Horrible! I don’t want anyone to feel the way I feel right now.

My experience with Dr. Toledo was disastrous. I’ve made a lot of bad decisions in my life but choosing him for plastic surgery was by far one of my worst. In fact, even writing about the experience is difficult as it brings back a lot of bad memories and painful emotions.

I continually kick myself and question my own sanity for choosing a doctor who is so overtly rude, disrespectful, and arrogant. He told me on numerous occasions that he was the “best” PS in Dallas. And after the procedure, he totally ignored my concerns and told me that his work was “perfect” and that I should be happy that at least I didn’t end up with “nerve damage” like other plastic surgery patients. He literally yelled at me and said to “just go get a revision from someone”. His inflated ego, disregard for patients, and arrogant attitude is evidently well-known in the industry. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this out until after the surgery.

But, his poor reputation might explain why he has no waiting list. I was literally able to get a consultation on the same day and I had my choice of numerous surgery dates. His calendar was wide open.

Dr. Toledo’s office itself was straight from the 1980s. I felt like I walked into an episode of Miami Vice. The exam rooms weren’t any better. They were outdated, dark, musty, and windowless. The narrow hallways were empty. There were only 3 other people on staff: Esther the patient care coordinator, Sylvia the technician/assistant, and then another gal. The practice definitely wasn’t thriving and its HIPAA compliance seemed questionable. They literally forwarded me another patient’s email message that included personal information and several pictures of the patient. So much for confidentiality, right?

The procedure itself was horrible. When I arrived at the surgery center (which is attached to Dr. T's office) at 7 am they rushed me into the tiny consultation room where I was asked to put on the TED hose (that I had to purchase myself). In the middle of pulling up one of the stockings, the doctor arrived and then chaos ensued. It’s as though all the other staff members panic at his mere presence. He immediately insisted on taking some pictures (even though they had already taken some during my consultation) under a bright interrogation-type light. So with one stocking only halfway on I stumbled over to the “photo booth”. He ordered me into different poses and at one point became angry because I wasn’t “relaxing” my “eyebrows”. I kept trying, but evidently, my brows lift naturally. So he literally came over and pushed my brows down and held them there until right before his assistant snapped the photo.

After the pics, they gave me a cocktail of about 7 pills (I have no idea what they were) and started the anesthesia. The next thing I remember I was waking up in the cold recovery suite. It was merely another surgical room, with white floors, white walls, no windows, and painfully bright overhead fluorescent lights. I couldn’t move any part of my body. I was paralyzed, but yet shivering from the cold. I was also extremely nauseous. They had “forgotten” to affix the scaloppine patch (anti-nausea) prior to the surgery.

I laid there terrified by the fact that I couldn’t move and I couldn’t talk. This went on for over 12 hours. During that time I was extremely dehydrated. But, I couldn’t even lift my head or swallow so the nurse had to drip little drops of water into my mouth. I also began throwing-up but couldn’t lift my head. My young adult daughters came to see me later that day and were so horrified by my condition that one of them became nauseous and ran to the bathroom. The other begged the nurse to get me some help. I literally looked like I was dead.

The experience left all of us with symptoms of PTSD. We can barely talk about the memories, even writing about them has been difficult. And then to add to the trauma was the attitude of the doctor. I didn’t see him until the next morning at which time I was finally able to move some of my limbs, barely. But my head felt like the weight of a bowling ball. I could hardly lift it without feeling like my neck was going to collapse. But the nurse propped me up in the chair in preparation for the doctors arrival.

Dr. T demonstrated such a lack of regard or empathy that it makes my stomach churn thinking about it. He spent maybe 3 minutes with me and during that short time he didn’t ask how I was or how I was feeling. Instead, he insisted that I touch my neck to feel the smoothness. At this point, I could barely lift my arms. He became angry and grabbed my hand and pushed it towards my neck.

Once I left the surgical center my recovery progressed without any major issues. On day 7 the tech removed my stitches while Dr. T took a quick 2-second glimpse from the doorway. My drains were also removed that day. The drains ran under the skin horizontally across my eyebrows and then one ran across my neck. When they were removed, they left indentions and bulges. This is probably why most plastic surgeons today only leave the drains in for 24 hours.

Around week 3, I started getting horrible migraine-type pain underneath my eyebrows, in the exact location where the drain had left indentions. I’ve never had a migraine before so I can only assume this is what one feels like. I was nauseous, sensitive to light, and in pain. This lasted in varying degrees for several weeks. Tylenol didn’t seem to help and I can’t take pain medication because it makes me nauseous.

Towards the end of the second month, as my swelling began to subside, I started to feel regret. My face looked worse than before. My jowls, or the little pockets of fat next to my mouth, were still there and my neck was no longer smooth from the swelling. Instead, it was as wrinkled, if not more wrinkled than before. The horizontal lines were also definitely more prominent. My heart sank. These were my biggest areas of concern. And they were left unchanged. My forehead lift left my brows uneven. One brow was at least 1/2 inches higher than the other. And besides that, the winkles were returning to my forehead. My scalp still had several bald patches from where the incisions were made. And much to my dismay, it became apparent that Dr. T had also taken the fat from underneath my cheekbones, even though I was adamant about him not doing so.

I begin to have flashbacks from the consultation when he picked up a brochure from off the table and pointed to the model on the cover and said he was going to make my cheeks look like hers but “just not as anorexic”. I abruptly told him that the only place that I wanted fat removed was from the pockets right next to my mouth. Obviously, he ignored my wishes. And now here I am with hollowed-out cheeks that me look older than my age.

At 6 months post-surgery I look worse than I did before. My cheeks are hollow, my fat pockets next to my mouth are still there, my neck is still wrinkled but now looks deformed, and one eyebrow is higher than the other. I am still totally numb on the crown of my head and on my entire left ear. I also have huge indentions all over my scalp as a result of the sutures. And I now need Botox for forehead wrinkles despite having a forehead lift.

Every day is a day of regret. I am a single mom who saved up for years for this procedure. I knew that I would only get one shot at this. So, I chose someone who was more expensive than the other plastic surgeons because I thought he would give me the best results. But instead, he left me looking worse and feeling emotionally defeated and traumatized.

I don’t want anyone to feel the way I feel right now. This is why I, at the urging of others, have written this review. I would appreciate any input, suggestions, or guidance from readers. Please also let me know if you have any questions. I have compiled a long list of what to ask and what to look for in a plastic surgeon.