Dr. Martin A. O'Toole
Staff
Punctuality
Helpfulness
Knowledge
Pasadena Cosmetic Surgery
542 S FAIR OAKS AVE
Pasadena, CA, United States
91101
542 S FAIR OAKS AVE
Pasadena, CA, United States
91101
No Phone Number Provided
http://pasadenacosmeticsurgery.com
Facility Affiliations
Dr. Martin A. O'Toole's Credentials
Education
- Ponce Sch Of Med, Ponce Pr 00732 (Grad. 1988)
I went to Dr. O'Toole to have fat pads removed from my abdomen, flanks, and inner thighs for which he thought SmartLipo would be the prefect option. At Dr. O'Toole's insistence, my pelvic area would have to be done at an additional cost. Before the procedure, Dr. O'Toole showed me a canister to explain that he could only take out the amount of fat that would fill that canister. During the procedure, Dr. O'Toole then insisted it would be necessary to put an incision across my pelvic area, directly above my pelvic hairline, to remove excess skin 'to prevent saggage' and he assured me that the incision would be hidden in my pubic hair, but it wasn't. As the procedure was taking far longer than Dr. O'Toole anticipated and he had another patient after me that he needed to attend to, he was only able to do my abdomen and pelvic area, and I agreed to come back for a second visit to complete the procedure. Before leaving the exam room, I pointed out to Dr. O'Toole that the canister was empty, minus about a ¼ inch of fluid at the very bottom of the canister. An emergency call had to be made to Dr. O'Toole later that evening when my legs swelled so severely that I could not bend my legs at all to get up my staircase. This would be the FIRST time Dr. O'Toole would mention 'that cutting in the pelvic area disturbs lymph nodes and causes swelling, which is usually temporary'. Temporary was not even close to the time or cost of 2+ years of acupuncture to get my lymphatic system to drain to where my legs were close to the size they were prior to the procedure. When I was finally able to even entertain the idea of receiving the already paid for SmartLipo to my flanks, inner thighs, and parts of my abdomen, which Dr. O'Toole agreed to touch up, Dr. O'Toole agreed that traditional lipo would be the route to go at an additional coast of $3000, to cover the anesthesiologist and surgery center. Then a week before this procedure was scheduled to be done, Dr. O'Toole told me that he is NOT going to do the liposuction because he feels that I need a tummy tuck, at an additional cost of $7600. I asked that the $5400 that I had already paid for SmartLipo being refunded to me, so I could go to another doctor for SmartLipo, but I was told that Dr. O'Toole does NOT give refunds. I asked that mediation being set up to resolve this issue and I was told that Dr. O'Toole does NOT participate in mediation. So, I guess that only conclusion that can be drawn from this experience is that Dr. O'Toole feels it is okay to keep money for services that he refused to render.
Submitted Feb. 27, 2021