Finally 8 weeks post op!!! New pics- Dr. Salama

I'm doing this procedure because I am overall unhappy with my shape. I would love to have a smaller waist with a rounder, fuller butt. I believe this surgery will greatly boost my self-esteem, allowing me to live my life to the fullest.

My surgery has been scheduled for May 21, 2012 and I am anxiously looking forward to it!

I began my research on Butt Augmentation by Fat Transfer (Brazilian Butt Lift) in November 2011.  Initially, I was very interested in working with Dr. Campos in Tijuana because he had great reviews and photographs of his work proved his skills.  I contacted his office in order to get more information regarding the procedure as well as a virtual consultation and price quote from him.  About a week later, I received a response from Dr. Campos.  His quote was vague in that it didn’t include all the areas of liposuction that I had requested, however, it did have an additional, unrequested procedure on it. 

He explained that after looking at my photos, he strongly recommended an extended tummy tuck.  I understood his recommendation to be just that, a recommendation, and promptly replied explaining that I wasn’t interested in the tummy tuck at this time, only the areas of liposuction that I had already described and as much fat-transfer as my butt could take in order to achieve a rounder, fuller appearance.  Within a couple of days I heard back from Dr. Campos.  His email strongly stated that he was unwilling to move ahead with the procedure unless I agreed to doing the tummy tuck and that he wished me luck in finding a different surgeon. 

Reading his email honestly broke my heart.  I have never had a baby, so to hear that my body looked as if I had, was devastating to say the least.  I was immediately comforted by my boyfriend who was just as confused as I was.  He still to this day can’t understand it.  We have looked at hundreds of reviews with photographs of some of Dr. Campos’ patients and have seen girls who were much bigger than I am with beautiful results, so his response not only hurt my feelings, but left my boyfriend and me puzzled.

A couple of days later, after I had picked myself back up and convinced myself that I wasn’t going to let that one consultation stop me, I decided to get a second opinion.  Since I was living in Maryland at the time, I gave Dr. Markmann’s office a call and scheduled a consultation.  We were in the process of moving during that time, so I was very limited as to how long I could wait for a consultation appointment.  Luckily, Dr. Markmann’s staff worked with me and squeezed me in as soon as they received a cancellation.  During my consultation, Dr. Markmann made me feel very comfortable and explained the procedure in detail.  I told him about my experience with Dr. Campos and his recommendation for an extended tummy tuck.  He explained that sometimes when you lose weight, or when you have a baby, the skin on your tummy stretches and becomes loose, creating a horizontal belly button as opposed to a round one.  He personally examined my body and skin elasticity and assured me that he could give me results very similar to my wish pic (which is an ex patient of his) without the need for a tummy tuck.  I was so relieved and so happy! In my opinion Dr. Markmann is the best of the best when it comes to BBLs so I value his opinion and would have loved to work with him, however, his prices are very steep.  The procedures that I requested were Buttock Augmentation by fat transfer with liposuction to the abdomen, waist, flanks, inner and outer thighs, back dorsal roll (bra strap area), and upper arms.  For these procedures, including ‘Above Knee Girdle Kit x3 w/ sus’ ($270) and ‘Vest w/Sleeves ($88), Dr. Markmann’s fees came to $16, 902.00.  Due to the fact that Dr. Markmann performs all procedures in a hospital, additional hospital fees of $5,191.00 were added to his fees bringing the total cost of surgery to $22,093.00.   Dr. Markmann made me feel so comfortable and he was so caring that walking away from the opportunity of allowing him to work on me was something that I really struggled with.  At the end of the day, the price was too high.  It was more than I wanted to spend and far more than what I could comfortably afford.

It was then that my boyfriend and I went back to the internet to continue researching.  We began seeing many new reviews from very happy patients of Dr. Salama in Miami.  Photographs of his results were beautiful and his prices seemed very affordable so I decided to contact him.  I sent him an email describing my requests along with photographs and patiently waited for his reply.  I didn’t have to wait long because in a few days’ time, I had my answer.  This is part of the message I received, “Based on doctor's opinion, he can get you the results you are looking for. The total pricing of the surgery will be based on the various liposuction areas and BBL package. The BBL special is $5,899 plus $400 for each additional area of liposuction, and there are three areas to add on: arms, inner thighs, and outer thighs - $1,200 - for a total of $7,099.”  Needless to say, I was ecstatic! 

I immediately contacted Dr. Salama’s office and inquired about available surgery dates.  After deciding on a date, I paid a 10% deposit and a hold has now been placed on my surgery date-- May 21, 2012!!!  Even though my journey has been a long one, filled with ups and downs, I’m so happy to be here now!  I’m excited about my new, future body and my new, future life!

P.S.  I just wanted to add one last detail- I could not have been able to achieve such in-depth research on my own without the help of my loving boyfriend.  He sorted through many reviews and pictures, helping me narrow down my options and ultimately deciding on Dr. Salama.  He’s the best boyfriend in the world!!