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BFT Disfigured

ORIGINAL POST

BFT — Disfigured

_Kasandra_
$12,860
This is a terribly difficult review to write so I've decided to keep it short since it's taken me over a year to take this first step, I’ll follow up in depth at a later date - please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly for questions or just a chat.
I'm not comfortable breaching my own physical confidentiality but the photos of the results say most of what I'm going to say, I'm here to confirm the effects of Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva are lasting. I have stopped wearing tight clothing, it's almost impossible for me to wear a bikini and think comfortably about booking a sunny vacation.This journey has been tough, since having the surgery with Dr. Taghva I have now undergone 1 of the recommended 4 revision procedures, at my own expense.This review speaks directly to the care of Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva. I found her team caring & helpful throughout the procedure, however this did change when the situation became protective of Dr Goretti.Since showing the results on the donor areas to Dr. Taghva 3 months after surgery, I was met with no acknowledgement and some strange claims and suggestions in consultation, I felt ignored and after a long time chasing her that's when I received the “Release of Claims”—where she offered her professional fees in exchange for not leaving a review.Over liposuctioned areas are hard if not impossible to correct, out of 4 doctors I found only 1 that would take my case.Please consider this when choosing your provider, positive reviews do not tell the whole story.

_Kasandra_'s provider

Goretti Ho Taghva, MD, FACS

Goretti Ho Taghva, MD, FACS

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

4.8 | 180 Reviews
PROFILE

_Kasandra_ rating for Dr. Taghva:

Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
Staff professionalism & courtesy
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Replies (5)

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March 31, 2021
Thank you for leaving this important review. I'm so sorry. You have beautiful skin and I hope a Dr can help.
March 31, 2021
Thank you Alissa. It's 'funny' because one of the excuses she said is that my skin wasn't good...she never mentioned that in the consultation pre-surgery. Also the other 4 doctors I went to see for revision agreed I was a really good candidate for lipo because of the quality of my skin.
March 20, 2022
Is there any way you can share afters from DR. Mats?
March 31, 2021
Oh my God! First of all, I am SO sorry this happened to you. I understand very well how you feel because this same doctor also disfigured me. I was also met with excuses and no acknowledgment. She also tried to get me to sign something shady so I wouldn't leave a bad review. Thank you for being brave to share your experience. If you read this, please DM me.
April 1, 2021
I'm so sorry you went through the same, it's painful emotionally and physically, I still cry and feel terrible at times. I'm lucky enough I found a surgeon with a deep knowledge and many years of experience in lipo and fat transfer. My first revision went better than expected and I will be doing my second with him, I wish I had chosen him for my BFT but I felt more comfortable with a woman surgeon. Dr. Goretti Taghva knows how to promote herself very well and she charges for an expertise she doesn't have. I hope you are feeling better.
March 31, 2021
I'm so sorry you went through the same, it's painful emotionally and physically, I still cry and feel terrible at times. I'm lucky enough I found a surgeon with a deep knowledge and many years of experience in lipo and fat transfer. My first revision went better than expected and I will be doing my second with him, I wish I had chosen him for my BFT but I felt more comfortable with a woman surgeon. Dr. Goretti Taghva knows how to promote herself very well and she charges for an expertise she doesn't have. I hope you are feeling better.
March 31, 2021
I'm really sorry for your experience. The term "disfigured" is often used all too lightly, but I think in your case you it is spot on. She clearly removed FAR too much fat in numerous areas, so either she is completely incapable when it comes to liposuction or, and this is even worse, utterly careless! Especially given that she doesnt seem to acknowledge the bad result as her fault. I really hope that you find a liposuction revision specialist who can minimize some of the defects. It seems to me that some of these dents can only be evened out with some fat transfer. So I'm not surprised that youve found it difficult to find a surgeon willing and up to the task. All the very best!!
April 1, 2021
TBH, what hurt me the most wasn't how disfigured she left me, but how she treated me...completely careless, she already had my money and I was of no interest.
I'm lucky I found him, my first revision has significantly reduced the severity of the damage she did on my body... I still wish I could go back and undo my surgery with Dr. Goretti Taghva but I do feel much better than before my revision.
May 2, 2021
Who did you go to for the revision?
May 3, 2021
I just replied to your DM.
April 1, 2021
Thank you for writing this review. I, too, have been a victim of Dr. Taghva careless diagnosing and have had to live through a nightmare. I've been thinking of writing a review about my case. This doctor is unskilled and has ruined lives without taking any kind of accountability. Each follow-up has been met with excuses from my experience. I wish you well in your revision with the new doctor.
April 1, 2021
Follow up are useless and even uncomfortable, she will say anything to avoid admitting any fault, she ended up saying I should have expected these results. She also recommended Sculptra and said with age and/or pregnancy those areas will fill again...I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I wrote this review so people would be better informed when choosing a surgeon. It was not easy for me to post pics but that's the only way to tell the story...I don't want anyone else to go through the same, it's a nightmare. I wish I had posted this review sooner but I wasn't in the right place emotionally or mentally...still struggling but my first revision made me feel better, thankfully.
UPDATED FROM _Kasandra_
2 years post

Ghosted, gaslighted, victim-blamed

_Kasandra_
After almost 3 years I'm still suffering the consequences of having Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva perform this procedure on me.

I've had 2 revisions with 2 different surgeons and despite now being in good hands, I still don't want to show my legs or wear tight clothes. It has impacted my emotional being and limited my activities. It has impacted me financially too—I've spent almost $30k to bring my body as close to normal as possible plus what I paid Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva to leave me disfigured and I still need 1-2 more revisions. Dr. Taghva never took any responsibility, she only offered to pay back part of her fees in exchange of my silence by signing a Release of Claims— if I had accepted, I wouldn't have been able to write a review to warn other future patients/victims.

Ironically I chose Dr. Taghva not only for the brilliant reviews shown in this site, but also for being a woman. I know not all women and not all men are the same, but I felt more comfortable with a female surgeon doing this procedure on my body, I trusted her, I believed she would have empathy but instead she took advantage just for her own financial benefit.

The 1st week I realised how over lipoed my right thigh was, Goretti said she would lipo my left thigh more if I wanted to, so it would look more symmetrical. I really thought it was swelling so I decided to give it time, I never imagined my legs would end up like this.

GHOSTED
The botched results of lipo were obvious after 3 months and that's when I contacted dr. Goretti, she ignored my e-mails for months so I ended up contacting her receptionist.

GASLIGHTED
Dr. Goretti ended up replying to my e-mail implying these results and my contour were normal, and massage and tight leggings would help. Seeing my disfigured thighs I couldn't agree with her so I needed a serious talk as massage or tight leggings don't bring fat back.

VICTIM-BLAMED
We ended up scheduling a video chat for the next 2 weeks. She suddenly was too busy when she hadn't been before...I told her I wanted to speak sooner, I was able to do so the day after.

Basically in this meeting she said these were the normal results of BFT procedure and that it was me who chose to undergo this procedure, she didn't force me... yes, "I didn't force you" were her exact words, very professional. This implies the disfigurement is my fault, how is it my fault when she advertises herself and chooses to perform a procedure where she obviously lacks the skills and the experience to do so?

Please, if you are considering dr. Goretti to perform any type of procedure on you, check her Yelp page. If the yelp had been like it currently is when I was looking for information, I would have NEVER trust her with my body. I also know of other botched patients who wrote reviews on Google and they were deleted 24 h later.

Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva is not only an unexperienced surgeon who also lacks skills and empathy, she also overcharges. My revisions surgeons charged me way less even though they have double the experience and way more skills in liposuction and fat transfer...plus revisions are always more complicated than the first revision. If you are looking for a procedure that involves a fat transfer I recommend you look for the surgeons who are experts in revisions.

Replies (3)

February 5, 2023
Thank you for leaving this review. I’m so sorry you had to go through not only the physical anguish, but the mental anguish caused by the Dr and staff after doing this to you and leaving you hanging like this.
February 5, 2023
Shame on her, can you post your revision updates?
February 7, 2023
Good for you not signing the release and not taking the money! A lot of women took the money and deleted their reviews, which to me is a sin! Had you seen these bad reviews, you wouldn't be in the state you are now. To anyone who gets botched then deletes their "review" in place of money: Shame on you!
February 8, 2023
I don't think we should be blaming them, the only person responsible is Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva.
Revision work is very pricy and anyone left disfigured may need 3 or more revisions, of course having some of the money back helps, the amount of money is significant because Goretti overcharges too. Dr.Goretti Ho Taghva knows all of this so she takes advantage of it to silence her victims and keep making money with new ones.
December 10, 2024
I don’t think it’s helpful to shame each other. Shame is what brought a lot of us under the knife. Shame keeps us quiet and it also keeps us divided. This is a desperate situation to be in. No one should be in this situation and have to make that choice.