Miami Skin & Vein — Attraction in Coral Gables

This is the first bad review I've ever written, but I had such a terrible experience here that I needed to share. Came here for lip fillers for the first time ever after doing extensive research on good doctors in Miami. Dr. Patel had good reviews, so I decided to come here for the procedure.

I brought my roommate with me, but they told me the doctor does not allow anyone besides the patient into the room. I can understand during the actual procedure, but during a consultation? This should have been a red flag. I brought multiple pictures of how I wanted my lips to look and showed them to Dr. Patel. He told me he understood what I wanted. He recommended two different fillers: Restylane Silk and Restylane Refyne. Refyne was a little more expensive, but the doctor said it would give me the noticeably bigger result that I was looking for, without looking crazy. Never having done any sort of cosmetic injection before, I took the doctor's advice and went with 1 syringe of Refyne.

The medical assistant put numbing creme on me for 30 minutes, then ice for another 10. Dr. Patel returned and we started the procedure. He finished injecting my lips and told me that he had half a syringe left, so since I had already paid for it, we should put the rest in my face. Again, I have never done any cosmetic injection before, so I assumed this was normal. He injected the remaining amount into my cheeks and chin. We scheduled a follow-up appointment for 2 weeks after and I left.

I expected my lips to swell up or bruise, as I had read online that they would, but nothing happened. My lips looked a little pinker immediately after the procedure, but when I woke up the next day, my lips looked exactly the same!

I returned for my follow-up appointment 2 and a half weeks later and expressed my dissatisfaction with Dr. Patel. He argued that he thought my lips looked perfect and he wasn't comfortable making them any bigger, but if I wanted, I could purchase another $700 syringe and he would put more in. Huh?? You aren't going to make them any bigger, but I should spend another $700!? He told me that if I made them any bigger, they would look unnatural and since he was "a natural injector," he didn't want to do that. Prior to my procedure, Dr. Patel NEVER once mentioned that he believed the pictures I showed him were too much.

Two weeks later, I went to a different doctor. After looking at the before and after pictures and examining my lips, the new doctor said that he could not see any difference in my lips at all. Absolutely nothing. He was also very surprised when I told him that Dr. Patel had put half the syringe into my face. As a 23 year old, I do not need any fillers put into my face.

I had the procedure done again with the different doctor and saw immediate results. My lips look incredible now and are exactly what I wanted! I just wish I hadn't thrown $700 down the drain for Dr. Patel's "procedure."

If Dr. Patel is not comfortable doing what the patient wants, he needs to be upfront about it. He should have told me from the start that he was not comfortable making my lips any bigger, instead of waiting until after I had done the procedure.

Anyone in Miami looking for lip fillers: if you want your lips to look any different (as is the point of lip fillers), I would STRONGLY advise against going...

Never again. Just disappointment!

Drove 4 hours from Tampa Bay to Miami for a consult on Sep 16th which went fine. On the Sep 16th appointment I saw Dr. Shaun Patel and we came up with a plan which included CO2 laser, a fraxel laser, filler, and subscision. I really only cared about the CO2 since it was the one which would treat the scars in the area I cared about the most. But he is the doc so I agreed to all and we made an appointment for Nov 11th and since my drive was long we would get all this done on that day.

My home flooded in the end of Sep so I had to move the appointment. We moved to the appointment to Jan 27th at 2pm. I called multiple times (screens attached) to confirm the appointment since I wanted to make sure I had it right due to the fact that I would have to drive down from Tampa. I even got a text confirming the appointment 2pm appointment and in the text it stated that I should arrive early with a gov ID.

On Jan 27th I arrived into their office at 1pm (one hour before my appointment). The staff said I was late since I needed to be there 2 hours before my appointment. I was NEVER told this! Not over the phone and in the text it said to come early but NOT 2 hours early. I explained the long drive and that I was the an hour early to my actual appointment time so they agreed to let me in and start the numbing process.

I was nerves about he procedure and I get very talkative when nerves. I made a comment to the nurse that was numbing me about rubbing alcohol she was putting on my face and about xanax to calm me down. I was nerves and just talking about anything to keep myself calm. A few minutes later two other nurses walk stating that because they think I might have taken a xanax before the appointment and they feel I might not be in the right state of mind to consent to the procedure so they will need to reschedule my appointment. Which was nuts! I didnt take anything I just drove 4 hours and was just nervous.

After explaining this to them and convincing them that I was in the right state of mind and that I had already agreed to these procedures on Set 16th when we made the initial appointment they spoke with the Dr. Shaun Patel and he agreed to proceed however due to the time slot he will not be able to do everything we planned but only one of the procedures. He agreed to do the Fraxel laser that day only. I asked if we could do the CO2 instead of Fraxel and they said no. The fraxel laser is the same laser my doctor in Tampa has. So I told them I didnt want that. They said sorry and that was it.

If I had known this I would have never made the 8 hour drive! My guess is the office messed up while booking my appointment and never allocated enough time for it. I also find it funny how they were concerned about my state of mind to consent to the procedure but did not share the same concern about my state of mind when they asked me to pay before...

I found Miami skin & vein on google which they had the highest rating in Miami and a good amount of good reviews. I did a little digging and found Dr. Patel on Instagram and loved his before and after pictures of lip fillers because they looked very natural which is what I was going for. So finally I decided to call to get more information. The woman who attended me was polite , informative & answered every question I had which made me feel comfortable enough to finally schedule an appointment. they do ask for a credit card in order to schedule an appointment which is fine because its something I was wanting to do for a very long time and I knew I was going to do the procedure. So finally my appointment came along and I was so excited looking forward to finally doing the procedure and literally the same day this might be TMI but I woke up with cold sores .