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.