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POSTED UNDER Facelift Reviews

Botched Mid-Facelift, Lower Eyelid Blepharoplasty, and Fat Grafting - Guadalajara, MX

UPDATED FROM raashuri

over 3 Years Post Surgery - The Left Side of My Face is Still NUMB

$4,100
I still can't feel the left side of my face three years after this surgery. This was indeed a botched surgery by Dr. Guerrerosantos. I really regret choosing this doctor out of so many in Guadalajara. He must have performed the surgery in a hurry, and didn't care since I don't live in Mexico, where I could easily go for follow-ups. If you're an intentional patient, I'd recommend you avoid this doctor. I hope this post helps someone out there. Good luck to all.

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I wanted to wait until my face is completely healed before writing a review to make sure it's an accurate one. It's been almost two years (23 months), and the left side of my face is still numb, which leads me to believe that this was a botched surgery. I'll first start with the good things about my experience with Dr. Fernando Guerrerosantos. - He's a very nice person with great bedside manners. - He's fluent in English. - His office helps with accommodation and transportation. - The hospital where he operates is topnotch. Better than any hospital I've been to in the USA. Everything was brand new. The nurses were wonderful, kind and very helpful. They really took good care of me. - Transportation: Jose, my driver during my stay in Guadalajara, was nice. The communication with him was a little challenge, but he really tries to speak English and he was always reliable and available whenever I needed him. - Accommodation: OMG, I loved where I stayed at Emma's guesthouse. Emma is a wonderful person with a good heart and a good family. She, and her family, are all fluent in English, so the communication was perfect. I looooved Emma. She's a wonderful cook, and she'll make you whatever you like. As a vegan, I thought I'd face challenges -- not with Emma. She completely removed all animal products from the delicious dishes she made for me, and I enjoyed my daily fresh fruits for breakfast. I happen to be there during Christmas. Had Christmas dinner with Emma and her family, and we also had nice chats and walks. They really make you feel like family. Emma lives in a nice Guadalajara neighborhood, so going out for walks after your surgery was an enjoyable activity (of course once the doctors says it's OK to do so). Emma must be an angel. I'm sure she's hiding her wings somewhere. I can't say enough good things about her. Now let's get to business and to why I'm very unhappy with the results: I wanted to have a full facelift, but Dr. Guerrerosantos mentioned that due to my relatively young age, mid-facelift would suffice. He also recommended to have fat grafting, where fat is removed from my chin and injected around my mouth in the laugh lines. In addition, to fix my lower eyelid wrinkles, he recommended blepharoplasty. - After the surgery, you will feel numbed, which is normal, but the numbness subsides as you heal. Unfortunately, after 23 months, the left side of my face is still numb while the right side and the chin are back to having normal sensations. The last time I updated Dr. Guerrerosantos on my recovery process, he told me that the numbness can last up to 18 months. I remained patient, but after almost 2 full years, this can't be normal, especially when the rest of my face is having normal sensation. - In terms of improvement: NOTHING has improved. Shortly after the surgery, I looked better than how I look right now, but my face was still swollen. Now after it has completely healed, I can see the same wrinkles, same lines and the same eyelid wrinkles. The blepharoplasty didn’t make any change. - It's worth to mention that after I healed my face is no longer symmetric. The right side looks sunken, while the left side (the numb side) is rounder. - The fat grafting (removing the fat from my chin and injecting it in the laugh lines) wasn’t successful either. - Dr. Guerrerosantos failed to reattach my earlobes properly. The pictures show how my left earlobe looks horrific. It seems that he did bad work on the left side of my face where all these problems are. - There’s no blending. The mid-facelift was a bad recommendation. I now have vertical folds on my neck every time I look up or turn my head, even when turning it slightly sideways. The doctor said this will improve once it's healed. It's healed now, but still hasn't improved. In conclusion, I can say with certainty that Dr. Fernando Guerrerosantos performed botched facelift surgery on me. My earlobes look horrible, the left side of my face hasn’t recovered the lost sensation, and I now have an asymmetric face, with a scar on my chin that didn’t help improve my laugh lines. Add to all of this, my face now looks worse than before the surgery, and the last time someone guessed my age, they added 5 more years, so now I also look older than my true age. I am devastated and very unhappy with the results. This is making me very depressed. I can't even smile because my face looks worse when I do. I don't wish this bad experience onto anyone.

Replies (5)

* international patient
Thank.you for sharing and i am very sorry
Thanks for your review.
Have you had this surgery revised? If so, who did you go to? I have a similar dent on the side of my face where the surgeon took too muck fat out. Please share
he has got to be the worst surgeon in Guadalajara......A thief with absolutely no skills and no talent....I would have been better off having a 5 year old do my surgery
ORIGINAL POST

Please read my review of the doctor for details....

Please read my review of the doctor for details. My surgery was botched. I look worse now than before the surgery, and the sensation on the left side of my face hasn't recovered after 23 months from the surgery.
I had mid-facelift together with lower eyelid blepharoplasty and fat grafting. I ended up with an asymmetric face and a deformed left earlobe.

Replies (42)

I'm sorry this happened to you. It can happen that the surgeon lets a student practice on one side of the patient's face whilst he does the other, that is why so many people end up with asymmetric results and poor sutures/scarring on one side vs the other.
I had the misfortune of a doctor letting his student practice on one side of my face. Luckily, my results are fine. However, I specifically asked the doctor ahead of time if he was going to be operating on me. Yes. During the twilight surgery blepharoplasty I was completely aware that my doctor was working on one eye and someone else was working on the other. Two different male voices at work. So during the surgery I was furious, but of course paralyzed, so I had to just sit there fuming. When stitches were removed, the surgeon had his assistant help again. Fragments of their communication during stitch removal confirmed that this was the same person that assisted during my surgery. Discussion of his work matching the lead surgeon's.
Same here botched job & empty promises and lies from doctor and assistant. Someone said it nicely, before surgery a bad doctor & all his office say what you like to hear, after surgery they look at a disaster and they say I think you look good
Sorry for your experience.
Sorry for you experience ... It seems mistakes and neglectance can happen in USA , too at high $price
Sorry for your bad experience. I'm not considering another/corrective surgery right now, but if you are, I hope yours will be successful.
Why did you decide to go to Mexico? Is it cheaper?
It was cheaper and this doctor came highly recommended. I also saw botched surgeries happening in the US, and I have received bad healthcare in America before, where I was misdiagnosed, was prescribed the wrong medicine, sent to the wrong specialist... etc. so I really don't believe that doctors in the USA are the best. Due to my ex husband's work, I've traveled and lived in different countries, including some 3rd world countries. The worst and most expensive healthcare I have ever received was in the USA, not in those 3rd world countries. This is a sad reality of our failed healthcare system, which many people won't admit.
I have also had really bad experiences with healthcare in France, where I live: terrible doctors, bad dentists, wrong diagnosis, botched plastic surgery...
Hello raashuri, sorry to hear what happened to you and just to say you are not alone. I am 11 months after surgery and feel just like you probably did in the beginning. I understand how you must feel. I had so much disappointment, and sadness upon discovering that my surgery was botched. All one can do is wait and research to find the doctor that can make you happy.
Thank you. Sorry for your bad experience too, and wishing you all the best for a future surgery, if you decide to have a corrective one.
Thanks raashuri! I don't feel as bad anymore, but I'd like to look as I feel inside and thought I was going to look after the surgery. In my despair I found this website, and so much information, I'm thinking of travelling to India end of next year... I wish you all the best too if you decide to have a revision!
I think all doctors must inform the patient during the initial consultation if he is going to let a student or anyone else work on one side of the patient's face -- that way the patient can decide to risk it.
If I find out that this is what actually happened, I will consider legal action.
Thank you for your comment. I wasn't aware of this possibility, and really hope this is not what happened because it was never discussed with me. I will consider legal action against the doctor if I find out this was the case. Thank you again.