by Dr. James Polakof & Michelle Polakof, CSMS
The Lifestyle Lift was created by Dr. David Kent, a cosmetic surgeon in Michigan and is touted as an alternative to a traditional facelift. It’s advertising campaign promises to take years of aging off your face. To date, more than 200,000 Lifestyle Lifts have been performed , but a large percentage of patients have been disappointed. In fact, over 1000 formal complaints have been filed. A recent Consumer Affairs report from a study they conducted reveals that the procedure had only a 2% full satisfaction rating with 5 stars, while the dissatisfaction percentage was 76%, earning only one star. So how can the American cosmetic surgery public be so gullible as to buy-in to a largely unpopular procedure?
It’s all about external and internal marketing. Millions of dollars are being spent in television commercials and infomercials touting pleased patients with dramatic pre and post-operative photographs. In addition, once in the door of a Lifestyle Lift facility, patient counselors can be ruthless – employing a myriad of closing methods to book patients. These high pressure super sales techniques are not only leading to increases in Lifestyle Lift procedures, but costing ethical plastic surgeons millions of dollars in facial rejuvenation revenues. And before you blink, in the not too distant future, other companies will soon be employing massive advertising campaigns, adding further competition to the mix.