Lifestyle Lift, a nationwide chain of cosmetic surgery centers, abruptly shut down the majority of its business yesterday and said that it is considering filing for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The company, founded in 2001 by Dr. David Kent, had 40 surgery centers nationwide offering what it billed as a less-invasive face-lift procedure that required only local anesthesia and a shorter recovery time. Lifestyle Lift has run into trouble over the years with state attorneys general offices who have questioned the company’s advertising practices. In 2009, then-New York State Attorney Andrew Cuomo announced that Lifestyle Lift had agreed to pay $300,000 in penalties to settle claims that its employees published fake, positive consumer reviews on the Internet.
