Ruptured Implant & Tumor Removal - If Safety, Experience and Results Are Paramount - Read This - Riverside, CA

I had two ruptured old generation silicone implants from the eighties. After 27 years they were thrashed. Silicone from one implant migrated into my upper muscle and surrounding tissue. This created a reactionary tumor the size of four golf balls. Anytime time a tumor this size is removed it carries a significant risk. Blood loss and a host of other complications. Being a completive dancer and a bodybuilder I was also concerned how much muscle would be removed. Would I ever be the same again? Yes, the thought of all this was creeping me out. Safety, experience and results was parliament. My job was to find the best surgeon I could and the rest would be up to him. I made my A-list for a top doctor and then I researched for hours on the Internet and found Dr Hardesty. The first thing I wanted to know is if he had any peer reviewed publications in print. That is the signature of a knowledgeable doctor. He did and it is quite an impressive portfolio. Additionally his CV reads like the who’s who for surgical procedures. It is quite the catalog. In addition he served as the Chief of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Loma Linda University (LLU). He taught top elite doctors with thriving practices their surgical methods and techniques. He is the founder of the first nationally accredited and integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Training Program at LLU. He founded and is president of the Calif. Society of Plastic Surgeons. And my most important discovery, based on the feedback from his patients on the Internet, he is loved and valued not only as a doctor but as a human being. Based on research evidence, I was convinced. I made my appointment. When the day came, Dr. Hardesty took the time to explain my options. I have to say, the guy knows his stuff. But the thing that really stood out and struck me about Dr. Hardesty is how approachable he is. He is a down-to-earth guy with super-doc abilities. I shared with him my concerns about losing function in my arm due to the silicone that had invaded my muscle and it needed to be cut out. He assured me that he would do everything possible to minimize muscle loss.I had the surgery. The ruptured implants, scar tissue and tumor was removed. In recovery Dr. Hardesty told me that he was able to preserve the muscle and removed less than one percent of it! I have no clue how he was able to pull that off but I am grateful.I had complete and immediate access to Dr. Hardesty and his staff at all times. They are a knowledgeable and empathic team. And just in case I had grave concerns about the recovery process, he gave me his cell number. He even asked me to see him on a Saturday to make sure things were going well. And, the night before surgery I got an unexpected call from Dr. Hardesty in case I had any last minute questions. I had some pre-surgery gitters , but after hearing his voice and the fact that he took the time to check in on me, well, I felt a lot less anxious. What kind of doctor these days makes a house call before surgery? None that I’ve ever experienced. That is service. With Dr. Hardesty and team, it is not just about medicine but about the humanistic component – the whole person.As of this writing it has been six weeks since surgery. Today is my first day back at the gym. I almost have my full range of motion in my arms. I expect to have all of it in one more week. Because of Dr. Hardesty’s skill and experience I am able to continue my love for dance and working out. I’m pretty sure had I used a different surgeon, that tumor would have been cut out with little regard to function and I would have never been the same. Keep in mind, any surgery carries a risk, but when you align yourself with a top doc, that risk diminishes significantly. Performance outcomes in plastic surgery begins with the first choice, yours. Make the right one. If safety, experience and results are paramount, then you have only one empirically proven choice to make – Dr. Hardesty.Kathi S.