Utah Facial Plastics - Draper — Local services in Draper

As patients, we all inherently assume some level of risk whenever we decide to undergo any cosmetic procedure, whether surgical or nonsurgical. Ideally, in such cases, where the risks become the reality, providers are able to handle complications with timely, capable, and compassionate care. Unfortunately, that was not my experience when I developed painful complications after receiving dermal fillers at Utah Facial Plastics.

In late August of 2021, I requested that Dr. Scott Thompson inject filler into my right zygomatic (cheek) area in efforts of achieving a more balanced facial appearance. Immediately afterwards, I developed extreme pain in the injected area and the chronic inability to fully open my mouth (trismus). My right jaw joint began popping in and out of place and, within a day, it could no longer open to its normal maximum opening. The pain in the injected area became more intense with chewing, talking, and smiling, and eventually became so debilitating that I could no longer talk for extended periods of time or eat solid foods.

About three weeks after the injection, in September of 2021, I sought help from Utah Facial Plastics and from Dr. Thompson, but was informed that he was on a medical trip outside of the country until October. In the meantime, I was deferred to other injectors and surgeons at UFP - Alfie and Dr. Henstrom. I also reached out to Jeanna via her Instagram account for advice since she had previously injected my lips, but she insisted that I work with my original injector, Dr. Thompson. I later discovered that she refuses to book me for any further appointments.

When I was finally able to meet with Dr. Thompson in October of 2021, he said that he could try dissolving the filler, but then said that he could not remember where he had injected it. And that his notes only said “cheek”. Feeling totally failed by Utah Facial Plastics, and in debilitating pain, I decided to seek help from an injector at a different practice, who specialized in ultrasound-guided filler dissolving. I also sought help from an ENT with University of Utah Health, who ordered an ultrasound of the area, which showed that filler had been injected directly in/surrounding a facial nerve. After two ultrasound-guided dissolving sessions with the outside injector, the filler was dissolved and the pain in the injected area dissipated.

However, the jaw joint issues (trismus, pain) had persisted and worsened. In November 2021, I returned to Dr. Thompson and reported the continuing symptoms to him. I asked him for help, and he performed additional dissolving sessions. Regardless, the issues remained unresolved, and I made the decision to seek professional medical help from an Oral & Maxillofacial surgeon. In early 2022, I travelled out of state to undergo bilateral TMJ arthroscopic surgery with a specialist. The surgery was partially successful, but, in late 2024, the joint condition worsened and developed osteoarthritis, to the point of needing complete jaw joint replacement with a prosthetic joint.

In reflecting upon the facts of what took place in 2021, I am dissatisfied and disappointed with the poor level of aftercare that I experienced at Utah Facial Plastics. Until just recently, I had continued to visit Dr. Thompson for forehead Botox treatments. However, in contemplating how I was and have been treated at UFP, I finally decided it would be best to take my business elsewhere and write this review.

My story is an extreme one, but if you take anything from it, let it be to please be careful in deciding who you let inject you. I found out the hard way that, when something goes wrong, there is very little support available outside of your original injector. In my experience, few medical professionals are willing to take on the liability of trying to help, and those that are willing are very expensive. Make sure that whoever injects you has proven that they are equipped to help you deal with complications in a timely, capable, and compassionate manner. In summary, I would not recommend UFP for...

I am conflicted about how to honestly review Dr. Henstrom and Utah Facial Plastics. I know Dr. Henstrom has many happy clients and I’m sure for good reason. He is very personable, his stitching technique is excellent. But I feel I need to be honest about my experience and outcome. I have to say upfront, that I had a lot of procedures done at once and maybe if I had not done that, my outcome would have been different. However, Dr. Henstrom was not concerned about doing all those things at one time, and he recommended all of them. I had a facelift, a lip lift, a brow lift, and lower blepharoplasty. I had not originally wanted a brow lift. I wanted an upper blepharoplasty along with a lower blepharoplasty. He recommended a brow lift instead. I read his reviews and saw pictures of past clients and actually saw two of his clients in person and was very impressed by how they looked. So I went in with full confidence. After all, their tag line is “ Transformation you can trust.” Maybe I am an outlier, my outcome was not so happy. The brow lift was too much, and the surgery on my eyes left them much smaller, and with an upward slant which I did not request. It has been one year and three months since my surgery with Dr. Henstrom. He said he would not try to fix anything for a while as to give time to see how things would settle. I don’t think this is the normal case with his patients. I think with a good plastic surgeon, you should look good from the start. I have had to have him do some revisions and even with that, after a year and three months, my eyes did not look right. He had to refer me to another surgeon to fix them. And the second surgeon was able to do it. I feel badly that I had to live 15 months feeling so self conscious. Dr. Henstrom himself always treated me kindly and with respect. He did not minimize my concerns or make me feel bad about them. He tried to help me the best that he could. The office manager, Rachelle and Dr. Henstrom’s assistant Erica were also gracious and understanding and I truly felt they wanted to help me. Unfortunately, the receptionist’s behind the front desk need better training in customer service. The overall feeling in the office is that it is a business first and patients a far second. My experience is they did not care about me, but they certainly cared about my money. I understand completely, that they need to run their business. But office staff should be trained to at least try to make patients feel like money is not more important...

First visit, was recommended by a friend. I was looking for a consultation for the best solution for my situation (botox, filler, laser, surgery etc). In order to make ANY consultation, you have to pay a $50-$150 consultation fee, although that does go towards treatment if you choose. I was reminded of my appt (and the $50 or $150 cancellation policy if you don't cancel at least 48 hours prior) several several times via text, email and phone. I wasn't sure what kind of appt to schedule as a first time patient, so I booked with one of the nurses figuring they could tell me what would be the best treatment options. When I came in for my appt, the office was clean and looked nice. There were only 2 other people in the waiting room, however I waited almost an hour to be seen and was the only one left in the waiting room (my appt was at 4, and they close at 5, so when I was finally seen it felt very rushed). After waiting 45 mins, I asked the receptionist if I'd possibly been forgotten; she said, "no, they are just running behind schedule". No one had said anything prior to me asking or explained the excessive wait. When I finally got to my consultation, I was taken to have facial photos done but the camera didn't work, so pictures were taken on an ipad. The nurse did not do much of an assessment, except lightly touch my face with a qtip, and said she only consults for botox/fillers. She said if I wanted a surgery or laser consult I had to make a separate appt and pay an additional $100 (in addition to $50 I already paid). She did say I could get some botox done then, at a cost of around $500. There was also quite a push within the office to sign up for the membership plans, at $150-225/mo plus a $75 "set up fee", with a required year long contract, and a $100 early cancellation fee. I really felt like this place is all about making money, and less about making people feel their best. I left feeling very disheartened, and the consultation fee you cannot get back if you decide not to have any treatments, it can only be used towards...