Lifestyle Lift

Prior to the surgical procedure that I had done there were several consultations with the staff and Dr. at the Lifestyle Surgery Center in Santa Ana, Ca. I believed everything they told me about having no down time and great results with very little discomfort. On March 31, I had a Lifestyle Lift procedure. It was quite painful and I was only given 3 valium during the entire procedure (they kept the other three). I returned the next day to have the bandages removed and discussed the care that was required for proper healing. I had a difficult time with the swelling/pain and had to call the office. The Dr. wasn't available to speak with me so I waited until that evening before I heard from him. He prescribed steroids. The swelling and pain persisted. I continued to clean the incisions and had ice packs on around the clock. The following week I had the sutures removed (most of them anyway, a few were left). I was still in pain and still swollen, they assured me this would go away soon. The next day I called the office to make an appointment for three weeks. I was told I would get a call back. I never received a call and tried again the next day. This went on for weeks. I left message after message. I was still having trouble and concerns with the healing.
I continued calling and was told each time someone would call me back. After 3 months I e-mailed their corporate office in Michigan. I received a phone call the next day from the Office Manager apologizing for the neglect of a staff member not forwarding my messages. A meeting was scheduled to discuss my frustrations with this facility and the lack of professionalism and a duty of care I never received.
I met with the Office Manager and was informed the employee who took all my messages and never forwarded them was fired. She also knew how upset I was with the treatment I received, the incision didn't heal properly.
After this meeting which was pointless, I contacted their Corporate Office again and faxed the details of the past few months. It was sent to their Medical Director for review. The Office Manager was contacted by her Corporate Office and denied all the phone calls I made for over three months and documented in my file that patient was unresponsive. She also denied firing anyone from her office.
I called the Office Manager the next day a taped recorded the conversation which was also sent to their Corporate Office. The Office Manager admitted that corporate doesn't know anything about what really happened. A staff member was fired. The phone calls I made were logged but never sent on and I was denied post-op care that was required.
This facility and the Dr. knew they performed this procedure and it required post-op care. I tried for over three months to be seen and was denied care, instead false statements were put in my file. They are negligent of Patient Abandonment, Delay in Treatment and a Duty of Care to their patient.
To date, I have heard from the Corporate Office and the person I was dealing with agreed with the negligence that took place. Their medical director had no comment.
They were paid a lot of money for this procedure and it requires six appointments after surgery. I received two.
To this day the area around my ears and cheekbones are numb, the feeling will probably never come back. The incisions behind my ears become raw and irritated all the time. It doesn't look any different other than the scars I now have.
This facility is under investigation from the Osteopathic Medical Board of California.