Horrible Surgeon, Horrible Outcome ...

Beware! In all my life, I can honestly say that this was the worst experience that I have ever had with a doctor. I now know that there have been others whose bodies have been permanently damaged by “Doctor” Awada, so I consider anyone who manages to have a successful outcome after any surgery performed by her as just lucky … It has been approximately 1-1/2 years since my initial surgery with Awada and I am still having the botched work she did on me corrected. The amount I paid for the original surgery (by her) has been more than doubled in my attempt to have the problems she caused corrected. The major portion of what she did had to be redone, and I still have another smaller corrective surgery to go. Hopefully, I will then be pain-free and finally have a normal contour to my body. The initial reason I went to see her was to un-do a previous cosmetic surgery that was causing pain. To think that the desire to have something corrected was what triggered this long torturous journey! I am filled with so much regret at ever choosing to trust her with my well-being. I initially went to see her about having breast implants removed due to ongoing pain in one breast, along with fat augmentation to restore some shape to my breasts. In my initial meeting with her, she came across as competent, warm, and caring. I found out very quickly after the surgery that she is not any of those things. There were so many things wrong with having her as my surgeon, from her incompetent surgical skills, to her total lack of care after my surgery, to her outright lies, gaslighting, and falsification of my medical records. The liposuction that was done to my abdomen was overly aggressive and horribly uneven -- it looked like two different people worked on me. Whoever worked on my left side really did a horrendous job: lumps, bumps, big hollows and sunken areas, a large tubular swelling, absolutely no fat left over part of my left hip, just skin over bone. Dr. Awada made no appearance during my first, second, and third post-operative appointments. I kept asking to see her and was given a myriad of excuses. Finally, I demanded to see her. The physician's assistants (or whatever their titles were) could not answer any of my questions and instead resorted to platitudes. They told me everything would smooth out as the swelling subsided. When Awada finally made an appearance, she ignored my concerns about the irregular contours, as well as the complaints about the non-stop excruciating pain in my left hip and flank area, telling me that I looked great and was healing "like a twenty-year-old". These were lies. Ultimately the lumps, bumps, and pain never went away. My breasts were also misshapen, and two different sizes, with a ripple running through my left nipple. Despite this, Awada and her staff all tried to convince me that I looked beautiful. When I pointed out the large scooped-out area where my left flank used to be, they acted as though they could not see what I was talking about. Awada actually tried to convince me that I just had more muscle on one side than the other, as if I had been born that way. This was gaslighting – one only had to look at the photos taken of me before the surgery to see she was lying. I began consulting with other cosmetic surgeons. They all confirmed what I was seeing, although it was too early to do revision surgery, and recommended that I wait until more healing had taken place. I asked for my medical records. It took two months before I finally received them and it was evident that they had been cleansed of any references to pain or concerns about the terrible contour irregularities. I think I should mention the orthopedic doctor and diagnostic ultrasound that confirmed the scarring of the deep tendon-like structures in my left flank as a result of her overly aggressive liposuction. I think I should also mention the pain specialist I saw who explained the nerve damage and missing fascia in my left hip and flank areas, as well as the two months of physical therapy I went through to try and alleviate the excruciating pain that had been caused by this. I should also mention the mood swings, weird remarks, insults, attempts to intimidate me, and less than gentle handling of my physical being by this "doctor". And perhaps I should mention the ridiculously long wait times -- up to 2-1/2 hours past the scheduled appointment time. I have since found an EXCELLENT cosmetic surgeon with an equally excellent and professional staff. In order to correct her botched surgery, he had to perform a full tummy-tuck, breast lift, and fat augmentation to smooth my abdomen, reshape my breasts (including making them the same size), and replace the fat in the areas where too much had been removed (left flank, hip, and abdomen) ... My advice to anyone considering "Doctor" Awada is to stay well away from her. She takes no responsibility for the harm she does. Find yourself a REAL DOCTOR/SURGEON that is truly committed to providing you with excellent care and an excellent outcome!