Panniculectomy: Stories

My name is Nicole R and I am a 37 year old African American female. Throughout my life I struggled with constant weight changes as a result of poor eating habits resulting in a severe loss of muscle tone in my abdomen. In late 2011 I decided to seek professional assistance with weight loss and joined a local medical weight loss program which assisted me in losing 45 lbs. Afterwich, I began having severe yeast infections and pain in my sides and back and therefore began consulting with local surgeons to have the skin removed.

After meeting with a couple of surgeons and being discouraged after being told that I was not the ideal weight to have the procedure, a family member recommended that I consult with Dr Bryan. While meeting with Dr Bryan she advised me of my options and gave me a realistic idea of what to expect after the procedure. She took pictures, and estimated that she could removed about 15 pounds of excess skin from my abdomen. I was advised to give her staff about 6 weeks to get a response from my insurance company.

Within 3 weeks I received a call from Dr Bryan's staff advising that the procedure had been approved and we scheduled a surgery date for January 14, 2013. During the pre-op appointment Dr Bryan and her staff instructed on how to care for the JP Drains and gave me pain medication prescriptions to fill prior to being released from the hospital.

I am currently 8 weeks post-op and I am loving my new body! I never knew that I had curves hiding under all that hanging skin. Dr Bryan removed a total of 18 pounds during the surgery. Like many of the reviews that I read I too have had an infection, most likely due to being a type 2 diabetic, which has slowed down my healing process. I am very happy with my results and most importantly, I could'nt have been blessed with a better Doctor. Dr Bryan treats each patient like a family member. She visited each day that I was in the hospital and is always accessible, patient and reassuring no matter what time I call her. Dr Bryan has even met with me after hours and on the weekends when I had concerns.