Upper Blepharoplasty and Lower FaceLift - San Antonio, TX

Dr. Lopez is not always the nice person or good Surgeon that some of the previous reviews make him out to be. In my case I had Upper Eye Lid Surgery and a Lower Face & Neck Lift Surgery performed in his office. I was very dissatisfied with the results. When I tried to bring my concerns and dissatisfaction to Dr. Lopez he refused to listen because he stated that I was just being impatient and not given the surgery a chance to heal. He also said that he thought his work was perfect and that there was nothing wrong with the results of my surgery.

I have been to 5 other doctors (1 Dermatologist, 2 Ophthalmologist and 3 Board Certified Plastic Surgeons) for 2nd opinions about the results of my surgery. Regarding the Eye Lid Surgery, all of the other doctors agreed that the incision was not made in the natural crease of the eye lid, which is considered the best placement for optimal results. Instead it was made higher than the natural crease line.

Also that it appears that too much tissue and or muscle was removed causing a hollowed look to my eye lids. The type of suture also caused abnormal scaring. My eyelids look droopy and asymmetric and hollowed out. I am being told that my eyelids look worse after the surgery than they did before.

The most serious side effect of this surgery was how it affected my Dry Eye Condition. Dr. Lopez never ask me about my prior eye medical history prior to surgery and never informed me that this type of surgery could make a Dry Eye Condition worse. I did not think of it at the time because at that time my Dry Eye Condition was under control and I was not aware that the surgery would cause such a problem.

After the surgery my eyelids would not close completely for about 5 months. During this time my Dry Eye Condition became much worse and I developed Blepharitis and I have had to have multiple visits with my Ophthalmologist for treatment and medication to help get the condition under control. I am still having problems getting the Dry Eye Condition under control. I had to find out about this from my Ophthalmologist because Dr. Lopez never informed me even after I complained of eye issues. If I had been advised of this risk before surgery I could have taken more preventative measures or I may have opted to have an Oculofacial Plastic Surgery perform the Eye Lid surgery. I know I would have at least consulted with my Ophthalmologist prior to the surgery.

I was not happy with the overall results of my Lower Facelift. After the 2nd opinion visits with the other Plastic Surgeons they seem to agree that I was misled or misinformed about the type of facelift I should have had in order to achieve the results I wanted and were expecting. The only thing my surgery accomplished was the realigning of my sagging jowl line. It did not lift was face or even get rid of the jowls completely.

During the Lower Face Lift Surgery Dr. Lopez ended up attaching my earlobe to the side of my face. Just prior to the surgery I ask him to be careful on my earlobes and he said do not worry you are in good hands, but when the surgery was over he had ended up attaching one of my earlobes to the side of my face. When I complained about this he just shrugged his shoulders and refused to do anything to fix it.

There was also thick and tough scar tissue behind my ears which he also refused to treat. I was told by the other doctors that the earlobe attached to my face could and should have been avoided if done properly and I had to have my Dermatologist inject steroids in the scar tissue, which they said Dr. Lopez should have been willing to do.

Dr. Lopez did this surgery in the office with no anesthesia, only oral medication for pain and local injections to numb the area. I was told by Dr. Lopez and his staff that they do many of these types of surgeries in his office and that it is safe (even though they have no monitoring equipment in the office) and that the surgeries have been well tolerated and they have not had any problems. They even made it sound so simple and easy and said it would be a lot less costly from a financial stand point than doing it in a Hospital environment. They reassured me that I would do well having the surgery in his office.

I suffer from Acid Reflux but did not know at the time how I was going to react to the pain medication and apparently neither did they. About 3/4's of the way through the surgery I became nauseous and had severe stomach cramps. I thought I was going to throw up and this made me very nervous. When Dr. Lopez ask why I was moaning I told him how I was feeling and all he said was I'm sorry, just hang on I'm almost through. This leaves me wondering if he rushed to finish the surgery because of my condition and maybe that is why some of the problems I am having exist. Dr. Lopez also stated on the Operative Report that I tolerated the surgery well. What do you think?

Also, 3 days after the surgery they did a Laser Treatment on my face, which was a complimentary treatment which was supposed to smooth out my skin tone and texture and also help remove some wrinkles over my upper lip. I had to pay extra for the additional treatment to my upper lip. Instead I feel that it caused broken capillaries and clogged pores, which lead to more facial skin issues. There were no improvements In the lines above my upper lip.

When I had brought these concerns to Dr. Lopez he dismissed them as ridiculous, said it was not possible and that none of my concerns were valid. I was informed by the other Doctors that the type of Laser Treatment I had could not remove wrinkles (especially with only one treatment) and probably would not have helped the wrinkles no matter how many treatments I had. They agreed that this was not the appropriate way to get rid of the wrinkles above my upper lip. I was also told that because of my skin type and texture I should have never been advised to have this type of Laser Treatment. They said that it would or could cause damage to my skin and that it appeared to them that it had caused damage.

Dr. Lopez was very nice and pleasant before the surgery. After he received his payment in full and the Surgery was over he became quite a different person. I was in complete shock about his lack of professionalism and his arrogant attitude. I want other people to know; before they go to him that he is not everything he claims to be. I am sure if you are pleased with your results and you have no concerns or complaints you will be fine, however beware if you are not happy and have concerns. He is not the Perfectionist or the Artist that he claims to be. He claims he is the best Facial Plastic Surgeon in town because he does more Facial Plastic Surgeries than any other Doctor in town. He did a poor job on me and refused to acknowledge his errors or come to any type of compromise with me to resolve our differences. Instead he dismissed me as a patient and told me to find another Doctor.

I have already spent a lot of money on Doctors visits regarding my eye problems and I will have to spend a lot of money to have Revision Surgery to correct the errors Dr. Lopez made. The other Doctors I have seen agree that sometimes patients are not happy with the results of their surgery. Even though that Doctor may not always agree with the patient they want all their patients to be happy, so they try to work with them to resolve the issues. Dr. Lopez, on the other hand, showed me no compassion or willingness to work with me. Instead he turned his back on me, and told me to find a new doctor.

Overall F
Availability C
Office Environment D
Punctuality C
Staff F

I just saw my Ophthalmologists for the 9th time since my surgery in 2012 and have another follow-up scheduled in 2wks. I normally only see him once or maybe twice a year at the most, but since my Upper Bleph I have developed a chronic Dry Eye condition, Blepharitis and Conjunctivitis due to the fact that my eye lids still will not close all the way or blink properly. This has cost me a lot of money for visits and medication. Not to mention the pain and discomfort in my eyes. On top of all this I still need to have revision surgery next year to correct the poor eyelid surgical results and the poor facelift results and to fix the earlobe that was sewn to the side of my face(pixie ear). After all this then I can see about getting the broken capillaries on my face fixed and lines above my upper lip fixed. The broken capillaries were another problem that resulted from my surgery or laser treatment and the laser treatment did nothing to fix the lines above my upper lip. That was another waste of $325.00. not to mention the original wasted $8,870.00 that I had to pay Dr. Lopez for all the damage he did during the upper bleph and lower facelift. Now I am going to have to pay $13,000.00 Plus to fix all these problems. Since I will still be having to pay Care Credit for the poor surgical results I got from the procedures with Dr. Lopez I don't know exactly when I will be able to afford to have these problems fixed but I will continue to update my post.

In January 2014 I had the revision of the Upper Bleph. that Dr. Lopez did in November of 2012. The new Surgeon was able to improve the symmetry and droopiness of my upper eyelids but it was difficult to get back to my natural eye lid crease because in the first surgery the height of the incision on one eye was made at 14mm and the other at 15mm according to measurements made by my new Surgeon. (Most Plastic Surgeons recommend only 7-9mm for women.) The 2nd Surgeon was only able to bring the height down to 10mm because of the previous surgery. I was not able to get the best results due to the height issue and there are still some concerns and issues from where some muscle was removed in the first surgery. (Which as I stated in my 1st review I was never informed that any muscle was going to be removed or I would not have agreed to that type of surgery.) The 2nd Surgeon did the best he could considering the damage from the 1st surgery. I also, recently had surgery to get the appropriate type of Face Lift which was not achieved with the Lower Face and Neck Lift which was done by Dr. Lopez. Again, the new Surgeon who did my Face Lift did the best he could considering the scar tissue and asymmetry of my cheeks which was left over from the surgery by Dr. Lopez. I am still in the healing process. After I heal from the Lift there might need to be an additional procedure to complete the overall cheek symmetry. Then I can finally have the broken capillaries on my cheeks treated. After I have healed completely and the after pictures are taken I hope to post before and after pictures. This whole experience has been painfully difficult (physically, emotionally and financially). So far I have spent over $14,000 to have the revisions made and have my Dry Eye Condition treated. I will probably have to spend between $1000 to $4000 more before every thing is completed. I learned the hard way that you should always do extensive research on your Surgeon and just because a Surgeon offers a some what lower price and free financing package it is not always worth the savings. Get second opinions before the 1st Surgery. That may save you from having to get second opinions and have revision surgery afterwards.