The doctor acted cold and indifferent towards my concerns

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Do Not Go Here—they Seem Nice but Are Very Cold After Surgery

  • 29 Apr 2021
Update: It has been 3 years and I still see a dent under my belly button that I noticed immediately when I took off my bandages and binder. I am emailing them and asking for a refund, as this is unacceptable. It was the first thing I noticed when I took off the binder—that Dr. Giuffrida had done an uneven job with the laser liposuction. I also have a hardened bump above the belly button that I noticed and hasn't gone away. I went to Elite MD back in October, and was able to get a consultation from Dr. Bansal, who then told me Dr. Giuffrida would be doing my procedure. We then made an appointment for two weeks later. This consultation was great—the woman (Julia) spoke to me enthusiastically and was very honest about what would happen and answered all of my questions. I immediately felt welcome in the environment and from there on made my decision to do my laser liposuction on my abdomen here. They had asked me to meet Dr. Giuffrida the day before, and when I met him, we spoke for probably around 30 seconds, before he dismissed me and went on with his other appointments. Note that I live about an hour away. I had hoped that he would start the conversation by asking what I wanted to be changed, and what he can do for me, but instead he looked at my abdomen and told me that my skin looks great for the procedure, and shook my hand and left.  First impression was not the best—he seemed rude and dismissive, and did not seem to care about what I wanted or cared about. The next morning, I got dressed in the robe and Dr. Giuffrida went in to talk to me and mark my abdomen up before the laser liposuction. He still did not talk to me much, and seemed very distant and off. I had hoped that since this is my first surgical procedure ever, that he would walk me through it and be aware that I was very nervous. We began the procedure, and while he seldomly asked if I was okay, I wished all the assistants and Dr. Giuffrida provided more support emotionally and physically.  All went well, and I went home and relaxed. They called me that afternoon to make sure I was okay. The next morning, we had to go in for a follow up check in. When I took my bandages and binder off, I noticed that there was still some fat under my belly button, and it seemed prominent and stood out. I pointed this out to Julia, and she dismissed it, saying that my body is still healing and it would go away. I was skeptical, as it was definitely soft natural fat, while the rest of the body was sore and very swollen (and hardened). Again, I pointed this out to Dr. Giuffrida and he dismissed my concerns, saying that everything would be okay. While I understand that these surgical procedures take up to a year to see final results, I felt uncomfortable with how easy and quick they were to not take my concerns in consideration.  A few months passed, and with two skin tightening (I forgot the name of these procedures, one is complimentary!) procedures, they have stopped contacting me. Now, it has been 5 months, and I still haven't heard anything. During those two skin tightening procedures with Julia, she seemed much more apathetic and passive than when we had first met and talked. It seems like everyone was very enthusiastic when we met in order to get me to do the procedure, but now that I have gone through with it, the staff seems indifferent to me and how I feel.  I have been eating very healthy and regularly working out. At first after the swollen period, my stomach flattened and it looked wonderful. For some reason, now it seems that I've collected a bit more fat on my tummy, and have been noticing that original pocket of fat under my belly button is still there. While the rest of the naturally hardened rolls have gotten smaller, its very noticeable that the part under my belly button hasn't gone away, which means that during the procedure, that fat area was not eliminating, resulting in an uneven tummy.  Overall, I would not go back here for the procedure if I were to start over. I'm still generally happy with having a flatter tummy, but with the cost of the procedure (around $6000) and the lack of support and enthusiasm from the staff, it seems that I could have gotten a better package somewhere else. One big factor is Dr. Giuffrida and how he acted very dismissive towards me and did not seem to care about my concerns.

Provider Review

Michael A. Giuffrida, MD - Account Suspended
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
3130 Crow Canyon Pl, San Ramon, California
Overall rating
  • 9 Mar 2017

Update: It has been 3 years and I still see a dent under my belly button that I noticed immediately when I took off my bandages and binder. I am emailing them and asking for a refund, as this is unacceptable. It was the first thing I noticed when I took off the binder—that Dr. Giuffrida had done an uneven job with the laser liposuction. I also have a hardened bump above the belly button that I noticed and hasn't gone away.

I went to Elite MD back in October, and was able to get a consultation from Dr. Bansal, who then told me Dr. Giuffrida would be doing my procedure. We then made an appointment for two weeks later. This consultation was great—the woman (Julia) spoke to me enthusiastically and was very honest about what would happen and answered all of my questions. I immediately felt welcome in the environment and from there on made my decision to do my laser liposuction on my abdomen here. They had asked me to meet Dr. Giuffrida the day before, and when I met him, we spoke for probably around 30 seconds, before he dismissed me and went on with his other appointments. Note that I live about an hour away. I had hoped that he would start the conversation by asking what I wanted to be changed, and what he can do for me, but instead he looked at my abdomen and told me that my skin looks great for the procedure, and shook my hand and left. 

First impression was not the best—he seemed rude and dismissive, and did not seem to care about what I wanted or cared about. The next morning, I got dressed in the robe and Dr. Giuffrida went in to talk to me and mark my abdomen up before the laser liposuction. He still did not talk to me much, and seemed very distant and off. I had hoped that since this is my first surgical procedure ever, that he would walk me through it and be aware that I was very nervous. We began the procedure, and while he seldomly asked if I was okay, I wished all the assistants and Dr. Giuffrida provided more support emotionally and physically. 

All went well, and I went home and relaxed. They called me that afternoon to make sure I was okay. The next morning, we had to go in for a follow up check in. When I took my bandages and binder off, I noticed that there was still some fat under my belly button, and it seemed prominent and stood out. I pointed this out to Julia, and she dismissed it, saying that my body is still healing and it would go away. I was skeptical, as it was definitely soft natural fat, while the rest of the body was sore and very swollen (and hardened). Again, I pointed this out to Dr. Giuffrida and he dismissed my concerns, saying that everything would be okay. While I understand that these surgical procedures take up to a year to see final results, I felt uncomfortable with how easy and quick they were to not take my concerns in consideration. 

A few months passed, and with two skin tightening (I forgot the name of these procedures, one is complimentary!) procedures, they have stopped contacting me. Now, it has been 5 months, and I still haven't heard anything. During those two skin tightening procedures with Julia, she seemed much more apathetic and passive than when we had first met and talked. It seems like everyone was very enthusiastic when we met in order to get me to do the procedure, but now that I have gone through with it, the staff seems indifferent to me and how I feel. 

I have been eating very healthy and regularly working out. At first after the swollen period, my stomach flattened and it looked wonderful. For some reason, now it seems that I've collected a bit more fat on my tummy, and have been noticing that original pocket of fat under my belly button is still there. While the rest of the naturally hardened rolls have gotten smaller, its very noticeable that the part under my belly button hasn't gone away, which means that during the procedure, that fat area was not eliminating, resulting in an uneven tummy. 

Overall, I would not go back here for the procedure if I were to start over. I'm still generally happy with having a flatter tummy, but with the cost of the procedure (around $6000) and the lack of support and enthusiasm from the staff, it seems that I could have gotten a better package somewhere else. One big factor is Dr. Giuffrida and how he acted very dismissive towards me and did not seem to care about my concerns.