choosing a surgeon (part 3)

Jourdan Gottlieb, M.D., // www.seattleface.com


The third surgeon I saw was Dr. Jourdan Gottlieb at Naficy Center. It was a bit of déjà vu for me as his office is in the same building where I used to work. But with that aside, the office was very nice and pleasant.

Dr. Gottlieb was great too, however he didn't seem to think I needed any lipo around my back hip area. I wasn't sure if I should feel flattered by that or not?! But since the other two surgeons I had seen both said they would do lipo in that region, I really wanted it done. Plus, if I DIDN'T do it then down the line I might have regretted it and I'd be back on the operating table. Uh, NOT. I am only doing this ONCE!


They did give me two quotes, with and without the lipo. His cost was significantly more than Dr. Stephens and Dr. Leff. The other deal breaker for me is that they did not offer any 12-month, interest-free financing. I'm not planning on putting my family into debt over this surgery, so I had already decided that I would not be paying any interest. Thus Dr. Gottlieb was quickly removed from the list.


Making the decision


There was about a 3-week gap between seeing Drs. Stephens and Leff before I saw Dr. Gottlieb. During that time, I was leaning toward Dr. Leff. I was really impressed by the consultation with him, and how thorough he was in the exam. He was also less expensive than Dr. Stephens. Not that I was wanting to go the cheapest route, but since I was 100% confident in him, why not go with the least expensive doctor?


However, about a week or so after I saw Dr. Stephens, I received an email from Stacy, the patient coordinator from his office. She asked if I had any questions, where I was at with my decision, etc. I replied back to her with a very honest answer—that I gotten a 2nd consultation, and still had a 3rd one to see. I told her why, at that point, I was leaning toward a different surgeon (Dr. Leff).


I didn't think much when I didn't hear back from her. But two days later I got a phone call from Dr. Stephens himself. He said he wanted to call me and talk to me about my email rather than just reply back. We spent about 20 minutes talking through things, and it was that conversation that made me change my mind. First, I thought it was really nice that he took the time to call me himself. And I still had that feeling that he cares first and foremost about his patients' comfort during and after surgery. So my mind was changed again, and now Dr. Stephens was the front-runner. Then after seeing Dr. Gottlieb, I decided that Dr. Stephens was the surgeon I was going to use. What a relief to have that decision made!


I also mentioned in a previous post that I contacted 2 other surgeons. One wanted a $75 consultation fee, which I was hesitant to pay. I requested a quote from his office and the cost was way more than Dr. Stephens and Dr. Leff, so I decided it was not worth it to pay $75 for a 4th consultation.


The other surgeon I contacted was Dr. Richard Rand. I REALLY wanted to see him. He had the highest ratings of any of the doctors on RealSelf.com. But when I called to schedule a consultation, the earliest appointment he had was in September. I wanted to have the SURGERY in September, not the consultation! Then the receptionist asked for my height and weight. I told her, and she tells me that Dr. Rand won't even consider seeing me for a consultation until I've lost at least 10 pounds. Apparently he is "very picky" about who he chooses to do surgeries on. Well okay then...I took him off my list.

choosing a surgeon (part 2)

Michael A. Leff // www.drleff.com

The second surgeon I saw was Dr. Michael Leff. I really liked Dr. Leff a lot. Out of all the surgeons I saw, he by far gave the most thorough exam. Dr. Leff agreed I was a great candidate for the surgery. He also recommended lipo around the back hip area. 

The point he made that really hit home is that no one ever tells women how their muscles can separate from pregnancy. No matter how much you exercise, how much weight you lose, nothing can repair your muscles. Not even 1,000 sit-ups a day would help get rid of the roll of loose skin around my belly. 

He also mentioned that having this surgery would help my posture, as well as relieve lower back pain. Since my stomach muscles are detached, my back muscles are doing all the work in keeping my body upright. (No wonder so many women experience back pain after pregnancy. Doh!) It was nice to hear a surgeon talk about the necessity aspect of this surgery, not just the aesthetic aspect.

There were a few major differences between Dr. Stephens and Dr. Leff. Dr. Stephens uses general anesthesia administered by board-certified anesthesiologists. You also go home with a catheter to limit having to get up and down the first night, as well as a pain pump that administers a constant trickle of pain medication.

Dr. Leff however uses IV sedation. You are still "asleep," but they have the option to wake you whenever they might need to, and the recovery from IV sedation is much easier than general. He does not use board-certified anesthesiologists, rather he uses board-certified Nurse Anesthetists. A CRNA is basically a nurse with 2 years of extra study in anesthesia. And, no pain pump, no catheter, and he doesn’t see you again until the following week. 

choosing a surgeon (part 1)

Once I decided I was definitely going to get a tummy tuck, I started researching surgeons. I wanted a surgeon on the Eastside because getting to and from Seattle is such a pain. Bellevue has a strong medical presence and it is an area that I am familiar with, so I decided to focus my research there.

I knew I could Google “plastic surgeons in Bellevue Washington” and probably get a nice long list of surgeons. But even an internet search had me a little concerned, so I decided to go to Group Health’s website to see who was in-network with my healthcare provider. I knew the surgery would not be covered by insurance, but I still figured it would be a good place to start.

There was only one surgeon in Bellevue that was listed on Group Health’s site. Since I knew it would be foolish to only have one consultation, I also used information I gathered from a site called RealSelf.com. This is an amazing site! SO much great information there. Here I found 4 other surgeons that had great reviews.

Through my research on both of these sites, I ended up seeing 3 different surgeons and contacted the 2 others that I did not make consultations with due to reasons I will discuss later.

I will say upfront that all 3 of the surgeons I saw were amazing! The hardest decision by far was choosing between them. I have a lot of information to share, so I am going to split the next few posts up by surgeon. 

David Stephens, MD // www.stephensplasticsurgery.com

The only surgeon in Bellevue listed on Group Health’s website was Dr. David Stephens. He was the first surgeon I decided to see. I called his office and made a consultation appointment very easily. Making the initial call had me nervous; I was almost a little embarrassed for some reason. The receptionist was very sweet though, and when she said, “I’m so glad you called us!” I felt a lot better.

The patient coordinator, Stacy, called me a few days before my consultation. I will note here that this was the only office that called me prior to my appointment. I didn’t even get reminder calls from the other offices I visited.  Stacy asked a few questions regarding my health, weight, etc., and told me to call her if I had any questions prior to my consultation.

On the day of my consultation, I arrived a little early hoping that maybe I’d get seen earlier. No such luck—at 9:30 a.m. the doctor was already running late. I met first with Stacy, and she apologized for the delay but explained that they always want to give each and every person as much time as they need. Okay then, I can accept that.

Stacy went over my medical history and asked about the medications I was on. Dr. Stephen’s then joined us, and he asked what exactly I wanted from this surgery. Ummm…I thought that was pretty obvious?!? So I showed him my gut roll and said, “I want all of this gone!”

After a brief exam (more brief than I thought it should be) we talked about my expectations, the procedure, recovery, etc. He said I was a great candidate for a tummy tuck (which will also include some lipo around my back hip area). And he said that my weight was perfect (more about this alter) and that I didn’t need to worry if I didn’t lose any additional weight before the surgery.

I really liked Dr. Stephens—he seemed very genuine, kind, and concerned about the comfort of his patients during and after surgery. He visits you at your home the day after the surgery so you don’t have to travel back to his office. Of the 3 surgeons I saw, he was the only one that does this.

After the consultation, Stacy and I sat down to discuss price. This was the part I was most anxious about, because when you Google “price of a tummy tuck” the prices are all over the place. The price she showed me, was—thankfully!—right what I thought it would be. Phew. I left the appointment feeling really good, and reassured that this was the right decision for me.

clothes

One of the major reasons (okay, THE major reason) I want a tummy tuck is to look and feel better in my clothes. I guess you could say I have a love-hate relationship with clothes. I love buying clothes, but I absolutely hate finding clothes to buy! 

I have to buy clothes that fit my gut. Not my legs, my ass, or even my hips, but the 'extra butt' that is on the front of me. Finding clothes that even look halfway decent is not easy. My waist is lost under a huge roll of skin! If my pants go under the roll, I have something that goes beyond the description of a 'muffin top'. So I typically have to go over the roll, which means buying things in a few sizes up from what I should wear, bottoms and skirts with elastic waistbands, and baggy/layered tops to hide as much as possible. I have to tuck my skin in under my pants. YUCK!

My plastic surgeon told me he would get me back into a 2-piece swimsuit. I had to laugh. Uh, I don't think I have worn a 2-piece swimsuit since I was 12. But whatever. I told him I don't care about a 2-piece swimsuit, I just want to look good in my everyday clothes. If that is all I get out of this surgery, I will be ecstatic!

why? (part 2)

So, why am I getting a tummy tuck in the first place? I'm sure that's obvious. I have what I call an 'extra butt'. Uh, yep, that would be my gut. My belly button looks more like a butt crack. (I know, not a pretty image.) I am not going to post my "before" picture quite yet, but I promise to do so right before my surgery.

Over the past few years, I have thought about been obsessed with getting a tummy tuck. I was NOT one of those women who were blessed with skin that didn't stretch from pregnancy. I have rolls that, simply put, just don't belong there. Every morning I grab all this loose, bumpy, stretched-out skin and imagine it being...GONE.

I would never really consider myself a vain person. It's not like I want to have a model's figure—I do know I need to have realistic expectations with this. I just want a stomach that somewhat resembles the one I had before having kids. Is that really so bad? I want to be comfortable in my skin again. I have to live with this body the rest of my life, so why not invest a little into it?

why? (part 1)

Why am I getting a tummy tuck? And why did I feel like it was necessary to share this with the world? Let's tackle the second question first.

So...you might be wondering why I am feeling compelled to share this. Because this is a journey. This is a life-changing decision, both physically and emotionally. How could I possibly hide this—either physically or emotionally?! Yeah, people don't see me for a few weeks and suddenly half my belly is gone? I'd rather get it all out in the open, so I can share the emotional stuff—my joy, my excitement, my fear—as well as share the physical stuff—pain (yes, I know, it's going to be painful...really painful) and, of course, the results!

So here I go...I can't promise this will be entertaining or enlightening or whatever. But I need someplace more than Facebook to share my feelings. Feel free to ask questions. And thanks for joining me. :-)