Sono Bello is a Cosmetic Surgery Specialist Center, marketing themselves as #1 in all of America. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Sono Bello locations are nationwide but sparse, with 40 total clinics in just 21 of the 50 states. They market laser liposuction, facelifts, and cellulite treatments, the most popular procedures being TriSculpt and Lift, which we’ll highlight today.

Are these procedures cheap? That depends entirely on your current income level. Trisculpt starts at $1,395 per area, and Lift procedures start at $2,995. [1]

How Do Sono Bello Procedures Work?

TriSculpt focuses on body areas rather than face: thighs, belly, chest, legs, etc. Each area treatment involves three steps:

1. Localized Awake Anesthesia: “Patients remain awake throughout the procedure, receiving local anesthesia in the areas of treatment. This allows the patient to communicate with the physician throughout the procedure.”
2. Power Assisted Liposuction: “Our physicians use power-assisted technologies with micro cannulas and gentle suction to effectively remove the majority of unwanted fat, especially in large body areas.”
3. Micro-Laser Assisted Liposuction: “Special laser-assisted equipment is used for the finishing touches.” [2]

Sono Bello calls it “body contouring,” which apparently sounds less harsh than “liposuction.”

Are Sono Bello Procedures Covered?

Sono Bello procedures are not covered by insurance, but the company does offer finance plans such as:

• No interest if its paid within 6 months
• No interest if its paid within 12 months
• 90% APR and Fixed Monthly Payments

Facial Rejuvenation with Lift® offers Neck & Jaw Line, Eyes, and Brows work. The website doesn’t offer much information on the procedure itself, though facelift procedures do tend to be more invasive and recovery time is generally longer, but it’s still done under the Localized Awake Anesthesia (I think this would freak me out a bit, but that’s me).

Both procedures start with an in-person consultation to determine your needs and goals for a treatment.

Are Sono Bello Procedures Dangerous?

All surgeries carry some risk. For specific risks associated with cosmetic surgeries, we turn to the Mayo Clinic:

All surgeries, including cosmetic procedures, carry risk. Those with a history of cardiovascular disease, lung disease, diabetes or obesity have a higher risk of developing complications such as pneumonia, stroke, heart attack or blood clots in the legs or lungs. Smoking also increases risks and interferes with healing. …

Possible complications for any surgical procedure include:

• Complications related to anesthesia, including pneumonia, blood clots and, rarely, death
• Infection at the incision site, which may worsen scarring and require additional surgery
• Fluid build up under the skin
• Mild bleeding, which may require another surgical procedure, or bleeding significant enough to require a transfusion
• Obvious scarring or skin breakdown, which occurs when healing skin separates from healthy skin and must be removed surgically
• Numbness and tingling from nerve damage, which may be permanent [3]

What Did The Customers Have To Say?

In all the customer feedback I looked at for this review, even the worst of the complaints rarely mentioned actual injury, though there was one who mentioned a woman had died at a Florida clinic. I say right now I didn’t follow up on the report, so I can’t confirm or refute it beyond the reviewer’s account.

There were a lot of complaints about treatments that weren’t at all what the customer expected, or multiple treatments sold but not finished—one woman spoke of purchasing lipo treatments for both sides of her abdomen that were to be done 30 days apart, having the first side done, then being told it would be six months, then not being able to contact anyone at her clinic after that. So she’s stuck with half of a toned abdomen. [4]

But in terms of serious injuries or side effects, there were very few. So the procedures seem to be no more dangerous than any surgery.

NOTE: Always check with your medical doctor before beginning any cosmetic surgery. Some medications can interfere with anesthesia.

Sono Bello Pros and Cons

I’m going to label these as potential Pros, simply because on the surface they look great.

• The Local Awake Anesthesia can be comforting to patients, less “scary”
• Pricing options on the website give potential customers a ballpark figure to work with.

But the latter of those Pros takes a hit with a big Con. And there are numerous others.

• Sales and Clinic Staff are clearly on two different pages, if not planets. And it may well be that way by design: the classic bait-and-switch. I lost count of the number of reviewers who said they were told the $1395-per-area TriSculpt price by the sales rep only to be charged twice that when they got to the clinic.

And it doesn’t stop there:

I would tell anyone and everyone I know not to go to Sonobello. There is such a lack of communication between the Sales people and the staff at the clinic. I was told the procedure would be 1395.00 for each area of the body. The cost was twice that, $2695.00 and the sales person told me I had a credit line that was such I would have to put down $4000.00 in order to finance the rest. Stupidly I agreed to this. Then I was told the fee for backing out of a procedure was $950.00. She had the bill at a whopping $12,000.00.” [5]

Did Sono Bello Meet Expectations?

Many complained that the procedures they got didn’t even come close to meeting their expectations. Sometimes it was that same lack of communication between sales and clinic, or just the absolute rudeness of both, but others felt they’d paid a lot of money and gotten next to nothing in return (if you search “Sonobello” at the com site you get bowled over by the sheer number of similar complaints):

An Appalling Experience

The [sales] lady went through the paper work so fast I hardly had time to go over it and she said the other ladies were wanting to go home and we were taking too long. … Next she told me to go over to get the treatment on a Saturday. She said they will give you something for fever blisters because likely this would cause them because it was kind of hot and close to your lips.

…drive 2 hours over to the clinic only to get a phone call about the time I was suppose to arrive and they tell me the sales person should not have scheduled me on a day that the doctor was not even there. That my pre-op was not scheduled. I told them my paper work says my pre-op is on the 18th of the month not today. … I go in and I ask her if she was going to give me the fever blister medicine and she says oh no, we don’t do that. Who told you that? I said the lady that took my money. She said well, I know everyone says that girl is really nice but she tells people things that just are not true and does not know what she is talking about.

So we start the treatment [with] no questions about me at all. 5 minutes in my face is on fire and the girl says you are getting really red. Then 5 more minutes and she says we have to stop your face is really red and I am afraid to continue. So I said OK, yeah its burning… told them I don’t know what is going on it could be my meds I take maybe… leave with only 10 minutes of a 30 minute treatment… told them, I was suppose to have 3 of those. Will I be refunded or compensated. She said well you will have to take it up with your sales person. …[5] (emphasis added)

That wasn’t even the whole extent of this poor woman’s experience. It’s worth a look after you finish reading here.

The Bottom Line

Run. Sono Bello might claim to be the #1 Cosmetic Surgery Specialist in the country, but the reviews say otherwise. Dishonest, pushy, unorganized—and remarkably ineffective, it would seem—I can’t find anything about this company to recommend. Go to an actual plastic surgeon, even if you have to save up extra. The chain-clinic model isn’t working.