TO THE BOOK. I took all of the natural remedies that my doctor's office suggested to help with bruising and swelling (Bromelain, Arnica Montana, and Bio Rutin complex). I avoided all medications that they told me to avoid. I slept upright and applied the ointment as directed. I avoided exercise (I miss my cross fit box) and didn’t clean the toilets (eye infections are a bad deal and I wanted to make sure I avoided all situations where germy-germs could be introduced). I do believe following these suggestions helped me to have a positive outcome. I realize that my experience is my own, and I don’t want to set expectations that everyone’s experience will be as easy, but I did want to share my story in the hopes of providing someone with helpful information and a positive review that may give them hope for their procedure. If you have questions, please message me. Be well!
Depending on your facial structure, age, and sun damage, these wrinkles can be a challenging problem. Recall that normal aging involves all the layers of your face: the skin loses elasticity, collagen, color uniformity, and firmness, the fat pads underneath descend (and sometimes diminish) and aren’t there for support, muscle thickness and tone diminish, the tendons and supportive connective tissue weaken, and the bone structure also changes, again reducing support. This sounds scary when we discuss it all at once, but fortunately these processes are happening very slowly and some are less important than others for particular individuals. You can see why comprehensive rejuvenation might involve treatment at multiple levels. But to get to you in particular, it is great that the Botox helped for the crows feet, and it makes sense that it didn’t help certain issues such as skin laxity and sagging of your eyebrow and cheek fat pads. You would notice short-term improvement from treatments that tighten the skin, such as radiofrequency (Pelleve, Thermage), or chemical/laser peels. Conservative filler or fat grafting just under the eyebrow and at the outer cheek would also help. For longer-lasting improvement, you’d be a candidate for minimally invasive surgery: expertly performed endoscopic eyebrow lift, endoscopic cheek lift, upper eyelid blepharoplasty, and/or lower eyelid blepharoplasty could each have a role. Obviously your tolerance for down-time, risks, and financial concerns would all be important factors in deciding which options make the most sense. Good luck in finding an experienced cosmetic physician in your community who can offer you a wide range of alternatives.
Unfortunately, Botox is still one of your best options. Platysma muscle surgery would provide much longer lasting improvement but you’re right that you are young for this and your neck skin is not particularly lax. Other additive non-invasive alternatives such as peels or radiofrequency or ultrasound tightening might improve the overall appearance of your neck but would not eliminate the bands themselves, which have probably started earlier in life than usual as a consequence of your genetics. Finally massage or yoga to relax the platysma muscles might be helpful if you can find the right person in your community to guide you.
Great question. CoolSculpting targets the fat under the skin for elimination and doesn’t change the anatomy or function of the other tissues in the neighborhood, including skin, muscle, nerves, and blood vessels. As a consequence, once the fat layer is reduced, it is possible that the skin may sag slightly. For most people, this still looks better than they did before.
The good news for you is that 2 minutes may have been enough. Although we don’t really know the ideal amount of post-treatment massage, the only published medical journal article that looked scientifically at the question used 2 minutes of massage. (Boey GE, Wasilenchuk JL. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 2014.) Among their 10 patients, they massaged one side for 2 minutes and didn’t massage the other side at all. The massaged side had 44% better reduction in fat 4 months later, as measured by ultrasound. Interestingly, the difference between the two sides was even greater (68%) at 2 months. This may indicate that the massage accelerates the fat loss in the early healing period. In medicine, more is not always better (for example, think of prescription drugs where the right dose makes you well and too much can make you sicker than you were before) and right now we don’t know if 10 minutes of massage is better than 2 minutes. So don’t “freak out”, because your treatment was right at the current scientific standard!
It is always a good idea to closely follow your surgeon’s directions, and I’ll probably repeat what he or she has told you. Ice packs or cold compresses are helpful for the first 36 hours (while you’re awake: twenty minutes on, forty minutes off), and then alternating warm and cold compresses are recommended four times a day. If you can, sleep with your head elevated on some extra pillows or a wedge, or in a reclining chair. Avoid strenuous exercise, avoid high salt foods, and give your body the rest and nutrition it needs to recover. For unusually dramatic swelling, see your surgeon to make sure there isn’t a problem such as an infection or fluid collection under the skin such as a hematoma (blood) or seroma (serum) that require urgent treatment. Assuming that none of those things are happening, your surgeon might recommend a short course of oral steroid pills, acupuncture, or lymphatic massage. In my practice, we work closely with acupuncturists and post-surgical massage specialists. I’ve also had success using an off-label combination of two prescription anti-oxidants, niacin and allopurinol, taken orally for two weeks.
