Plans... they are a-changin!

MAJOR UPDATE: My plans have changed. I’m now taking advantage of medical tourism to have my plastic surgery done. Don’t freak out or anything but I’m going to Monterrey, Mexico to have my procedures done. How did this drastic change come about? It’s actually kind of ironic. Dr. Eaves from CPS suggested that I start reading the plastic surgery forums at obesityhelp.com. I immediately noticed many of the folks having their operations in Mexico. I was shocked.

We have a lot of bad perceptions about Mexico here in the USA. So, my initial reaction of shock shouldn’t be surprising. I was intrigued so I started reading the various posts, profiles and blogs of the members who had their plastic surgery done in Mexico. One doctor’s name keep coming up – Dr. Sauceda. He’s referred to by most as Dr. S. I can see why as I can’t often remember how to spell his name either! Most of the “chatter” about medical tourism in Mexico was about Dr. S. I started looking into him.

Firstly, the price absolutely floored me. The estimates on his website were less than half of what I was going to pay locally. Those estimates included the stay and the up to 600 dollars of flight expenses. I’ll admit that the price got me to consider changing my plans but I wouldn’t risk my health on price alone. You cannot put a price tag on something as life changing as this surgery or your own well being. So, I really ramped up my research.

I scoured the forums reading all the posts about Dr. S for the past several months. I looked at before and after pictures of his work. It was just as impressive as the pictures I’d seen of Dr. Eaves work. It couldn’t hurt to contact Dr. S and see what he would say about my loose skin. I sent him an email briefly explaining my weight loss and situation. He asked for a set of four pictures (back, front and both sides in underwear). He responded to the pictures with the exact same procedures that Dr. Eaves at CPS suggested. His response gave me the assurance that he had good experience with massive weight loss patients. How good, I was about to find out.

I was a little impressed by how he was able to come to the same conclusions as Dr. Eaves from just four photos. I asked Dr. S how many body contourings he’d done after massive weight loss. When he wrote back than he’d already done 26 just this year, I was floored again. I may have found one the most experienced plastic surgeons for weight loss reconstruction in world. Now, Dr. Eaves is a pioneer in his own right and I believe he’s the best in the south-eastern US. I was very happy to have found him so close and have him as my initial consult. Even with the same expertise and huge cost saving, I wasn’t yet convinced to make the switch. The “last straw”, so to speak, was the care I was going to receive in Mexico.

With my original plans, I was going to be in the hospital for one day and then be at home. I was to be fending for myself, basically. Not entirely true, as I have lots of nurse friends to help me out. My main concern was the doctor was 50+ miles away from where I live. I wasn’t looking forward to the drives for checkups during those next 2 weeks after the surgery. Not to mention, if I had any problems. With Dr. S, I’m in a clinic for the surgery and my first few days afterwards. In my opinion, a clinic devoted solely to plastic surgery is MUCH better than a hospital where a variety of illnesses are treated.

After I’m ready to leave the clinic, I’m moved to a hotel room just minutes away from the clinic and Dr. S. I’ll have nurse visits to help me out with showers and such. Plus Dr. S visits frequently too. Did I mention his level of service even extends to picking me up at the airport personally? Amazing. The care level I’m going to get in the clinic and hotel sealed the deal for me. I cancelled my appointment with CPS and scheduled my trip to Monterrey for Jan 15th through 27th. There’s even an extra added bonus. Several members of the plastic surgery forums will be down there at the same time. I’ll have “friends” down there, friends that instantly have a lot in common with me.

There you have it, my logic on changing doctors (as well as countries). I’ll be posting about my preparations for my trip from now on.

Thanks for reading
Mark

Friday Q and A

I went for my second consult on Friday.  The first consult was done as part of a mini monthly seminar.  It's not that the first one felt rushed but I didn't feel I had time to "take it all in" before asking questions.  I also didn't have the advice/questions of all my different nurse friends.  They suggested questions that I NEVER would have thought about.  I was also lucky that one of my best friends, Chris, tagged along for the consult.  As an extra added bonus, he's one of the nurses and will helping me out on the day I have the surgery.

Dr. Eaves from Charlotte Plastic Surgery (CPS) will be performing my extended abdominoplasty, thighplasty, and brachioplasty.  That's a tummy tuck, thigh lift and arm lift for those of you keeping score at home!  He specializes in body contouring and has been working with massive weight loss patients for 10 years.  I had all the questions written down and Chris was in the office as backup.  The surgeon was very receptive to my questions and answered with a patience and depth I've never gotten from a doctor.  I know it's an elective procedure but general practitioners could learn a few lessons from this guy.

Here are the questions I asked.  If you're reading this post looking for information please know the answers are tailored for my situation and may not be the same for you.

1. How many and what type of drains will be used?  2 drains with bulb collectors will be used for the tummy tuck incision.  They are easy to tuck in clothes, drain and put back on.  For me, he doesn't think the other two procedures will need drains at all.
2. Who is oncall that weekend?  All the doctors are partners in the firm and take turns being oncall.  Whoever is oncall will know my case and have access to my file.  The good news is Dr. Eaves might actually be the one oncall that weekend.
3. How likely is a second nights stay in the hospital?  He gave me a 10% chance that I'd need another night.  He's confident that since I'm in such good shape, I'll be "go to go" after one night.  Most people choose to stay a second night for their own comfort and not on his orders anyway.
4. What is my expected mobility and self-care after the surgery?  He's going to have me up walking that same day.  I'll be able to walk around the house, go to the bathroom, and basically fend for myself - albeit VERY slowly. 
5. What about pain medication?  I don't do well with Vicadin and don't really have any experience with other meds so they will have to see what works at the hospital and go with that.  I'll have my meds before I leave on Saturday.  No rushing around looking for a pharmacy while I'm in pain.
6. Will I pre-admitted to the hospital?  All the paper work will be done when I arrive that morning.  He said there might be a chance the hospital would want me to come down the day before.  I'll definitely be getting an "info gathering" phone call from them as the date approaches.
7. Will the nurses on my hospital floor have experience with plastic surgery?  I'll be on the post surgery floor.  The nurses are very experienced with plastic surgery since all of the CPS "big" procedures end up on that floor.
8. Can I do any exercises to aid in recovery or help the outcome?  The doctor advised me to keep up what I'm doing now.  With my weight (195 lbs) and body fat percentage (~13%), I'm really at my "prime" for the procedures.  He said it wouldn't help the outcome to lose any more weight or even put on more muscle.
9. Can I supplement with anything that will aid the recovery?  He was candid in saying that nothing has really been proven to help quicken the healing process.  General advice was a multi-vitamin and vitamin C daily. 

You can tell which questions are from the nurse brigade and which "two" are mine.  The booklet that was sent to me was very informative and I didn't have a lot more questions that it couldn't answer.  CPS has been quite responsive over email and I can send them anymore as I think of them.

In the next post, I'll recap what was done in my first consult including why you need to "check" your modesty at the door when having this type of plastic surgery.

Thanks for reading!