Would give a 0 if i could. Very rude staff who "banned" me from surgery because i refused a psychologist appointment. Never had a need to see one, and had suffered a deviated septum which obstructed my breathing. The staff were very rude and unpleasant to deal with. I offered an apology if i had offended anyone and really insisted for surgery as i couldn't breathe well but instantly regretted my kind gesture as the staff members met me with arrogance, hostility and rudeness. Very glad i didn't end up with this surgeon, i just waisted my money and time with them. I highly recommend Dr George Marcells instead. I had the most amazing experience with his team and the surgeon, who i believe, are far better both cosmetically and medically as well as kinder and much more supportive.

Submitted May 27, 2022

I had been thinking about rhinoplasty for quite some time. I had never let it get in the way of my life but now I was in a position where my children were older and I was in the financial position to do it so I was in no rush and researched for a suitable surgeon. I went to a couple of appointments but finally decided on Dr Shahidi. No doubt his Instagram before and afters are testimony to his skill as a surgeon and I found Dr Shahidi courteous and professional during my initial consultation. After reading many reviews I noticed a common theme was the practice of Dr Shahidi making it mandatory to see his preferred psychologist Dr Mireskandari. To say I was disappointed when Dr Shahidi mentioned it is an understatement. There was nothing in my consultation notes to trigger such an expensive consultation however I realised I had to comply.
I was apprehensive as it seemed he made it mandatory to refer clients to her no matter what. I know what you’re saying and I thought it myself, he is being a responsible surgeon and ensuring a person is psychologically ready for life changing surgery. However previous reviews did not paint Dr Mireskandari in a positive light and she asked questions that were unprofessional but I had an open mind and made the appointment. It was then I realised that the reviews were right. Given my age and life experience I am a supporter of anything that promotes healthy informed decisions however this is where Dr Shahidi lacks sincerity. There is no getting past the initial consultation to surgery no matter how mentally ready you are for it so you are obliged to line Dr Mireskandari’s pockets as a favour from Dr Shahidi and do the whole one hour chit chat for $350.00. You can have the backing of your own specialist and reports/confirmation of treatment but Dr Shahidi will not accept them at all. It is a condition that you see her so your hands are tied. This ruse has been in practice for years so no doubt it is a sham that benefits Dr Mireskandari financially and that is very sad that she makes money from the vulnerability of people who are seeking to feel better about themselves. I spoke to Dr Mireskandari and found her bedside manner intrusive, dismissive and not helpful, she asked irrelevant questions and was not compassionate or empathetic. I can see why Dr Shahidi has to force people to see her as I can imagine no person would voluntarily seek out her services. She suggested further consultations over many months regarding pre-operative therapy and beyond and then maybe I might be considered???? I realised there and then that I was in a corner and unless I paid copious amounts to this woman I would not get the go ahead to move forward with surgery. I mentioned seeing a cheaper psychologist and that’s when Dr Mireskandari took offence and basically advised she would not recommend me for surgery????? So either pay her money or look for another surgeon was basically her meaning. Nil contact from this woman after that consultation gave me all the answers I needed. I wasn’t going to be worth the dollars so she discarded me ready to move onto her next unnecessary referral from Dr Shahidi.
I do not write this with malice or an intention to persuade you not to use Dr Shahidi’s services. As above I found Dr Shahidi pleasant enough. I write this as a cautionary tale to raise an awareness of what I believe is a money making mandatory referral process for his friend, not a referral with your best interests at heart. My recommendation would be if you do see him is smile a lot, do not disclose anything that you feel they could feed on to make you see Dr Mireskandari. Try and avoid her at all costs. If Dr Mireskandari’s job was to make you feel 100 times worse about yourself and manipulate you to take your money I would give her five stars.
As a good ending I believe things happen for a reason and ended up having surgery with the most wonderful surgeon in Sydney and am over the moon with my results. At my initial consultation it was not even an issue and the whole process was stress free so please do your research and if you still decide on Dr Shahidi play the game with Dr Mireskandari if you can because it’s the only way you will be approved for surgery and save you thousands lining her pockets. Good luck!

Submitted Dec. 14, 2021

I had my initial consultation, was impressed with the nose he could do for me seemed nice.. until the first red flag came up that ultimately swayed my choice to go else where. Dr Shab is a psychologist Who you absolutely have to see referred by him. With an exorbitant fee of $350 for one hour just to see this psychologist I was unhappy. I had already being seeing a psychologist where I live and they fully supported me for surgery. I told dr shahidi that, but no I still need to see dr shab. She was extremely misleading, made unprofessional comments and said was a unsuitable candidate for surgery even though I had thiught about this for years and knew what I wanted. So misleading.. on her email she said she isn’t the ultimate gatekeeper of whether you can get your rhinoplasty but she is…Her reasoning was because I had depression and didn’t think I was ready. Because I was on medication I wasn’t treated for my depression, rather ‘distracted’ from it. My depression is literally sparked by my nose and wouldn’t you think me going on antidepressants is good as I am taking action to recovery? She just wanted more therapy sessions to ‘cure’ me. She just wants more money and if depression was treated by therapy, wouldn’t the world be cured of it? Dr Shab then told me if she wasn’t happy with her to go talk to dr shahidi, as he said I was ‘very suitable if you weren’t, I’d tell you immediately, this psychologist will be going over post care, not a matter of if you can get it done or not.’ Dr shab told me that I misunderstood that… even though they were his words exactly. She told me to then go talk to him so I did, I was put on the phone w Amy. She couldn’t even answer my question or justify the stupidity I have been put through. Amy asked if I hate my nose now, whats stopping u from hating it at the end? I replied with if I hate it now, and hate it after WhAtS the difference? What is dr Shan going to do? She couldn’t answer…. After a large pause she relied with ‘dr shab is expert in her field’… Amy also said if you’ve been wanting it done so passionately that’s a red flag in itself .. felt like saying what would you know don’t make that comment you’re just a receptionist!? so lousy and I couldn’t end up to go see another psychologist even though dr shab said if you want you can and see the outcome…
All in all, this experience was so disheartening I was happy with dr shahidi and extremely impressed w his work and don’t doubt he is a good doctor, but this refer a friend psychologist was absolutely a waste of time, money, infuriating, ambiguous and misleading. That psychologist is money greedy extremely unhelpful and just really amplified my depression.

Submitted Oct. 28, 2021

Initially I was extremely impressed with my consultation. Flew in from interstate because he was considered the best. I was a little deflated that the earliest they could operate was a full year from the consult, I'd already spent 6 months waiting for just a consultation. I was a bit worried about how much he was actually going to do when all I wanted was my bump removed and a natural straight nose. Anyway, I heard he was the best and he gave a good first impression so I paid up a $1k deposit to secure the date. The Dr told me I had to go and see a psychologist as well (another $350) to get approval to even have the procedure done. Btw his quote was $15k to get the work done, adding on top of that hospital and anesthetic fees and flights + accommodation to stay interstate it was going to cost me a whopping $24-25k. That is A LOT of money.

Anyway.. Onto the psychologist. I have never seen one before and have always felt I had great mental health. I spoke to my GP about it and wanted to know what kind of questions they would ask and what to expect. He said "I'd be very surprised if the psychologist doesn't ask you if you'd sue him for a bad job".. My GP even did some background searching on Dr Shahidi to make sure he was legit because he cared about me. I'd like to mention here you don't get a choice as to which psychologist you use, it has to be Dr Shahidi's psychologist. And tbh she seemed like a joke. She asked me extremely personal questions about my sex life that weren't relevant to my nose. She asked me if I wanted children, as I'd have to explain to them why mummy's nose looks different. Not that it was her business but I said I didn't want children by choice. She asked me what contraception I was using and how often I had sex with my husband. I understand questions checking for body dysmorphia but it was more than that. She talked over me, didn't listen.. Anyway, I finally passed her 'test' which was not one but two consultations. I tried looking her up on LinkedIn and Google and could barely find anything about her. So I wonder what her qualifications actually are. Anyway, if you want to go through Dr Shahidi, be prepared for the red tape of the psychologist. Honestly she must be a family friend or something that he refers to.. But that was my first experience with a psychologist and it was not great. She viewed it as a problem that I had good self-esteem (aren't you supposed to work hard on your own mental health first before you get a huge life changing surgery!?) I had done a lot of work on myself to feel good and she saw that as a problem, as if only people with crippling anxiety and depression over their noses can experience positive benefits from it. Anyway that should have been my first red flag.

The surgery date is creeping closer then Covid happens. I called the office to find out what would be happening. They said 4 weeks out of surgery, if border restrictions were still up, I'd have to reschedule, or risk it and not be able to come and forfeit ALL my money and STILL not have the procedure done. Obviously I rescheduled. Then the date creeps closer again and this time they need to move the surgery date if border restrictions are still up 6 weeks out. A lot can change in 6 weeks. Guys I ended up post phoning my surgery 5 times. It was excruciating. With each post-phoning the staff seemed to get shorter and ruder with me. They had $15k of my money, they no longer needed to be patient with me. After needing to reschedule for a fifth time I called it, I had some important personal things happening where I knew my nose wouldn't heal in time. I asked for my money back as I hated the way I was getting treated by staff which was fairly curt. I always was pleasant and nice in my communications, so that wasn't appreciated. They finally agreed to give me my money back. So I have to say I feel relieved. I am so glad I didn't go through with Dr Shahidi. I feel like I'd still be waiting to get surgery done anyway. They also forgot to give me $5k back of my money, but that was resolved fairly quickly.

So essentially, I wasted a lot of time with this surgeon. I have chosen to go ahead with another doctor in my state and the difference in the way I am treated is night and day. No need to see a psychologist, no exorbitant consult fees, and not as long to wait before surgery is done, also the Dr has a conservative approach and is doing exactly what I want which is pretty minimal. They didn't even ask for a deposit, just to make sure payment is made 2 weeks before surgery. Dr Shahidi feels like a money grab in comparison. And unless you want a nose that looks like it's been scooped by an ice cream scooper, don't go.

Submitted Sept. 18, 2021

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! Dr Shahidi and his team are amazing, from the first consultation, to before and after surgery and post care - the team have been incredible. I have always felt so comfortable, calm and reassured throughout. Dr Shahidi made me feel at ease every step of the way, he and the team educated me on realistic expectations and I am more than happy with my results being only 9 months post op. It was seriously the best decision I have ever made! I can breathe better and my nose looks amazing! I cannot thank the team enough for my rhinoplasty experience - wouldn't go anywhere else in Sydney!

Submitted Aug. 7, 2021

I intitally contacted Dr Shahidi’s office, in Oct last year, to Book a consult. From the first point of contact, his team were friendly, informative and willing to answer any question I had. Being such an amazing surgeon, I knew that the wait would be long, but as the schedule changed and I was on the waiting list to be be moved forward, I had my first consult in March, 2021. I knew right away, that Dr Shahidi was the surgeon for me. He was extremely informative, made me feel comfortable and his expertise and many years as a surgeon , is of the highest standard . From my consult time, I had my surgery 3 months later and I could not be happier . My nose is beyond amazing and I give Dr S and his team a 20/10. A special shout out to his nurse Raleigh and co-ordinator Amy, who go above and beyond , all the time x x

Submitted July 30, 2021

This rating is for Anthony, the patient liaison officer. I never even got a chance to make a booking. When I called, he answered and told me the waiting time for an appointment to see Dr Shahidi is 14 months! No consultations before August 2022. Also, I'd have to pay a $350 "non-refundable" fee. I explained I had a recent injury to my nose. He asked me how it happened and then burst out laughing when I told him. It was actually quite traumatic and he came across as being unprofessional and immature. He then started telling me that 'we don't do revisions' when I have never had nose (or any) cosmetic surgery before. I thought I might have better luck if I wrote to them. Anthony 'the gatekeeper' answered though and asked if I was the same person he spoke to the day before. He said the information on their website stating that consultation waiting time was 2-3 months was outdated. I replied asking if he was a medical professional, and that it seemed unreasonable to wait over a year for a consultation, especially when an injury is involved. He replied that the tone of my message was 'condescending' and that on this basis, he and the team would not offer me a consultation! I wonder if Dr Shahidi is aware of how Anthony behaves with potential customers. I can't say anything about this doctor other than that he appears to be very talented and have a good eye for aesthetics. Unfortunately, Anthony got in the way! "No consultation for you!"

Submitted June 17, 2021

I had a rhinoplasty with Dr. Shahidi 6 weeks ago and the entire experience from my first consultation until my 6 week follow up today has been amazing. Dr Shahidi and his team provide world class care like nothing I have experienced anywhere else. Dr. Shahidi is extremely professional but also an incredibly nice man. He explains everything and gives you a good idea of what results to expect. His awesome team also but huge effort into making sure you understand and are comfortable with the entire process. I had my surgery at North shore specialist day hospital and everyone I met there was so kind and reassuring too. I also had the pleasure of having Noella Ferch as my Anesthetist who is the best of the best. Finally and probably the most important part was Dr. Shahidi's policy of a consultation with a mental health professional prior to surgery. I cannot stress how important this part is and shows Dr. Shahidi isn't just looking for your money, he altually puts thought and effort into making sure you are having the surgery for the right reasons and you are in the right frame of mind to do so. I was referred to Dr. Shab Mireskandari and I was so grateful to have met this amazing woman. She put so much time and effort into making sure I was mentally prepared for this life changing surgery and I honestly don't think I would have had such an easy recovery without her efforts and support. I cannot recommend Dr. Shahidi and his wonderful team highly enough and am so happy not just with my incredible result but with the entire experience.

Submitted June 3, 2021

Rude staff members and he clearly works with the psychologist to refer people and make more money from them.

Submitted March 31, 2021

I called to make an appointment for revision rhinoplasty and was advised that I’d need to pay $200 upfront for Dr Shahidi to review my pictures and simple decide whether yes, he could operate or no, cannot operate. Then on top of that if Dr Shahidi was able to operate then I would be charged an additional $800 for a consult where he could also decide whether to operate on me or not.
This tell me that Dr Shahidi is not good with rhinoplasty. I wouldn’t bother giving this dr $200 for a yes or no answer. I’ll keep my $200 and not waste my time on someone who is not confident in revision rhinoplasty.

Submitted July 17, 2020