Plastic Surgery FAQ's

So tomorrow is week 2 of my plastic surgery. I had a tummy tuck, lipo of the hips, flanks and arms and a breast reduction and lift. I think my surgeon was fabulous! His name is Philip Dahan and his # is 775-826-4477. When I finally decided to do the surgery and I started mentioning his name to people I got overwhelming response as to how great he is. Even the nurses at the S. Meadows Washoe Med gushed about his attention to detail as a surgeon. I had a friend who did a consult with him but decided not to go to him because she thought he was too arrogant. Heck yeah he's arrogant! BUT I don't see us going to the movies with each other or going to each other's houses for dinner. I wanted the best surgeon money could buy and I think I got him.

So how much did all of it cost?
I originally took out a loan for $19,000 but later reduced it to $18,000. The surgery itself cost like almost $13,000 but include into that the hospital stay (I stayed two nights) the anesthesiologist etc.

When did you have it done?
I had it done on Friday, July the 14th.

How long will it be before you are back to work?
I'll be back on this Monday, July 31st.

Did insurance cover any of it??
Not even remotely. My boobs weren't big enough to be covered. Even though they were causing me excruiating pain, they weren't big enough.

Has there been a lot of pain and did you get really, really, good drugs for it????
At this point the worst pain is my back. I have arthritis in my back and that's where I'm bending from and it is soooo painful at times. They gave me a morphine drip at first but I couldn't stop hitting it (I was hitting the button exactly every 8 minutes). They switched me to Percocet and that was nice too. That's what I brought home with me. I also had an anti-biotic called Keflex and a suppository in the event I had nausea.

How long did the surgery take?
The surgery was originally scheduled for noon until 4:30 but it didn't start until 1pm and I think it went until like 6pm. The nurses told me it would run late because he's very particular about how things are done. My recovery room period was horrible and I can't remember a time in my life where my body has felt worse. I didn't get into my room until like 9pm. I can't believe that some women do it as an outpatient surgery! I decided to stay an additional night just for pain management and so I could have the nurses help me get up and walk. I asked for no visitors so I could deal with my pain on my own. When my friends are around I tend to want to take care of their needs rather than my own.

Was it worth it?
Yes. I am already delighted by what I see. I still can't stand up straight all the way but I can see big changes.

Did everything turn out the way you thought it would?
No. My arms arm still kind of funky looking. It may be one of those things that I revisit in the future. My sides along where my breasts are look kind of funky too. I was hoping that the lift would take some of that away but it's actually a separate procedure. Perhaps someday I'll revisit that too. My boobs look really really small (I was a large D and a large C before). Once they recover then gravity will round them out. Right now they look like cones.

There were some scary moments for me. During my first night they wanted to do something with my binder for my waist and as soon as they removed it, soooo much pain and swelling came rushing at me that I panicked and hyperventilated. I was crying because I couldn't catch my breath but crying was preventing me from breathing. The nurse totally talked me down. Also, my arms and hands swelled up to immense proportions. I had a few nicks on my hands and they looked like they had turned inside out from the swelling. It's only been in the last few days that the swelling has gone down.

I have a blood clotting disorder called Factor 5 Leiden but have only one genetic marker for it (meaning only one parent has it). I don't take medication for it and so far the only time it's reared its very ugly head was during a pregnancy that terminated at 24 weeks. However, my surgeon never neglected a single detail and I had sequential stockings the whole time I was in the hospital, I went home with embolism stockings, I had a bilateral scan of my calves before I even went to the surgical room and I had 14 days of lovenox shots (a blood thinner). Since I am hysterical when it comes to needles, my husband had to give me my shots every morning and every night.

Right now I have taken off all my ace bandages and my binder just to rest for a second (they're in the dryer now). It feels nice but I better not tempt fate. I just spent a whole lotta money for it and better take care of it.

Feel free to ask questions if you like : )