READ MY UPDATED REVIEW OF 03/08/16 BECAUSE I NO LONGER "Love...love...LOVE MY RESULTS!" Miami, FL

BEWARE: I had three procedures done at Spectrum Aesthetics with Dr. Mel Ortega back in August, 2015. A tummy tuck, breast aug. and a breast lift and from the beginning, right after surgery, I kept telling them that it was clearly visible that one of the breast was sitting higher than the other and the other one was practically under my armpit, both situations are extremely uncomfortable but they kept telling me "give it time and everything will fall into place" I've been to five follow up appointments and at each appointment the doctor would say, "oh...it should drop and it would go into place, give it time and if not, we can always do a revision." Mind you, the thought of going under the knife again is scary enough but if the situation can be fixed, then of course, I would do it. I went in for a six month followup this past Friday, 03/04/16 and after the doctor (Ortega) took a look at everything, he stated that sure enough I would need a revision and that my coordinator would be calling me to make an appointment. Today is Tuesday and although I called them on Friday and Monday, I still had to call them today because no one called me back and today I finally spoke with Giselle. After some chit chat about sending her pictures because she still didn't have access to my digitally updated file, she then said "when I get the pictures you'll be sending me, I'll talk to the doctor to make sure exactly what we will be doing and then I will forward it to your coordinator, Liz so that she can call you for a date and payment..." WAIT...WHAT...PAYMENT?!?! When I asked her about a payment for what, she informed me that the doctor is being gracious enough to waive the surgeons fees but the center is still going to charge me an additional $1,000. I was left a little stunned and we hung up. I decided to call back and speak to the manager (Cristina) and she again informed me that there was nothing that could be done about the $1,000 and that it is clearly stated in my contract. I asked her several times, "so, unless I come up with $1,000 that has never been mentioned to me in six month...till today, I'm going to be left with deformed boobs." Her response, "well yes." These people know that your hands are tied behind your back because if you go to another surgeon to get your deformity fixed, they are going to charge you the full price of the lift or another aug, so they know that you're stuck either giving them an extra $1,000 added to the other $8,000 you've already paid them or your stuck with one boob sitting high on your chest and the other uncomfortably under your armpit....UNFREAKINBELIEVABLE! Make sure you find the section in the initial contract that states this additional fee and cross it off and initial it and have either the coordinator, manager or owner initial it as well so you don't get left deformed with no recourse and no concern from Spectrum's part as I now have been. I went to Spectrum because of the surgeons experience (Dr. Ortega) and because I was getting a decent price for the procedures I was getting done. Had I known at that time that it was going to cost me $1,000 more, there were other facilities that I could have gone to with surgeons as equally qualified. As I said, now I'm stuck with deformed boobs and unless I want to pay full price for everything again, I'm stuck having to deal with Spectrum and an extra $1,000 which I didn't expect to have to pay nor do I carry around in my left pocket, so deformed boobs for life it is I guess!!! Worse part of this is that prior to this, I had recommended Spectrum and Dr. Ortega to countless people (wish I had a list of all of them so that I could call them an take back that recommendation). THANKS A LOT SPECTRUM FOR LEAVING ME DEFORMED!!!!

I want to start off by saying that any well trained, experienced, certified plastic surgeon is a professionally trained artist that works with the median he is given, they are not “Magicians” and cannot transform you into a gorgeous model with just a butt life. Also, keep in mind that it can take up to six months for ALL the swelling to go down and for the implants to properly place themselves if YOUR body doesn’t decide to capsulate them first. Now, with that said….

I first saw Dr. Ortega 21 years ago after I had my last child and due to his lack of experience AT THAT TIME, I went with another doctor and was happy with the results. In the interim, due to health issues I gained weight and had to have gastric bypass back in 2005. After a 110lb weight loss, my breast were left with a huge amount of ugly hanging tissue and although I had a flat stomach, when I would sit down, it looked like I had a Shar-Pei sitting in my lap. Due to personal chaos at the time, I had to put all this on the back burner for 10 years. Finally, this year I decided it was time for things to change. I visited the plastic surgeon that had worked on me previously and although I am very confident that he would do an amazing job, he wanted to charge me a ridiculous amount of money. I visited with other doctors and for one reason or another, was not comfortable with what was presented to me. In mid-June I was scanning the internet for different plastic surgery options and reputable board certified plastic surgeons and ran across Dr. Ortega’s name again and since he now had 25 years experience under his belt, I thought I’d give it a shot. I went to his office and I told him exactly what I wanted…I wanted a lift and implants to maintain the same size I am (a D cup); I did not want [RS bleep] BOOBS; and I wanted to get rid of the Shar-Pei. He said I needed what they call a “Mommy Makeover” and explained to me exactly what I was to expect. A reasonable amount was quoted; I paid my deposit; and my surgery date was set for 08/13/15.

I was beyond excited for my surgery and the day was finally here (08/13/15). All went according to plan and the doctor came in and made his marks and showed me where everything is supposed to go. He also explained that although he makes these marks accordingly, things may change once I am on the operating table and my tissue starts moving and changing under his scalpel. I reiterated that I would be very upset if I ended up with “[RS bleep] BOOBS” and he assured me that this would not happen. I know that as long as I do exactly what the doctor tells me, I heal rather fast and scarring fades rather quickly. Of course, when I woke up, I felt as if I’d been hit by a Mack truck (actually ran over twice). Because of my drowsy state, my husband collected the detailed notes of what I am and am not supposed to do, when to take my meds, how to care for my incisions and Dr. Ortega even gave my husband his personal cell phone in case he couldn’t be reached at the office and we had any concerns or questions post op. My first follow up was the following day and even though I was substantially swollen and the implants still hadn’t dropped to where they were suppose to go, I was very happy with what I saw and that was just 24 hrs after surgery.

Today makes two weeks and once day since my surgery and am beyond ecstatic! I can’t stop staring at my cleavage…lol and I love my new belly button! Of course, I’m still swollen and can expect to be for about five more months but my breast look gorgeous and my Shar-Pei is nowhere to be found and as long as I wear my binding garments and keep my scars protected, I can only expect everything to look better and better. Dr. Ortega’s talents molded my body to exactly what I can naturally expect and I did not experience any of the “lack of customer service” issues that other reviewers have commented on. All my questions and calls have been answered and everything has gone according to clockwork plus what I paid for the entire “Mommy Makeover” will not put me in the debt for the rest of my life.