I'm headed to the Dominican Republic in 2 weeks to have a tummy tuck and lipo with Dr. Sabala. My surgery is scheduled for April 9, 2019. Is anyone going around that time? And for those of you that have already gotten surgery with Sabala what was your experience and before and after photos? I'm not super nervous just ready to get rid of this back pain and be able to actually buy cute clothes.
Updated on 2 Apr 2019:
So I was going to get a tummy tuck, lipo and bbl. I have decided to upgrade to a mommy makeover. My breasts are huge (GG) and I have horrible back pain, which is actually why I started on this journey to begin with. As much as I love the idea of a flat stomach I love the idea of getting the weight off my body and to ease the horrible pain in my back even more. I was going to wait until next year and do the lift and reduction in a separate surgery but I just want to get it all done. Now I have a week to go and I'm a bit nervous but mostly so exited. I've been heavy my whole life and have a big stomach so I just can't wait to have it be gone. And to not hurt every minute of every day... oh I cant even imagine what that is like.
Updated on 7 Apr 2019:
So excited. A bit nervous but mostly just because I'm traveling from Washington state alone. I have complete faith that Sabala will do an amazing job. I'm actually more worried about my hemo being high enough or some random other test not allowing me to get everything done. Its 10 pm now and will board my first flight at midnight. Will change planes twice and end up in Santo Domingo around 2:30 pm local time. ???? Wish me luck!!
Updated on 10 Jun 2019:
Ok so I know it's been a while. When I got to the Dominican, Dr. Sabala said that because my BMI was at 35 it wasn't safe to do the breast reduction with the tummy tuck and lipo. I was pretty bummed as I really didn't want a second round but safety first.
Had a quick meeting with Sabala where we decided to do the tummy tuck, lipo (flanks, back, stomach) bbl and we added lipo of the chin and inner thighs. The surgery went well although I have to say whatever they give you for pain meds when waking up was awful. I was in a lot of pain and they didn't seem to like giving anything very strong. The stay in the clinic was ok. There was a nurse in the room but to be honest I don't know if she was there for me or not. She only spoke Spanish and seemed to be focusing on another patient so I did not at the time feel like I had a nurse.
I received my first massage before going to my recovery house the day after surgery and she put me in my stage 1 faja. It was painful and sucked but I did feel better after.
I stayed at New Life recovery and they did a great job. Very attentive. Has a dr on staff and they take great care of you.
The only thing I would say to people is to bring good pain meds. The stuff Sababla prescribes basically equates to 1 800mg ibuprofen a day. The first 3 days were rough and I would suggest opiates for the first day or two and a lot of Tylenol and ibuprofen the rest of your stay. Also Tylenol pm to help you sleep. Kept me from going insane as you will be very uncomfortable and sleep is rough. Now I will say that day 1-3 sucked day 4&5 sucked less but after that it got better. Day 8 the depression hit. I hated my body, missed my family and wanted to be anywhere other then where I was. I'd look in the mirror and think I'm lopsided, my butt is flat and square I am still huge and everything hurts. Gotta admit it was rough. To make matters worse I only had Sabalas assistants WhatsApp number and she would rarely respond. So I never knew what was going on.
His massage therapist was good. Didn't speak great English but she was professional and I always felt so much better after. The massages were very painful tho.
I was up and moving pretty well by day 8 and even went out and did some touristy stuff.
Updated on 10 Jun 2019:
So I told them I needed wheelchair service which made getting out of the county so much easier. I got to Miami just in time to be told that my flight home was canceled due to storms. My wheelchair did not pick me up and I had to walk all over the Miami airport. It was brutal. My legs were so swollen I and it was so hot I have to say probably the worst part of the whole trip. Found a hotel and managed to score a seat on a flight trip next evening. My hotel was nice and the bed was so much more comfortable then the hospital beds I slept on in the D.R. The next day I had to be out of my hotel room by 1 but my flight didn't leave until 8 so I had to spend 6 hrs in the airport. And then a 5 hr flight home. By the time I got back to Seattle I was swollen and so very tired. But I was home and it was 50 degrees and I'd never been more excited to feel the cold lol
Updated on 10 Jun 2019:
So it's been a rocky road. I took my drain out at 15 days post op like the dr said and ended up developing a seroma. I tried to get ahold of dr sababla to ask questions but his assistant never messaged me back. She didn't even read my messages.
I finally ended up getting his direct number and that has been much better. He responds within a few hours and is very helpful.
I have to say the drs here have made things very difficult. I had to see three different ones before I finally ended up with a drain back in. That went back in around 4 weeks post op and was draining 30cc's plus every day until it broke at 7 weeks post op. Luckily I haven't developed an additional seroma since.
The seroma caused my belly button to swell and rip the sutures. It wasn't pleasant at the time and will now be scared but it did heal and I'm happy. I'm currently 9 weeks post op. And I have to say I'm starting to see the results. My back and butt turned out well. My butt is a bit flatter and not quite the shape I was looking for but is starting to fluff and is definitely better then it was before.
My belly however is still a swollen mess. I look great in my faja but when it's off my belly is never flat, not even close and swells so fast that showers are uncomfortable.
I can't tell if it's the swelling or if my belly button is off center but it looks slightly off like I'm twisting in the waist.
I'm hoping that when the swelling stops I will have the results I'm looking for. I just was able to order a med faja after being in a large tie whole time. If anyone has suggestions on swelling I'm open to them!
I have a very active job that I went back to at 3 weeks post op. I'm guessing that most of my swelling is due to the fact that I shouldn't have been so active so soon. I do wish I had taken one more week off.
I think he did a good job. My body just wasn't happy with me about it. The only thing I am upset about is that I paid to have my arms and inner thighs lipo'd and he only did the bottom of my arms so the backs look good but the inner part is still pretty fatty. That is ok though what bugs me is my thighs. He only did the front part of my inner thighs. So they still touch. He didn't do the whole inner thigh. It looks better but I was expecting to have a bit more gone and don't understand why he stopped where he did.
Updated on 30 Jun 2019:
Ok so I’m a couple days shy of 12 weeks and got a couple pics. I’m happy with the work done but at the same time a bit disappointed. I was hoping that the my belly isn’t flat due o swelling but Dr. Sabala says it’s a combo of fat and swelling and that I will need a second round. I am a million times better then when I started but I’ve seen girls bigger then me get amazing results so I’m a bit sad. I will be back exercising as soon as I’m healed and have gotten back on track with my eating. I have to admit I haven’t been eating great lately so time to get motivated.
On another note starting about 5 days ago I began experiencing extreme pain in my hip below my scar above my left leg. Almost into my pubis. It ranges from extreme burning pinching I want to cry pain to my skin being hypersensitive in that spot to no pain at all. From what I’ve read this is the nerves regenerating and will go away in time but for now it’s excruciating. Feels like I’m being stabbed. Hopefully it will go away as suddenly as it arrived.
I’ve attached a couple pics. A before and today along with some others from today showing my swelling/fat.
Updated on 7 Jul 2019:
So about my searing pain... I messaged Sabala about the pain in my hip. He said I would need to take Lyrica. Actually he said the medical name but I can’t remember it right now. So I went to my gp and told her the situation and what he had said and she agreed. She wrote the prescription and off I went. Well it turns out that my insurance wouldn’t cover it so I ended up with Gabapentin which after about 12 hrs works like a charm. I’m so happy to be pain free again that people at work assumed I was high. Lol