About a year ago I had a face, neck and temporal lift done by Brunno Ristow in San Francisco. He had a very impressive gallery of pictures of work he had done with what appeared to be beautiful results.

After my surgery I looked great for about 2 weeks until, to my alarm, the swelling subsided, my face basically dropped and I developed a gaunt, ill-looking appearance. My ears don't seem to be attached properly - the hair in front of my right ear doesn't grow anymore and both ears stick out through my hair now which they never did before. I have nasolabial folds which are new and my temporal and midface areas are sucked out - I look like I have facial wasting syndrome. I went back to see Dr. Ristow about this and was told I was still healing and to give it time.

A few months later there were no improvements and I returned to see Dr. Ristow. He told me at that time that I had body dysmorphic disorder and that I actually had a 'good' result and that I wouldn't know what the face lift would look like until a year after the surgery. He also told me he thought I was a 'worry wart.'

I've been to several practitioners since then, three doctors, a nurse practitioner and a P.A., all of whom say the same things: 1) "You had a face/neck lift? I would never have thought that." 2) You're going to need some corrective work.

I've run into several former co-workers on the street who literally didn't recognize me until I told them who I am. These are people I worked with for years up until about 6 months before my surgery. One friend I've known for many years told me I look like someone else now. I saw a picture of me taken at a wedding and I wouldn't have recognized myself if I hadn't known it was me. I don't look like a younger me, I look like a different person. I've been asked if I'm sick, told that I lost too much weight. Not one person has ever said wow you look great.

It's now been a year and I have an appointment to see Dr. Ristow to discuss this. One of the assistants in my dermatologist's office told me I should ask for my money back. Is this realistic? Has anyone ever had success with a refund? I paid $17,000 plus another $3,000 or so for anesthesia.

Thanks for any input.

OH MY GOD !
Sounds pretty worrying to me ,and i do feel for you.
Frankly i believe that once a doctor has your money,then they dont care a damn.
I had lower facelift in March this year,and oddly i had no swelling,no tightness,and no bruising.....and just knew it was unheard of.....i contacted Adam Kalecinski in Poland to say i looked exactly as i was before.....he said,well he did it, so basically tough ...i am furious ,and i asked for my money back......but now he refuses to answer my emails.
Rarely if ever does anyone get their money back,and that is shameful.

I have consulted with Dr. Ristow for the exact same procedures and was ready to schedule until reading your post. I had eyelifts done by him 15 years ago and am still pleased with the results. Can you tell me how you feel about your looks now and do you have any photos of what you described as a wasted look, etc.? Did you have to have corrective procedures? Just any thoughts would be helpful. Thank you. StellaMa

I wonder what he'd say if you contacted a lawyer

This is so sad! It is a very costly procedure and you go in with high expectations and get these results. I am so glad I went to Dr Rottman in Baltimore for my surgery. He is the best, I have no regrets at all. http://www.rottmanplasticsurgery.com
Good luck in the future.

I am very sad to read this,but it is becoming increasingly common ,and my belief is that the $$$$,s matter more than the patients wellbeing with many doctors.!
I doubt very much you will ever get your money back,as i have a friend who has been suing a NY doctor for the past 4 years,and i dont believe she will ever get a penny,and of course in the end it wears one down so much,that folk give up.
I had rubbish surgery in Poland ,and after sending dozens of emails i have all but given up ,as now i never even get a reply.
We put trust in doctors,but with many they no longer have ethics,its all about the money.

You will never get your money back, and the doctor will never admit to doing wrong. He will always say how much better you look now.
This too happened to me, and I am in the process of getting corrective work. He made so many mistakes plus pulled my face horizontal instead of diagonal, I never even thought they could make your face a different shape? My two cheeks are way different along with my ears which are "pixie" now. I also have sutures popping out in front of my ears from the inside, with 2 huge "blister like" pimples...it's awful, can't really cover them with my hair. They began to pop out 3 yrs after surgery....the doc that did my surgery was Robert Cooper in Florida ......good luck and I hope that you can get something back, I would be very surprised...