POSTED UNDER Thigh Lift REVIEWS
Thigh Lift Middlebury, CT / New York NY
ORIGINAL POST
I am a 45 yr old single mom, who has struggled...
seedonnagoJanuary 5, 2015
$9,860
I am a 45 yr old single mom, who has struggled with weight much of my adult life. When I was 25 yrs old, I lost 115# through diet & exercise alone, no weight loss surgery. Five years later, 30yrs old, I gained 60# while pregnant, and it took a 3 years to lose it. In 2009 I had a tummy tuck & was thrilled with the results & the way my body healed.
The skin on my thighs was flabby, loose & stretched. I had quite alot of cellulite. I exercised 6 days a week, walking, running, exercise dvds..I toned muscle, but the loose skin & fat just wouldn't go away.
I had 8 consultations, finding most doctors here on RS..I asked alot of questions, every Dr had a slightly different procedure that they recommended. Dr Brown was the last Dr I consulted. He was very calm, soft spoken, and polite. I felt comfortable with him. We talked about my goals & expectations for surgery. He thought I had healed very well 5 yrs earlier TT, and thought I would have good results, and I told him I did not expect to be perfect, but that tightening medial thigh & wearing shorts was my main objective. I despised the loose flabby skin that bounced as I walked.
The medial thighs' skin was trimmed & slightly tightened., but they are still very loose & flabby, pretty much the same shape & size (or even slightly larger thighs) than before surgery. Dr Brown planned to do liposuction of the thighs while removing excess skin, but it doesn't seem like it was done, or maybe just not enough. The scar was suppose to go down closer to my knee to tighten up the area above inner knee. You can see how loose that area is in my pics.
Cutting the skin between lower back & hips then pulling it upward & together brought the fat from lower thighs into upper thighs, making them larger. . I was happy with results on the rear view of my butt & thighs when I compared before & after pics...but my thighs are now larger, so I am thinking liposuction wasn't done.
The facility sent me a $60 refund check because surgery was 15 min less time than the 4hours I paid for....
D Brown had said that if I needed revisions, that he would not charge me, but that I could possibly have facility or anesthesia charges if it could not be fixed in his office.
In Dr Brown's office, he fixed the incision on my Right hip, it was slightly bulging /dog eared. He also did a very small amount of Liposuction on my left inner knee at the same time, 8 oz of fat, because the knees were visibly uneven. I was charged $250 for lipo supplies.
I have seen Dr Brown & asked what he can do to fix my thighs now, 6 months post surgery, to tighten skin & lipo some of the fat that I expected to be done during initial surgery.
The office is quoting that to me as an "Additional Procedure"..not a "revision" . I have to pay $2400 for the facility & anesthesia combined, plus Dr Brown is going to charge me another $1,000 for his fee.
I have seen 2 other doctors that i had initially consulted with, just for second opinions, to double check myself & make sure that my expectations were reasonable. Both said they can understand why I am unhappy , there is definitely room for improvement on thighs. They are recommending liposuction of both lateral & medial thigh, and removing more skin. They were questioning me as to why scar wasn't more on the inner thigh to be concealed, they said it would be tough to work with the location of that scar where it is now,,but that the scar should be extended to tighten up inner knee.
Having to pay for facility fees yet again is bad enough $2,400....plus I need to take off more time from work, and now pay Dr Brown $1000 more just seems very unreasonable to me since it was suppose to have been done in initial surgery.
Do most doctors charge for "supplies" for revisions? The 2 I asked told me that they do not charge for supplies...
The skin on my thighs was flabby, loose & stretched. I had quite alot of cellulite. I exercised 6 days a week, walking, running, exercise dvds..I toned muscle, but the loose skin & fat just wouldn't go away.
I had 8 consultations, finding most doctors here on RS..I asked alot of questions, every Dr had a slightly different procedure that they recommended. Dr Brown was the last Dr I consulted. He was very calm, soft spoken, and polite. I felt comfortable with him. We talked about my goals & expectations for surgery. He thought I had healed very well 5 yrs earlier TT, and thought I would have good results, and I told him I did not expect to be perfect, but that tightening medial thigh & wearing shorts was my main objective. I despised the loose flabby skin that bounced as I walked.
The medial thighs' skin was trimmed & slightly tightened., but they are still very loose & flabby, pretty much the same shape & size (or even slightly larger thighs) than before surgery. Dr Brown planned to do liposuction of the thighs while removing excess skin, but it doesn't seem like it was done, or maybe just not enough. The scar was suppose to go down closer to my knee to tighten up the area above inner knee. You can see how loose that area is in my pics.
Cutting the skin between lower back & hips then pulling it upward & together brought the fat from lower thighs into upper thighs, making them larger. . I was happy with results on the rear view of my butt & thighs when I compared before & after pics...but my thighs are now larger, so I am thinking liposuction wasn't done.
The facility sent me a $60 refund check because surgery was 15 min less time than the 4hours I paid for....
D Brown had said that if I needed revisions, that he would not charge me, but that I could possibly have facility or anesthesia charges if it could not be fixed in his office.
In Dr Brown's office, he fixed the incision on my Right hip, it was slightly bulging /dog eared. He also did a very small amount of Liposuction on my left inner knee at the same time, 8 oz of fat, because the knees were visibly uneven. I was charged $250 for lipo supplies.
I have seen Dr Brown & asked what he can do to fix my thighs now, 6 months post surgery, to tighten skin & lipo some of the fat that I expected to be done during initial surgery.
The office is quoting that to me as an "Additional Procedure"..not a "revision" . I have to pay $2400 for the facility & anesthesia combined, plus Dr Brown is going to charge me another $1,000 for his fee.
I have seen 2 other doctors that i had initially consulted with, just for second opinions, to double check myself & make sure that my expectations were reasonable. Both said they can understand why I am unhappy , there is definitely room for improvement on thighs. They are recommending liposuction of both lateral & medial thigh, and removing more skin. They were questioning me as to why scar wasn't more on the inner thigh to be concealed, they said it would be tough to work with the location of that scar where it is now,,but that the scar should be extended to tighten up inner knee.
Having to pay for facility fees yet again is bad enough $2,400....plus I need to take off more time from work, and now pay Dr Brown $1000 more just seems very unreasonable to me since it was suppose to have been done in initial surgery.
Do most doctors charge for "supplies" for revisions? The 2 I asked told me that they do not charge for supplies...
seedonnago's provider
UPDATED FROM seedonnago
7 months post
Dr Brown STILL charging for my REVISION he is calling it an "Additional Procedure" :(
seedonnagoJanuary 7, 2015
Saw Dr Brown again a few days ago & asked that he waive his $1063.00 fee for my revision.
When reminding Dr Brown about his promises for "no-fee revisions" , he told me he does not get involved in the pricing.
How can a Doctor NOT be involved with deciding fees for surgery? It's a small office, 4 or 5 employees I believe.... I feel like yet again, Dr Brown avoided answering questions.
He told me he can lipo outer thighs, extend inner thigh scar, lipo, and remove more skin to tighter the area.
This is what was SUPPOSE to be done during Initial Surgery :(
So, in order to get my revision, I have to pay $3,400 plus tax. Dr Brown wants $1063.00 for his
2 hours of time, and the facility & anesthesia charges are $2400.
Dr Brown & staff kept raving about how beautiful my surgery came out...but my before & after pics tell a different story :(
What happens if I pay Dr Brown for my revision, and he still doesn't do as promised ?
Dr Brown is not standing behind his work, or his promises....I am not sure I can trust him ... not a good feeling :(
Looking for advice from other patients & doctors
If I go somewhere brand new, it will cost more...I feel like that is what Dr Brown is counting on, getting more $ from me because having to pay for my revision is still less $ than starting with a new doctor...
THANK YOU In advance for any advice !!!
When reminding Dr Brown about his promises for "no-fee revisions" , he told me he does not get involved in the pricing.
How can a Doctor NOT be involved with deciding fees for surgery? It's a small office, 4 or 5 employees I believe.... I feel like yet again, Dr Brown avoided answering questions.
He told me he can lipo outer thighs, extend inner thigh scar, lipo, and remove more skin to tighter the area.
This is what was SUPPOSE to be done during Initial Surgery :(
So, in order to get my revision, I have to pay $3,400 plus tax. Dr Brown wants $1063.00 for his
2 hours of time, and the facility & anesthesia charges are $2400.
Dr Brown & staff kept raving about how beautiful my surgery came out...but my before & after pics tell a different story :(
What happens if I pay Dr Brown for my revision, and he still doesn't do as promised ?
Dr Brown is not standing behind his work, or his promises....I am not sure I can trust him ... not a good feeling :(
Looking for advice from other patients & doctors
If I go somewhere brand new, it will cost more...I feel like that is what Dr Brown is counting on, getting more $ from me because having to pay for my revision is still less $ than starting with a new doctor...
THANK YOU In advance for any advice !!!
Replies (8)
January 9, 2015
I'm sorry this has happeed to you. I had a inner medial thigh lift with lipo to my saddlebags, and knees. My results are horrible and my legs look worse now than before. I still have huge inner thighs with a bumb visible in my clothes too. My PS thinks they look great and will shrink in time. Also my scar has migrated across my thigh. I wish I never had it done..
February 7, 2015
I am so saddened when I read stories like yours. It is awful to put your faith and trust and money into a surgeon and then left feeling taken advantage of, or abandoned, or (insert emotion here). It sounds like he is a surgeon in private practice. If so, he controls everything and that includes the pricing. See if you have his revision policy in writing anywhere and what is stated. Both of my plastic surgeons (one for body and one for face, two entirely different practices) waive their fees for revisions. And I've had revisions with both of them, not because there was anything wrong with their work (they both did an amazing job) but because they were kind enough and cared enough to go back in and perfect what they had done. If it were me in your shoes, I would find another plastic surgeon who is very good with this procedure. Not many are. I think reading reviews here and on some of the other patient community sites and then corresponding with patients who've undergone the procedure with the surgeon is very helpful. I wish you well and I am sorry for what you've gone through.
February 11, 2015
Thank you for the thoughtful response. It's a very difficult decision. I feel like he is not standing behind his work by charging me a revision fee :(. $1,000 doesn't mean a lot to a surgeon, but to a patient who has already paid $9800, and will have to pay $2,400 to facility and take even more time off from work...for a revision, that $1,000 makes a difference.
I understand he has no control over facility fees, but he does have control over his own.
I am going to see him again today to discuss revision again.
Thanks for the well wishes :)
February 8, 2015
I'm so sorry you're going thru this. Check out my profile as I had a similar situation. I went to Dr. Revis in Ft. Lauderdale, spent a boatload of $ and ended up with very poor results too. I no longer trusted him to do the revision - I figured if he'd done such a poor job the first time while being paid, what could I expect from him if he wasn't being paid? I went elsewhere, to Dr. Peter Fisher in San Antonio, TX. I live in AZ, traveled to FL for the first one and then to TX. Dr. Fisher is AMAZING. You might consider traveling. I went thru these procedures twice and certainly wouldn't want to think about doing it a third time. Good luck.
UPDATED FROM seedonnago
9 months post
Thigh Lift Revision Tomorrow 3/2/15 !!!
seedonnagoMarch 2, 2015
My last visit with Dr Brown went much better, We talked again about my original procedure (this was my 3rd visit asking about the revision)
we discussed his many statements about not charging for revisions,and how disappointed I was with his revision fee. We looked at my pictures & went over my results again, and Dr Brown decided that he wants me to be happy with my results & will not charge me his revision fee. I DO have to pay the surgery center & anesthesiologist ($2400) & take off more time from work 1 week/possibly longer. It really stinks to go through this again, but I am hopeful for better results.
I do not expect perfection, just a little smaller & tighter thighs.
It will be a 2 hour procedure, He is doing some lipo on outer thigh, and removing more skin & fat from inner thighs to tighten the flabby skin.
He will also be trying to move the scar inward , more towards inner part of leg & extending the scar almost to my knee to get the are that is still flabby & loose right above my knees. He might need to do a small L shaped incision in the groin area, just not sure which way the L will be facing( upwards or downwards )
I am hopeful that this surgery will have better results than my last & I will post my pics & measurements during my recovery.
Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it!
we discussed his many statements about not charging for revisions,and how disappointed I was with his revision fee. We looked at my pictures & went over my results again, and Dr Brown decided that he wants me to be happy with my results & will not charge me his revision fee. I DO have to pay the surgery center & anesthesiologist ($2400) & take off more time from work 1 week/possibly longer. It really stinks to go through this again, but I am hopeful for better results.
I do not expect perfection, just a little smaller & tighter thighs.
It will be a 2 hour procedure, He is doing some lipo on outer thigh, and removing more skin & fat from inner thighs to tighten the flabby skin.
He will also be trying to move the scar inward , more towards inner part of leg & extending the scar almost to my knee to get the are that is still flabby & loose right above my knees. He might need to do a small L shaped incision in the groin area, just not sure which way the L will be facing( upwards or downwards )
I am hopeful that this surgery will have better results than my last & I will post my pics & measurements during my recovery.
Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it!
Replies (8)
March 2, 2015
Hope that everything goes great for you! We have similar body types so I will be looking forward to seeing your new results:) once I get all of my weight off, I plan on getting a thigh left as well.
Good luck... I will say a prayer for you tomorrow morning:)
March 2, 2015
what did you do to get him to change his mind? good for you!
March 9, 2015
Posting my pics, telling my experience, and the comments from other patients on this site was extremely helpful. Of course I still had to pay $2400 to favility & take off time from work- 1 week not enough :(
Replies (3)