POSTED UNDER Silicone Injection Removal REVIEWS
Dismissed and Unsupported Even After Years of Surgical Procedures and Revisions.
ORIGINAL POST
Dismissed and Unsupported Even After Years of Surgical Procedures and Revisions.
mayiitaslaysOctober 2, 2025
While Dr. Cárdenas is a skilled surgeon, he lacks empathy, accountability, and professional integrity. My last visit on August 18, 2025, left me emotionally devastated and deeply disappointed.
As many of you may have read in my previous review, I suspected residents had operated on me. When Dr. Cárdenas personally corrected the scar, he did an excellent job — proof that he is undeniably skilled. The problem is not his ability, but the inconsistency of the results. That may very well be due to the lack of experience of the residents operating on me. His team, including the anesthesiologist, cardiologist, and office staff, is fantastic.
The real damage began in August 2024, when I underwent silicone removal from my lips, chin, and breast reduction. My lips were left disfigured — with lumps, uneven scars, and a red stain that was never there before. Being botched in such a visible area left me deeply self-conscious. I avoided photos, I avoided eye contact, and the weight of people’s stares was unbearable. For a woman, feeling disfigured in this way does more than alter appearance — it cuts into your confidence, your identity, and your ability to feel whole.
In February 2025, during my cardiology visit, I confided in his cardiologist — a man who is kind, attentive, and truly resonates care for his patients, like a grandfather figure. I told him how uneven my scars were, that I suspected a resident had operated on me, and asked him to please encourage Dr. Cárdenas to perform my revision himself. The next day, before surgery, I sensed Dr. Cárdenas’s irritation. When I asked if he would be doing the markings, he dismissed me with, “I don’t need to, I know what I’m doing.” Still anxious from being left botched just months earlier, I even asked the anesthesiologist to remind Dr. Cárdenas personally to handle the revision. Thankfully, that surgery went perfectly. He removed about 70% of the lumps, and the scars were even. For the first time in months, I regained hope that he might finally make things right when it came to my lips.
But when I returned in August 2025 for what I hoped would be my final revision, everything fell apart. During my preoperative appointment, I respectfully requested that Dr. Cárdenas perform the surgery himself. Instead of reassurance, he exploded. His tone turned harsh, his face angry, and he raised his voice in front of his residents and staff. He accused me of not trusting him, threatened to cancel my surgery, and even claimed it was “against medical ethics” for residents to operate on patients — even though my lips clearly showed signs that they had been used for practice. We had this conversation before, which prompted me to post my first review here.
I don't fault the residents who treated me in August 2024. They were the best he ever had. They did a fantastic job with my breast reduction, and I am grateful for their skill and care. However, that does not change the fact that my lip issue remains unresolved.
That moment told me everything. If a surgeon can lash out at a patient simply for asking for his direct expertise, what would stop him from punishing me on the operating table with careless work? I realized I could not safely put myself under anesthesia with someone who had just bullied me, so I said it directly, “then cancel”.
This is the reality: Dr. Cárdenas is more focused on teaching and preserving his ego than on protecting the well-being of his patients.
Asking for reassurance the day before surgery because I didn't want to ask the Cardiologist again. His reaction was shocking. I cannot imagine what risks I would have faced on the operating table. Patients deserve to know. Patients pay for the surgeon's hands, skill, and accountability. The problem isn’t his skill. It’s his unpredictability, defensiveness, and willingness to delegate without transparency. If you ask him to do your surgery himself, he may say yes, or he may turn on you. He may threaten to cancel. I never thought this would happen to me. And I thought I had a good rapport with Dr Cardenas.
If he has treated a loyal patient in this manner since 2020, imagine how he might treat someone he does not know. Please be cautious. We pay for improvement, not to be practiced on, and certainly not to be bullied into silence.
No woman should ever walk away from surgery feeling less beautiful, less confident, or less herself than when she went in.
As many of you may have read in my previous review, I suspected residents had operated on me. When Dr. Cárdenas personally corrected the scar, he did an excellent job — proof that he is undeniably skilled. The problem is not his ability, but the inconsistency of the results. That may very well be due to the lack of experience of the residents operating on me. His team, including the anesthesiologist, cardiologist, and office staff, is fantastic.
The real damage began in August 2024, when I underwent silicone removal from my lips, chin, and breast reduction. My lips were left disfigured — with lumps, uneven scars, and a red stain that was never there before. Being botched in such a visible area left me deeply self-conscious. I avoided photos, I avoided eye contact, and the weight of people’s stares was unbearable. For a woman, feeling disfigured in this way does more than alter appearance — it cuts into your confidence, your identity, and your ability to feel whole.
In February 2025, during my cardiology visit, I confided in his cardiologist — a man who is kind, attentive, and truly resonates care for his patients, like a grandfather figure. I told him how uneven my scars were, that I suspected a resident had operated on me, and asked him to please encourage Dr. Cárdenas to perform my revision himself. The next day, before surgery, I sensed Dr. Cárdenas’s irritation. When I asked if he would be doing the markings, he dismissed me with, “I don’t need to, I know what I’m doing.” Still anxious from being left botched just months earlier, I even asked the anesthesiologist to remind Dr. Cárdenas personally to handle the revision. Thankfully, that surgery went perfectly. He removed about 70% of the lumps, and the scars were even. For the first time in months, I regained hope that he might finally make things right when it came to my lips.
But when I returned in August 2025 for what I hoped would be my final revision, everything fell apart. During my preoperative appointment, I respectfully requested that Dr. Cárdenas perform the surgery himself. Instead of reassurance, he exploded. His tone turned harsh, his face angry, and he raised his voice in front of his residents and staff. He accused me of not trusting him, threatened to cancel my surgery, and even claimed it was “against medical ethics” for residents to operate on patients — even though my lips clearly showed signs that they had been used for practice. We had this conversation before, which prompted me to post my first review here.
I don't fault the residents who treated me in August 2024. They were the best he ever had. They did a fantastic job with my breast reduction, and I am grateful for their skill and care. However, that does not change the fact that my lip issue remains unresolved.
That moment told me everything. If a surgeon can lash out at a patient simply for asking for his direct expertise, what would stop him from punishing me on the operating table with careless work? I realized I could not safely put myself under anesthesia with someone who had just bullied me, so I said it directly, “then cancel”.
This is the reality: Dr. Cárdenas is more focused on teaching and preserving his ego than on protecting the well-being of his patients.
Asking for reassurance the day before surgery because I didn't want to ask the Cardiologist again. His reaction was shocking. I cannot imagine what risks I would have faced on the operating table. Patients deserve to know. Patients pay for the surgeon's hands, skill, and accountability. The problem isn’t his skill. It’s his unpredictability, defensiveness, and willingness to delegate without transparency. If you ask him to do your surgery himself, he may say yes, or he may turn on you. He may threaten to cancel. I never thought this would happen to me. And I thought I had a good rapport with Dr Cardenas.
If he has treated a loyal patient in this manner since 2020, imagine how he might treat someone he does not know. Please be cautious. We pay for improvement, not to be practiced on, and certainly not to be bullied into silence.
No woman should ever walk away from surgery feeling less beautiful, less confident, or less herself than when she went in.
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