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CB Plastic Surgery Review of Dr. Stephane Corriveau/ Liposelection
Dr. Stephane Corriveau/ Liposelection

Dr. Stephane Corriveau/ Liposelection review: Fat arms! 5

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3:34 pm EST
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Ok, so I've dealt with having what I consider to be fat arms for nearly a lifetime. In early 2007, I decided to do something about it and began researching plastic surgeons in the MD, DC, VA area. After quite a bit of internet research, I decided to meet with Dr. Corriveau. He had written many articles on liposuction and cosmetic surgery and appeared to be quite knowledgeable. Upon visiting his office, his staff was quite pleasant. His manner was subdued but polite. During my consultation I made it clear that I no longer wanted fat arms (17 inches or so in circumference) . I decided after the consultation that I would have liposelection on my upper arms and a mini arm lift, which involved making an incision on the back of the fold of my arm and under my armpit to remove excess skin. With his fees and the hospital expenses, I was out of pocket for about $8000. Had I been satisfied with the results, I would not have cared if it had been $12, 000. However, that is NOT the case. Nearly a year and a half later, my arms remain fat as heck. I have not gained weight since the surgery, but I am really pissed that I spent this money and still have these frickin' fat arms! Although he makes it clear that he will do revisions within a 1 year time frame if you are dissatisfied, who wants to go through that? Wearing that garment and being uncomfortable, sore and nauseated from the anesthesia one time is more than enough for me. I went to two follow up visits after my surgery last March. He kept saying that I wouldn't see the final results for 6-12 months. Well guess what, I still don't see results. Granted, I can see a small difference in the "wing" effect (hanging skin/flab), but I still am not comfortable with my arms. I'm pretty disgusted that I spent this money with him and stressed that I did not want to wake up with fat arms and am basically the same as when I wrote him the check. Before you use this man or any other doctor, demand to see pics of patients that have had the exact same procedure that you want and be extremely clear about what you consider successful results. I spoke with two of his former patients that were extremely satisfied, but they had lipo on different body parts. They were satisfied customers. I certainly wish that I could say the same.

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5 comments
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cupfull
Bowie, US
Jun 14, 2012 1:32 pm EDT

Dr Corriveau did a tummy tuck on me back in 2008 and I was somewhat satisfied with the results. My dissatisfaction was the way the incision was done. All crooked! I went back to him last September 2011 to do my arms and thighs and the sides of my butt. Same as an earlier post, my wish to Dr. Corriveau was to not have fat arms at the end of the surgery and also my thighs must not rub. He assured me that I will have slender shapely arms and thighs.
Well…at the end of week 4 right arm was far bigger than my left with lots of lumps and my thighs were somewhat the same before surgery and I was lopsided around the sides of my butt and my upper thighs. He agreed to do a revision but he insisted that he will do the arms first then later on do the thighs. I asked him why he cannot do all and he said he wanted to spend time on my arms. Of course I had to pay for the hospital facility and everything that goes along with it except his fees. The revision of the arms was done in March 2012. As of today, a little better than the first time but I might as well have not spend all that money and take time off from work for what I got. As for my lopsided issue, I went back last week to discuss it and he said he will not redo the thighs but will try to fix the lopsidedness. So I guess I am stuck with the rubbing of the thighs, thighs with no shape and arms with loose skin that I never had before. I went into this procedure with 15” around the arms and I am 14” but with no shape and a scar under each of my armpit that come out more than he said it would (there goes wearing sleeveless tops). He also told me some garbage about him taking out more fat than is allowed on the original surgery that is why he had to stop taking out fat from the thighs. I went into this as a size 16 W bottom and I am still 16W and 16 in some. I am now shopping around to see if someone can fix this horror story.

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Mary M
Chevy Chase, US
May 18, 2012 2:29 am EDT

I disagree with the above. I had two major surgeries performed by Dr. Corriveaux. Both went very well. I referred my daughter to him for her breast reduction surgery. She had beautiful results and a completely uneventful recovery. We both found Dr Corriveaux to be personable, attentive and very upfront about the potential complications/ inherent to any surgery and to our surgeries in particular.
We believe he is an excellent plastic surgeon.

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Marjorie H
colton's point, US
Aug 08, 2009 9:02 am EDT

From my experience with this surgeon, it echos silvergirl. Dr Corriveau could be outdone by a blind monkey in the operating room. He messed up my breast reduction (disfigurement and nerve damage were the result) and a nose job (I broke my nose and he attempted to help me breathe - now I have congestion all the time) so - anyone who has had a good surgery from this doctor, who DIDN'T have to pay out of pocket would be more the exception.
He really is incompetent at best and apathetic at worst. His fancy address will fool a lot of people.

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Nikaya
, US
Apr 06, 2009 12:19 pm EDT

I agree that the patient should be willing to follow up with the surgeon and should be clear about their satisfaction / dissatisfaction with their surgical results. However, I had multiple procedures with this very same plastic surgeon - my recommendation for any prospective patients or those needing revisions due to his surgical ineptitude, is to run the other direction as fast as possible. I did extensive pre-op research as well & consulted several different physicians before deciding on Dr. Corriveau. He botched several procedures I had performed at the same time. By his own admission, revisions were definitely required. Of course, I had to foot the bill for all of the hospital, surgical, & anesthesia fees associated with each revision (on top of what I'd paid him up front for the initial procedures). I gave this man three revision attempts where the results simply went from bad to worse. I ended up having to go to another plastic surgeon to clean up the mess Dr. Corriveau had caused. The other surgeon I went to did a phenomenal job and corrected what could be corrected, but ultimately I am out twice the money I ever anticipated, have several new scars and some permanent disfigurement that is irreversible. I'm stuck with the consequences of 'bad plastic surgery' in some instances because there simply is nothing any other plastic surgeon can do to correct Corriveau's mistakes (e.g., excessive incisions and scarring around the eyes, an overly cinched middle abdomen due to a botched tummy tuck that caused medical complications, etc.). When Dr. Corriveau proposed a fourth revision, I gave up and sought the services of more qualified physician; it was worth paying the other surgeon full price - every penny. I only wish I'd gone to the other plastic surgeon in the first place versus Corriveau, but what's done cannot be undone. The greatest insult to me was that while I remained very polite with Dr. Corriveau about the botches and numerous revisions, he was quite rude to me during my last two office visits with him. He even slammed the examining room door on his way out after telling me I'd require yet another revision. Perhaps he was frustrated at the circumstances rather than at me, but given how devastating his surgical results were and that I continued to be polite and have faith he'd eventually set things right, his demeanor with me was totally unacceptable. That's when I knew I'd never let that man near me with a scalpel again and had been wrong to give him so many costly chances to remedy his mistakes. Please, please do yourself a favor and find another plastic surgeon.

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toyboyndc
, US
Feb 11, 2009 11:12 am EST

The fact that this person seems unwilling to follow-up with the doctor and just complain makes me very skeptical. Anyone who has done any research regarding plastic surgery knows that there are no guarantees and that you might need follow-up treatment. It seems to me like this might be more a case of buyer's remorse than an actual complaint.