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Not happy with lipo - it left weird lipo lines on sides, butt looks good

UPDATED FROM SaraElle
1 year post

Lost a few more lbs

$9,503
Weight is at 147, just 10 more and I'm at my original weight before the "professional" had me gain 30lbs. and told me to be near my ideal weight, makes no sense right? I know. But that's Dr. Cortez LOGIC for ya. Anywho, here's my photos.

SaraElle's provider

Wilberto Cortes, MD

Wilberto Cortes, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

4.5 | 843 Reviews
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Replies (5)

It's probably no consolation for you, but I genuinely think your body looks amazing, your bum and hips look very curvy and your stomach looks flat. I genuinely think you look stunning!
Thank you hun, I just wish it felt thay way.
Did you ever find someone to do the revision? If so who? I have been seriously considering Dr. Cortes until I saw your review. Bummer. But your body looks good to me!!!
oh my God, YES! He did the same thing to me. It's really hard to capture in pictures but you did a great job. I tried and tried but couldn't get a pic that truly showed how jacked up my belly looks.
I think u look great but I can understand why your upset about the burns... The dents I can see why that bothers u some but your overall shape looks great! And the booty volume lost is because u lost weight... If u regain the weight you would get the lost volume back but u would also of course get the dents back that u don't like... The only thing that u can do really is accept it, as hard as that may be or go to another doctor to correct the dents... The over lipo is another story and so are the burns sighhh! Sorry that your not happy but try not to dwell on the negative because it's not good for u... I know it's hard not to dwell on it though but keep trying not to... I wish u the best!!!
You are beautifully and wonderfully made. You have a man who loves you past the point of any 'bond by marraige' and your mother who will support you no matter what. I stayed up all last night reading your story and there were positives to not getting the surgery as much as there were to getting it done. I think your final result is gorgeous - but I also think you were gorgeous before as well. I think each and everyone of us women (as well as men) need to accept the good with the bad; how else would the good be good then?

Good wishes to your future and to your family beautiful girl, just don't forget what matters most [RS bleep]
To be honest hun your body looks beautiful! A BBL procedure is exactly that, just to enhance your booty. Yes you do get lipo to your body to collect fat for transfer but I'm pretty sure that in your contract Dr Cortes did specify that it wasn't an abdominal surgery and that there are things to expect such as what you have already mentioned. I am a Cortes doll and I too have my stomach looking just like yours after my BBL but he was clear on informing me aswell as it being written in the paper work that this can be expected. Your belly doesn't even look bad. You look great to be honest. I'm a year post op and have my hourglass tummy tuck aswell as a wonder breast reduction in October and I'm excited. I knew my stomach wasn't gonna be perfect bcoz I did have extra fat from putting on the extra kilos for my BBL so I planned for my abdominal surgery for this year. I think that everyone is so super obsessed with what people look like in magazines or what others may look.like post surgery but everybody body is different and so expectations need to be realistic.
No I have Dents left by him and a huge indention in my right cheek / hip now from his lipo work.. Does give a great shape but noooooot good with lipo work
UPDATED FROM SaraElle
1 year post

Photos speak for themselves

At surgery I was about 175lbs per the "doctors" request to gain 20lbs, which to this day should have been my biggest warning sign. He tells girls to gain weight(ranging from 5-20lbs.), but to be near our ideal weight. First of all, what the f**k? That should have been my sign to gtfo of there and never look back, but I didnt listen to my gut. I wanted the stupid closeness, I went by all the good reviews I read, the stories, his ranking in houston. I ignored my gut feeling. Never ignore it, ladies. Anyways, my update weight to this day is finally 150lbs, only took a year -_-. I have to thank my husband for being my rock through all this mental and emotional anguish I've gone through, he has always been there. He doesn't see my scars, he just sees me, and that is what gave me the courage to lose the weight, he made my self esteem go from dragging on the ground, to just the right level.

Replies (5)

Omg :( i'm sorry u didn't get what u want smh.. I was seriously considering Cortes (since I live In Houston too) before reading ur review & seeing how he's so money hungry.. Ty for being so honest doll
I'm really glad you're not going to him. If I can save ONE girl from going under the knife with that "professional" then I'm thinking I should post more often. I mean, the photos and his work speaks for itself. I don't even need to say anything. Good luck on your journey love.
Thank u so much.. Are u thinking about getting a revision ?
ONLY after we are done having children. So it's looking like 4 or 5 years. :] so I guess not so much a revision as it will be more of a round 2. I'm just going to focus on reaching my weight goal and then build a 6 pack if I can. I did it once before. :)
Oops I meant to respond here /:
I have the same marks on my inner thigh. I need to update my status. I'm just waiting until my surgery date on June 25th with Salama. I'm so sorry Cortes did a half assed job on you too. I regret going to him and now I have to waste more money to get it right.
I know, it's terrible isn't it? Not getting the job done RIGHT or even professionally for the price we paid? Now we're all in for a round 2. Lol he's good at making sure girls go back to him for a round 2. Unprofessional and disgusting.
I would never go to him nor recommend him to anyone.... never!!!
Never. Not even for the simplest procedure.
Hi, are you considering "revision" for your surgery? I think that you could ask Dr. Cortes, if you don't like the results. Most of the PS in case of a revision, they just charge you with the anesthesia fee. Wishing you the best!
I don't think there will be a revision, we're going to wait until we have children and are done having them. Then I will probably go to DR for a better result. I wouldn't trust Dr. Cortez with my body or life again. Even if I tried, I'm sure he'd do a half assed job simply because he's not getting paid. (Money signs in his eyes). But you're right, most PS's do revisions, but I think one of the girls said he DOES charge half of the amount, plus the anesthesia. Thank you so much. I'll be back on here in about 5 years for the round 2. :) it'll be easier I think. Good luck.
I'm so sorry about your experience....but I wish you blessings and I know that you will find the right surgeon, and will get the good results that you always wanted. Blessings!
Gosh, after reading your whole review I'm glad that I decided to change my mind. Dr. Cortes will not give me back my $500 deposit. But I'm saving money overall by going to the DR. I pray you are able to find happiness throughout all of this. Thank you for being so honest in your review.
You may have lost $500 to this overly money hungry man, but you've saved yourself the mental torture and possibility of coming out injured or with a half assed job. Just do your research, follow your gut feeling. I don't know if you met the guy, but he is very friendly until you bring up realself or complain about the lumps and areas he didn't lipo. Then he plays off the lumps as swelling and sticks a giant needle in each lump and says it will help. Then you realize the lumps were just the areas he didn't lipo. Anyways, good luck hun, this is a lifechanger, so choose wisely. It can be a beautiful experience, when it's done correctly. And you're welcome, I'm trying to help girls choose wisely, I can only hope more girls are aware of the risks by getting surgery with this man.
Omg I'm so sorry for what you been thru!!! I just had my Sx with him two weeks ago actually tomorrow marks two week and funny thing is that I also noticed that they were areas he mark for them to be lipoed and when I woke up I had no pain on those areas but I now noticed he didn't do lipo at all on those areas!!! My God!!! That's all I have to say!! And so sorry this happened to you cause I know how one must feel to spend so much money and not get the results that we were promised!!!
Good luck to u (: I read your review & I seen you get chin lipo, how did that come out? Did you see a difference from before?
Well, since I was so big after surgery, and it took me a while, a year to be exact, to lose the weight, I didn't notice a difference. But I think I can kind of see it now. Only because right under my chin it isn't as big as the sides(under my jaw), which makes me think it would have worked had he done the full chin, not just the front. But there is still a double chin, lol. It may just be that I've lost weight and I'm confusing it with the chin lipo. Lol how much do you have? If it's very small then you may get the result you want.
Oh ok, I've heard some girls say that chin lipo isn't worth it. & I really really want to get it because even when I'm thin I have far under my chin. It's hereditary /: & I don't have too much, but it is kind of noticeable :( did u have to get massages on ur chin since it's a lipo area as well? & what kind of garment did u wear for it & how long? Vanity wants to charge 60-120$ for a chin strap lol. I found ones on countormd for 30$ just not sure which one to get , & if they all work the same. Thanks for your input (:
I a tally used lipo foam and cut an oval then used a long tube sock and tightened it above my head to support the chin. It did great to compress and stayed on at night. Maybe that could work for you but if you want to buy it then you should, being prepared is a lifesaver.
UPDATED FROM SaraElle
7 months post

Effects I'm Noticing now, serious questions

I've noticed some of the effects of having had this surgery with THIS doctor. I'm sure you can all see the work hes done on me for yourselves, ladies, but its what also lies under the skin that is in really bad shape due to his lack of skills. Not only did he mess me up on the outside, but I now feel hopeless as to what will happen when i have children.

Yesterday I decided to pick my sister and Goddaughter up for a girls day. We went out and I decided I would let her shop, since the baby doesnt really let her do any of that without getting cardio in from chasing. lol So I decide I'm going to babysit while she shops. As I'm holding the baby on my hip, i notice this sharp pain on my side. So I put the baby down and hold her hand. A little while passes by and the need to pick her up arises, so i do so, but this time i put her on my other hip to avoid the pain I'd felt earlier. I'd felt this pain before when carrying her, but it wasnt as bad before. Well, my niece is growing and gaining weight little by little. When I picked her up that second time and put her on my other hip, I knew it couldnt be coincidence that I was feeling this pain on both sides. So I tell my sister to hold the baby, as shes doing so I lift up my shirt slightly and kind of pull down on my hips skin, and BOOM, sharp pain across my side. It's the VERY THIN SKIN THE DOCTOR LEFT ON MY SIDES. In the places where he left those ugly indentations, burns, and painful shots of pain.

So now I'm thinking, this is just a little tug from my own hands. I didnt even pull the skin that hard. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WHEN MY HUSBAND AND I DECIDE TO HAVE A BABY??????????

How will that work? Seeing that a pregnant belly requires the pulling of A LOT more skin than what I'd just done. Is it going to be painful knowing that I have all of those scars under the surface of my skin? Is my skin going to tear on the inside? What the hell is going to happen?

Before getting this surgery we had decided to wait 3 years to conserve the beautiful masterpiece that was to be my body, after the F*** up I was left with, we decided to start trying in the new year. New years is less than 3 months away. What is going to happen to my belly? I'm genuinely worried about this just knowing how painful my skin is to pull. I started doing stretches that same day, stretches that had never bothered me before and its so painful to stretch my sides cause the skin is still so tender. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? This terrifies me. Is it going to complicate pregnancy? Is it going to cause unnecessary risk? Will it cause unnecessary side effects?

Have any of you ladies gone through this? Please let me know. Thank you.

Replies (5)

I'm paid up and now I need to pray up. Not sure what is going on with Dr Cortes' results varying so much. I get that everyone is different weight, height, health, tight skin, loose skin and so on but I am not convinced that is solely the reasons for these types of poorer results. I pray Cortes wants and gives his best for all his patients. And from there blessings will come back to him. If he doesn't do this then bad karma will follow him.
I will pray you're one of the lucky few that gets good results. Don't mention you're on realself. The two times I mentioned wish pics and questions I had that I had seen on REALSELF he immediately became impatient and told me not to listen to these girls cause they just like to talk. I remember being shocked at such a rash comment, but didn't think much past it. That should have been my sign. Cause that second time I asked, was right before he marked me up, and he didn't seem happy when I told him I wanted similar results to a girl who had my shape and size on REALSELF. Then he marked me up real fast and forgot my chin, when I mentioned it to him he got this disgusted look on his face. Ugh. So many, SO MANY hints possibly from God himself that he wasnt a good person and he wasn't good for my surgeon and I either ignored them or brushed them off. NEVER doing that again. Follow your heart girl. I know you're all payed up and all, just stay on his good side. Careful what you type cause theres eyes everywhere here. I wonder if any of the other unhappy Cortez dolls mentioned realself during a preop consult or right before surgery. Makes me wonder if there's a pattern here. Or maybe I'm just grasping at straws. Idk. Good luck hun
Thank you, they seem pretty forthcoming as to what I can expect. You look amazing and I believe I will look amazing. Happy healing beauty!
you know what I mentioned realself at my consult and he told me not to read to much into it. It didn't make sense at the time because all his reviews were good and I was still so new to this site I didn't give it a second thought
So sorry girl. I would say wait a year and a half to have a baby. Just to make sure that your tissues fully reconnect and get recover. Your body went thru alot of trauma. (sometimes ladies have miscarriages when the body is not ready) so please enjoy quality time with your hubby. Buy at GNC or health store a protein supplement or shake. Protein and very important for the healing phase after surgery. In a year and a half your body should be ready to start a family with your body in top shape. I hope everything works out for you. Thanks so much for sharing. Hugs from Massachusetts
By the way I was looking into him a while back (he's off the list of course) but then I found Dr. Matthew Shulman in N.Y he does pretty good or go down to Miami. Good luck to everyone in the bbl journey
Thank you so much for sharing !!! I can only imagine how devastating it is. Everybody needs to know not to go to this doctor !
I have surgery with him next month! I'm very scare and nervous after reading some reviews of him. I Was told to gain 10lbs but I've only gained 5 so far, in going in for implants! Hopefully He delivers what I want. I'm sorry about your experience, can only imagine how frustrated, upset and down you are!
Ok, considering none of these numerous reviews haven't convinced you to cancel, I wish you all the best. It will be interesting to read yours. Keep us updated