Dr. G. and his No. 1 Cora are the best! In June 2011, just before my 46th birthday, I had a tummy tuck; muscle laxity and tears repaired, as well as belly button reconstruction. This was my reward for having 4 kids, turning into a frumpy mom, then losing 70 lbs over 2 years with a reasonable diet, running 5K 4x a week and hitting the weights with a personal trainer 2X a week. I was left with muscle tears from pregnancy that could never be fixed and a stretch marked-lump of front that no exercise or weight loss could get rid of. Sniff!
My husband and I agreed to save our hard earned pennies and interviewed several plastic surgeons; they all had pretty much the same prices. We found Dr. G. was the only one who didn’t have an ego party when discussing my procedure (most cutters do). When questioned by my husband about the outcome’s success rate and his lack of guaranteeing the outcome, he stated nothing is 100% in surgery and he likes to “promise little and deliver much.” Having never had surgery myself I was wary and did lots of research with “Dr. Google.” I found no surgery is a sure thing and plastic surgery is not guaranteed to make you a supermodel. Always be wary about doctors that say you will be perfect after plastic surgery. Dr. G. had to reconstruct my belly button in addition to the tummy tuck; he clearly gave me possible outcomes – positive and negative and probabilities. His honest realistic approach, coupled with the photos he showed us, convinced us that he was the one.
I had the surgery on a Friday in a private clinic and went home that day. Dr. G. phoned me the day after my procedure on his own time, on a Saturday (the Sabbath!), to check on my condition. My mother, who was a surgical nurse for 40 years, said that was almost unheard of. She also commented that his sutures – she could resist taking a peek – were incredibly detailed. She noted the alignment of the tissue must have taken a lot of time and patience. I’m nearly 7 months out now. The lack of chording in the scar and the slow but sure disappearance of the incision line indicates that within 12 -18 months there should be almost no trace of the incision line. (Yep, that’s an invisible scar!)
I have a toned tummy with a 4 pack, the horrible pregnancy skin is gone, and the pregnancy tears in my muscles are repaired. For the first time in 16 years, I have a belly button! A big thank you to Cora for unconditionally taking my endlessly silly questions pre and post-op, and of course my eternal gratitude to Dr. G. and his surgical team. THE RESULTS WERE BETTER THAN I COULD HAVE DREAMED!
Gym memberships $1K…personal trainer $5K…5K of trail running equipment and shoes $1.5K, new wardrobe 6 sizes smaller $3K. Plastic surgery to fix what the diet and exercise couldn’t $9K…getting my self-esteem back, wearing a 2-piece at the cottage and turning my husband’s head like we were dating…Priceless!
Individual results may vary