Disappointing Fat Transfer Experience -- Two Tries - New York, NY

I have a naturally thin lip - especially the top which completely disappears when I smile. I have been doing regular lip filler injections for two years with good result. Increasingly, my body began to metabolize the filler to where it was completely absorbed in 3 months. I gave the lip transfer a try - I was told it may take 2 surgeries (it did) and of course, results are not guaranteed. Unfortunately, my body ended up metabolizing the fat even faster than filler. I should note that this is not the doctor or practice's vault - it was made very clear to me that they cannot guarantee results and given my experience with fillers, I was disappointed but did not blame anyone.

This all said, I was not happy with my experience at Tribeca Plastic Surgery and after reflection - 8 months later, I thought I would post and share my thoughts with this community.

- The practice has lots of people doing lots of things with fair overlap of duties. This created much more confusion and complexity than I have experienced at other practices. I was told Mary, the PA would call me on Friday (for an op on Tuesday) to review pre-op stuff. I said that was fine I could also come in as I live nearby. Most of Friday went by without a call so I called the practice and the lady said only Mary could talk to me about it. I told her ok but I was leaving in the early evening and would be away for the weekend. Mary ended up calling me around 7:30pm and left me a message to call her over the weekend - I guess the receptionist didn't tell her I wasn't available. So on Monday, I physically went into the office to check in (this was scheduled). I asked if I should get any prescriptions that day because I would be in a lot of pain the next day. Mary, the Physicians Assistant again wasn't able to see me and the staff told me not to worry, they would give me something tomorrow. I was given sanitizing wash (like the red stuff surgeons scrub in with) to put on operative areas the morning of my surgery. I filled out all the paperwork and left. The day of my surgery, I was asked to re-enter paperwork exactly the same as i had already filled out. A nurse came in and reviewed it with me -- asking me every single question on the page. I asked the nurse about the prescriptions because I would be out of it after the surgery. She said she thought they had given it to me the day before -- I explained and she said she'd look into it. Then Dr. S came in and asked me again every single question on the page I just told the nurse (and told her when I came in for my pre op consult). At the end, I asked her about the prescriptions and she said she thought Mary had given it to me the day before. She left to also find out. Then the anesthesiologist came in -- not kidding, he AGAIN went through every question (eg my age, how i was getting home, what medications I was on and prior surgeries). I again answered him and asked HIM about my post op prescriptions. He was very surprised this hadn't been done yet and immediately called for Dr. S and the nurse. He said I would in no way be able to fill the prescriptions myself (we live in NYC where everything is walking distance) and he helped me convince them to run out to the pharmacy then and there and fill them. How frustrating but most of all it left me with a deep sense of distrust for all the disorganization. I should say that I have had a half dozen procedures (including a full body lift) so I am aware of how practices and surgeons operate. This was really scaring me.

Unlike other practices, I bought my own compression garment because they wouldn't supply one. I told them it was very important that they put it on me while I was asleep. One time I had a procedure where they didn't do it and it was terribly painful trying to pull that on after you are awake.

I woke up in recovery -- I should say I made the mistake of having the procedure done in the practice operating room (aka basement). Post op is just waking up on the operating table in the hallway. Because I wasn't in a bed, I woke up very stiff and sore (I had lipo on my back and fat transferred to my lips). They got me up and walked me over to a doctors office recliner chair in the corner that was sectioned off by a curtain. I was indeed in my compression garment but as I started to get my wits about me and try to get dressed, I realized that the garment was completely soaking wet. Mary, the PA came out and told me that I couldn't leave like that. I asked her why I was soaking wet and she said that the blood and liquid they use in lipo was seeping out of my back. This is when she told me that this practice doesn't suture anything - they believe in letting the body heal naturally. I was incredulous. So now Mary, a nurse and Dr. S are all standing in front of me scrambling around like deer in headlights. They seemed surprised I was wet and I couldn't understand why they didn't close the entry points. They told me I had to get out of it and get into a clean one. I started to cry, this is exactly what I didn't want !!! Now it was going to be so painful and I spent so much time researching that garment. The practice didn't have a compression garment so they put gauze all over my back and some of those blue pads they put instruments on in the operating room and wrapped my back in a stretchy wrap type thing and had me get dressed.

I went home and washed/dried my compression garment. I laid down and when I woke up, I was again soaking wet. I tried to change into my now clean garment and all the pads and gauze they wrapped me in fell out and there was blood and lipo solution everywhere. I kept crying and crying.

I went back into the practice the next day. Immediately, I was swarmed by Dr. S, Mary and a nurse. Mary immediately started to blame me for not calling her over the weekend for the confusion and chaos that occurred the day before. I shut that down pretty quickly and by the look in my eye all three of them knew they needed not "go there" or else I would provide a detailed summary of what really happened. They then became over the top in niceness and that was that.

Stupidly, I went back for the 2nd op because I had invested money in it and my lips weren't yet done. This time I (again, stupidly) opted for local anesthesia because I was just having a small amount of lipo "harvested". We agreed in advance that everything would be closed with stitches. Dr. S gave me shots on my lips to numb it. Then she cut into my lip and started the lip procedure --- it wasn't enough though and I kept feeling the pain and jumping up and saying "I FEEL THAT!". This happened four times by which time, I was crying and miserable. After every time, she would then have to give me another shot. My dentist numbs my mouth when they deep clean my teeth and I can't feel anything (usually for hours!) I am stupefied as to how I wasn't given enough for a painful procedure.

I have since learned Dr. S left the practice. I am guessing Mary is still there. I would NOT recommend.