Surgery Day!!

June 16, 2016

I woke up this morning feeling very nervous and anxious. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I always get very loose stools the morning of an exciting event; the morning of my wedding, the first day of school, hours before a job interview, etc. – and this morning proved to be no different. All I kept thinking was, I hope the surgeons can’t smell my fear. So to avoid smelling rank, I made sure to wash my behind with the required antibacterial soap after every one of my morning episodes. Unfortunately, I think I left myself a little raw and irritated with all the nervous scrubbing I did.

GirlsBut by 7:30 A.M. my morning episodes had finally came to a halt and my mom and babysitter had arrived. Upon their arrival, it was time to pack up the car and say goodbye to my early morning risers – Ashley & Aubrey. I told them that mommy’s doctor was going to fix her tummy and boobies and that Debbie  (their nanny) and Gigi & Babalou (my husband’s Mom & her husband) were going to come play with them for a few days while I recovered at my Grammy & Papa’s house (my parents). Needless to say, Ashley & Aubrey were super excited; not because mommy was finally getting her tummy & boobies fixed, but because their nanny and grandparents were coming to visit for a few days. Mommy always seems to be second fiddle.

Well, thank goodness my Mom and I decided to leave an hour and a half early because the morning traffic was intense. What should have been a 30 minute car ride turned into a 75 minute-red-tail-light-party on Interstate 4. But we did make it on time – and with time to spare.

As I entered my doctor’s empty office, everyone greeted me the same way: “So are you ready Miss Kelly? It’s your big day!” With all the attention, nerves and jitters, I swear it felt like it was my wedding day again.

Pre-OpWithin minutes, the surgical nurse brought me into the room and told me to undress into a gown and take a pregnancy test. As expected, my pregnancy test was negative.  Next, the anesthesiologist came into the room to have me sign a bunch of I-wont-sue-you-legal-papers. While signing the papers, I told the anesthesiologist about my severe nausea and low blood pressure issues that anesthesia usually causes for me, and he quickly eased my fears. He said he was going to create the perfect anti-nausea cocktail for me, and that my low blood pressure shouldn’t be an issue. Once I had all my questions answered, my surgeon came into the room to draw on me. I wanted to take a picture of the Picasso he had drawn on my torso, but my doctor didn’t allow it. I’m sure there is some logical/legal reason as to why I couldn’t take a picture of his drawings, but it was a little disappointing. Once the drawings were done it was time to say goodbye to my Mom and step into the operating room. But not before we took a final before picture (left). It was the moment of truth. It was now or never.

As I lay down on the operating table, the surgical nurses started strapping down my arms and legs and sticking heart-rate and oxygen monitors on my chest and back. The anesthesiologist was standing at the head of the operating table behind my head, and out of the corner of my eye I could see he was about to inject something into my IV. I immediately said: “Wait, wait! I’m not ready yet!” But it was too late. This was the last thing I remember.

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How I picked my cosmetic surgeon

June 14, 2016

I thought finding a surgeon was going to be overly difficult and time consuming. There are so many worthy cosmetic surgeons in Florida – especially in Miami – I had no idea how to being my search. I was lost sorting through all my options: where to do my surgery, who will do my surgery, what are the surgeons ratings, how do their before/after pictures look, etc.  And although I was disappointed at the lack of public responses to my February Facebook post, I did receive a slew of private messages from many women in my community – most of which used the same 3 doctors. At first I thought, well maybe there are just a few doctors here in Orlando and all the good ones are in Miami or LA; but then I researched these 3 doctors on RealSelf and I knew I had to meet them.

So the very next day, I started scheduling my consolations.  The three doctors I visited were Dr. Thomas FialaDr. Armando Soto, and Dr. Jon Paul Trevisani. And the doctor I chose was …..

Drum Roll Please

Dr. Armando Soto

Soto

For those of you looking for your doctor, here is why I picked Dr. Armando Soto:

Reason # 1)   How he performs his breast augmentations.

Rather than having me stand in front of a body mirror and stuff different implant sizes into a sports bra (like I experienced at my consultation with Dr. Thomas Fiala’s) Dr. Soto wants me to bring in images of breast that I like/do not like, and HE will make the final decision on surgery day as to what implant size and shape will accomplish the look I want.

So during surgery Dr. Soto will sit me up vertically on the operating table and “pop in and out” different implant sizes to see which one will give me the most natural look; and based on his reviews and his before/after pictures, it is obvious he knows how to pick the proper implant size and shape.

Personally, I liked this option better. It takes the stress and fear away that I’ll pick the wrong implant size or shape – cause let’s face it, stuffing implants into a sports bra is not a very accurate way to visualize your future results.

As for Dr. Jon Paul Trevisani, I was not impressed.  He wanted to perform my breast lift and implant surgeries 6 months apart; and his reasoning for separating the surgeries was NOT medically related. Who has time to go through 2 surgeries? That to me just seemed silly and I immediately crossed him off my list of perspectives.

 

Reason # 2) His experience at performing tummy tucks:

In Dr. Soto’s 16  year career, he has only had to make a vertical tummy tuck scar twice (a vertical tummy tuck scar is sometimes necessary when the doctor needs to cut off the belly button due to not having enough skin to pull down during the tummy tuck  procedure). He did say that I have enough excess skin to pull down and I should not need a vertical scar; but in the event that I need a vertical scar, I will at least know that it was a last resort. Also his tummy tuck scars are placed very low – hidden by even the tiniest panties and bathing suit bottoms.

 

Reason # 3)   My surgery will be performed in Dr. Soto’s accredited in office surgical suite & his nurses will be monitoring me over night.

Believe it or not, surgeries performed in an in-office surgical suite have less post-operative infections compared to surgeries performed at a hospital or out-patient surgical center. Think about it for a moment: A hospital or out-patient surgical center has patients constantly going in-and-out of their facilities, whereas an operating room within a private practice only has patients in there 2 – 3 days out of the week (my surgeon only performs surgeries on Thursdays & Fridays). So it should make sense that less people = less chance of infection.

Also, if you do happen to have your surgery performed at a hospital or an out-patient surgical center, the doctor will usually send you home that very same day! Hard to believe right? Doctors will keep you in the hospital for 3 days following a C-section, but they’ll send you home immediately after a much more invasive mommy makeover procedure. Doesn’t make sense to me.

So there you have it folks!  Dr. Armando Soto it is !!!

I can’t wait to share with you my amazing results!!!

2 more days !!!

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Why I am blogging about my mommy makeover

June 3, 2016

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea how to begin my search for my surgeon. I knew exactly what I wanted, but I had no clue who to talk to. Other than a simple boob job, no one I knew at the time has ever had any major cosmetic procedures done before. So to begin my hunt for a surgeon, I posted on one the most artificial social media sites I know of – Fakebook. 

fakebook

Back in February, I had written a post on our community Facebook page asking if anyone would recommend me a surgeon for my mommy makeover; and I was profoundly disappointed at the lack of public responses I received.  With the exception of 1 awesome and brave mama, everyone who responded did so through private messaging; no one wanted to publicly admit that they’ve had work done.

arrowThis is one of the many reasons why I chose to start this blog. When does faking-it ever serve anyone? To go around flaunting your new stunning body as if you worked to achieve those results just makes the rest of us feel more self-conscious then we already do. Now, that’s not to say you didn’t work hard with proper exercise, a healthy diet, etc.; but for those of us who do all these things – and more – and still achieved zero results, is disheartening and frustrating to say the least. I’ve tried everything I can think of to whip my body back into shape. I’ve done 4 straight months of eating right and exercising. My exercise routine consists of Insanity, P90X, and running 3 miles in the evening. Unfortunately, there isn’t any exercise in the world that can fix the issues that my two pregnancies have caused. I am so unhappy with my aftermath of my two pregnancies – at times I wont even let my husband touch me because I turn myself off. I NEED this surgery. I NEED to feel sexy again.

So as promised, I have attached for you my BEFORE pictures.

 

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My Big Decision …

June 2, 2016

I seriously can’t believe I’m going through with this. I’ve always been one to judge people who undergo plastic surgery. I used to say things like: “be happy with what God gave you” and “be proud of the battle scars you have”;  but after my beautiful twins Ashley & Aubrey and my last little bundle of joy Amy, I must admit that I am not happy with the aftermath of my two pregnancies and breastfeeding. I have permanently separated abdominal muscles which makes me look like I’m 3 months pregnant (diastasis recti), an umbilical hernia, and excess/stretched out skin on both my tummy and my breasts.

Me 1

I know what many of you are probably thinking: “What are you talking about … you look great!” Well, I can assure you that what you see on the outside is deceiving; even my grandmother had a socking reaction when she saw the aftermath of what 18 months of pregnancy and breastfeeding did to me. I believe her exact words were, “Oh my-gosh … I am so sorry Kelly”. And if grandma says it’s bad, then you know it’s bad.

So in exactly 2 weeks from today, I will be getting a full tummy tuck, liposuction of the flanks, a breast lift, and breast implants! I am beyond excited – but I’m even more scared. I’m scared of the long recovery and the effect it will have on my husband and children; I’m scared of the financial commitment this surgery requires; and I’m scared that my decision to do this is a selfish one.

For those of you who know me best, you know I don’t like to ask for help. I am very independent; sometimes a little too independent – and knowing that I need to rely on others to care for me and my children while I’m recovering is not something I’m looking forward to. But I can no longer live with what looks like a wrinkley-old-stretched-out-saggy women’s body – I NEED this change.

So wish me luck and let the countdown begin !!! I can’t wait to share my results with you!

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