Experience with Dr. Laura Carmina Cardenas and Beauty Enhance?

[LumpySpacePrincess 594]

I'm considering this surgeon for a lower body lift. Her consultation was extremely thorough and she even made me aware of a few plastics techniques that will fix my side/back skin, but that other plastic surgeons in the NYC metro area were not performing (Fleur de lis). I sent her photos and she completely addressed every area of my body. I feel confident in her abilities.

BUT...I want to see if anyone here has any unbiased reviews on this doctor. Going to Mexico for PS scares the crap out of me, but my insurance won't cover it even in a medical emergency and my funds are limited.

Thanks in advance!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

She was my surgeon for my extended Tummy Tuck and breast lift with augmentation almost 5 years ago after I lost 90 pounds on my own. I am scheduled to go back to her for a spiral thigh lift in September now that I've re-lost the weight with my sleeve and will have been maintaining for a year at that point. I'll be happy to answer any specific questions I can about her and the Beauty Care Recovery House.

I love Dra. Cardenas as a person. She is so genuine and easy to talk to. She tells it like it is, but not in a harsh way. She doesn't really sugar-coat things, but she has a way of putting you at ease about them. It's a very good quality in a surgeon. She is also, obviously, VERY skilled and does amazing work. When I was in the recover house, she came and checked on me every single day. And even once I went home, she continued to follow up with calls and emails for probably a good two months at least. She also spoke directly to my PCP for my follow-up care.

There is a new recovery house now, so I don't know how the new one is set up or what the current staff is like, but the care I received when I was there was fantastic. I had nurses there 24/7 to tend to my every need. In the first couple of days, that was HUGE, because I couldn't even use the bathroom by myself. They helped me with literally everything. They were so loving and caring too. I honestly got really attached to all of them and was hugging them, and crying when it was time for me to leave!

The recovery house was also great with my food. Even though this was before I was sleeved, I was a VERY picky eater and provided a hugely long list of foods I didn't like or wouldn't eat ahead of time. They prepared all my meals within the guidelines I provided. The fresh fruit was AMAZING. I know that there is now a Bariatric Surgeon working out of Dra. Cardenas' clinic, so I am certain they can deal with bariatric patient food requirements without issue.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions and I will do my best to answer them. Just keep in mind it will be 5 years in August since my first round of plastics there and I won't be back until September, so I might not have all the answers.

[LumpySpacePrincess 594]

@@JamieLogical do you happen to have a copy of her CV? Probably not, but I thought I'd ask!!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@JamieLogical do you happen to have a copy of her CV? Probably not, but I thought I'd ask!!

I'm sorry. I don't think I do unless it's in an ancient email somewhere. I am sure Fatimeh could send you a copy if you asked. There are also copies of her certifications on her web site.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

The fact that she only wants to help you look your best and not suggest procedures that would not look good or just to make more money.

That is definitely true of her. She "talked me down" from several possible procedures because she didn't think the results would be worth the money or the risk/recovery. A lot of surgeons would just want you go with more procedures or the more expensive options to try to get more money out of you.

[DylanRae 71]

Tentative on going to Mexico at all.. But i think if i do im going with her... What was some of the total costs including airfare and such for some of you?

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Tentative on going to Mexico at all.. But i think if i do im going with her... What was some of the total costs including airfare and such for some of you?

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Mine was around $11,000 in all for airfare, recovery house, extended Tummy Tuck, breast lift with implants, all over Lipo, and fat grafting to my butt. But that was back in 2011, so I am sure the pricing has gone up since then and airfare is always a wildcard depending on when you go. In the US I would have probably paid closer to $30,000 and the surgeons in my area aren't exactly the bee's knees, so I might have ended up traveling anyway.

[My Bariatric Life 764]

It is nice to read a couple of positive reviews about this doctor. She piqued my interest a while back but then I read a very negative review about her, basically describing her practice to be run like some dirty clinic down a back alley way. I have no idea about the legitimacy of the review as I did not know the reviewer... knowing that some people write false reviews, I still was left with a feeling of alarm (the woman's post was very detailed). Probably because I was friendly with another patient who had a fabulous result with Cardenas. She ended up getting an infection and after that she changed her name from BubbleGumBooty to something else (I cannot recall) and stopped posting. So, it made me wonder about the first patient's claim of a dirty clinic.

Well, I don't know that I've provided help or not. Surely there are surgeons in the US whose patients have complications, too (I was one of them!). There are a number of reviews about Cardenas on RealSelf and I am sure you can PM some of those patients and get your questions answered.

Good luck with your decision.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@My Bariatric Life Definitely have to take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. There are all sorts of reasons for people to post false reviews. Or maybe they even did have legitimately bad experiences, but are prone to exaggeration. It's so hard to tell. I think that's why it's important to try to get into direct contact with multiple past patients and try to find as much out as you can, the good and the bad, and try to sort through it all to make the best decision for yourself.

[CLN.BK 165]

Tentative on going to Mexico at all.. But i think if i do im going with her... What was some of the total costs including airfare and such for some of you?

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Mine was around $11,000 in all for airfare, recovery house, extended Tummy Tuck, breast lift with implants, all over Lipo, and fat grafting to my butt. But that was back in 2011, so I am sure the pricing has gone up since then and airfare is always a wildcard depending on when you go. In the US I would have probably paid closer to $30,000 and the surgeons in my area aren't exactly the bee's knees, so I might have ended up traveling anyway.

Did you have all the procedures at once, or were they split up? Everything you've listed is exactly what I want done. I'd love to knock it out all at one time. How did decide how much fat grafting you wanted for your butt? I think I want a moderate size butt, but I'm not really sure. I don't want it too big b/c I think it'd be a struggle to find pants that properly fit.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Tentative on going to Mexico at all.. But i think if i do im going with her... What was some of the total costs including airfare and such for some of you?

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Mine was around $11,000 in all for airfare, recovery house, extended Tummy Tuck, breast lift with implants, all over Lipo, and fat grafting to my butt. But that was back in 2011, so I am sure the pricing has gone up since then and airfare is always a wildcard depending on when you go. In the US I would have probably paid closer to $30,000 and the surgeons in my area aren't exactly the bee's knees, so I might have ended up traveling anyway.

Did you have all the procedures at once, or were they split up? Everything you've listed is exactly what I want done. I'd love to knock it out all at one time. How did decide how much fat grafting you wanted for your butt? I think I want a moderate size butt, but I'm not really sure. I don't want it too big b/c I think it'd be a struggle to find pants that properly fit.

I did have them all at once. It was kind of a marathon surgery and it was A LOT to recover from at once. Not positive I'd do it all at the same time again if I had it to do over, but I made it. As for the fat grafting, I left that up to Dra. Cardenas. She is an expert in that sort of thing, so I deferred to her judgement. And I was, of course, somewhat limited by the amount of fat I had to lipo from elsewhere. In the end, pants fitting did become somewhat of an issue. Between the tiny waist from the tummy tuck, and the larger butt from the fat grafting, it was hard to find pants that fit well in both areas. There are some specialty jean shops (PZI comes to mind) that are meant to accommodate "curvier" shapes.

[CLN.BK 165]

@@JamieLogical

How much time did you need to take off work in order to recover?

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@JamieLogical

How much time did you need to take off work in order to recover?

I was initially scheduled for 4 weeks off work. I had a complication where I had soft-tissue swelling in my lower back, which made it very painful to sit in my desk chair, so I actually ended up working half days for a while once I got back to work. I would definitely recommend 6 weeks off if you can get it.

[CLN.BK 165]

@@JamieLogical

How much time did you need to take off work in order to recover?

I was initially scheduled for 4 weeks off work. I had a complication where I had soft-tissue swelling in my lower back, which made it very painful to sit in my desk chair, so I actually ended up working half days for a while once I got back to work. I would definitely recommend 6 weeks off if you can get it.

I can definitely get 6 weeks off with FMLA (assuming I only use the expected 4 weeks of FLMA with my sleeve surgery next week. I just need to save up over the next 12 months or so in order to afford it, which is doable. Worst case scenario, I wait until early 2018.

Thanks so much for answering all my questions! :-)

[bellabloom 2,467]

I am staying at her recovery house now. Dr cardinas is the most charming a professional woman you'll ever meet. She is truly invested in her patients and extremely skilled as a surgeon. She preformed a neck lift, Tummy Tuck, and breast lift on me. Also included was 5 days in her awesome recovery house with 24 hour nurses. The hospital she operated out of is beautiful. Have zero doubts. She is the doctor you want to choose. She is also a weight loss patient herself and has much understanding of our bodies and needs. My results are beautiful. I adore her.
I paid 12,750 for neck lift with mastoplexy, extended tummy with. Uncle repair, and breast lift.