Getting my Strong Curves Back - Tijuana, MX

OK for those of you in a hurry, the punchline- At my 2 month post review, I expressed concern that my pelvic and groin scars seemed out of place. He told me well only my husband was going to see it. What about bathing suits? Wear boy shorts.
I went home and cried, feeling very bereft, lied to, betrayed, let down in every possible way.
The detailed version; I showed up my my appointment and Elsa, his girl everything asked me how everything was and I said the healing was coming along nice but that I thought my pelvic scars were wide as in not in the crease bu on my thigh, and the groin incision from the medial thigh lift were low. When I did see Dr. Guitierrez he immediately launched into this lecture that I could not complain for 6 months after the surgery.
Then he asked me to disrobe so he could see and as he poked around and I indicated that I thought the lines were out of place, that is when he said, "Only your husband is going to see that". I wish I were kidding, but sadly this guy in the aesthetic business is not getting it.And I also mentioned that I thought my vaginal lips were pulling open a bit, to which he made no comment or acknowledgement.
He proceeded to poke me and asked me to lie on the floor and moved my legs around and when the scar lines seemed more in place he said "see, they are ok" and I responded that I do not spend my life lying on the floor. Sorry, cheeky I know but I am angry and humiliated. He had spent so much time criticizing other people's work that that I had thought he would be concerned. I was perplexed and really disappointed when he was defensive, tried to excuse things away and saying some really thoughtless things. The soave Dr. I met before was gone and replace by a guy who had no grace and no plan for how to approach a repair. I told him that I thought part of the pelvic issue was the lax skin from NOT DOING the TT that I was marked up for and instead doing lipo. It took him a while to grasp that and after tugging on my skin he saw how that could be true and agreed a tummy tuck would move those into proper position. I asked about the low groin scar and he said he could re-cut, but I asked how that would solve the problem when it was pulling the vaginal lips apart already. He has no response. I found out that he did no undermining on my leg lift, not the medial lift or the belt lift, so all that tissue is anchored down and pulling down so my medial lift produced ZERO results and the rest of it did improve my butt but NOT my THIGH whatsoever, no the font, not the side, not the back. AAACKKKK! what did I do this for? I still have the same lumps and bumps and saddle bags, now that the swelling is down. He did no lipo on my legs. Before surgery he said I did not need it. He could do everything without lipo on the legs. I was doubtful. He grabbed my thighs with his hands and pulled up and said he would do that in surgery and he did not need to do lipo. I said even the saddle bag area and he said yes even there is was just sagging skin. So why do I still have it? NOW he says that he wont do lipo on the legs, no no no. There is a big difference between saying you don't need it and saying you wont do it, whether it is needed or not. What a betrayal. And of course he says, now, "Oh, We couldn't get that in one surgery, you need another lift." WTF@%&*)^&*K?!
One of my driving reasons for going was an old injury on the back of one thigh, right at the base of the butt. over time this has created a big ripple that is visible in all clothing. I wanted this, more than anything, smoothed out. Before surgery DR. G said it was simple, just some lipo. No Big Deal. so Imagine my surpise when it is still there after surgery. Right after surgery he said he could not do it because of where it was located next to the incision. Still in the after surgery honeymoon, I let that excuse go. Now he says, he said he would have don it it he had time. That is so not true. Never did he say that, I would have gone to someone else for sure, if that had been his attitude.
Lastly, as I mentioned he did lipo on my stomach instead of the Tummy tuck that I was marked up and scheduled for. Post op he said I did not need the TT. HOWEVER, his lipo work is uneven and he left a sizeable donut of fat around my belly button. I mentioned it before leaving after recovery, although pretty swollen at the time, and again at this 2 month post-op and he said he left it on purpose so the skin wouldn't be saggy except that now I have a pronounced donut in the center of my belly that I cannot get rid of on my own. Why don't I have a flat belly if I had lipo.
SO- nutshell
Lied about need for lipo in legs
Did not tell me that he does not/ wont do lipo in legs at all, preferring to tell people they don't need it.
Agreed to and marked me up for a TT he did not perform
Did not address my thigh ripple and passed it off as
Did not produce any results in medial thigh lift except a sagging scar
Did not produce any result in thigh lift
Produced irregular results and intentionally left sizable pocket of fat on tummy and also uneven hips.
So after the physical review, we talked and he stipulated that after the 3 month mark we could do a scar revision and the TT and he told me he would take care of everything but the cost of the suite at somewhere between $500 and $1000. 3 months put us into the Holiday season so I told him I would get in touch with him in January to schedule. He told me that he would fix it that he "Had my back".
In mid January, I emailed to say I was ready to schedule and Elsa and I went back and forth on some dates. A few weeks before the date and she says we need to discuss what was being done and the cost. I said, well Dr. G is supposed to do scar revision on the pelvic and groins area and do the TT and he told me he would do it for $500. She comes back to me with he will do the scar revisions for $1500 but the TT is a whole new surgery at that would be $4500. This is not what we talked about, I even went back over it with my husband. I said, well I was supposed to the get the TT in the first place, and somehow they come up with that I didn't pay for it so there you go. My original email quote did not have the tt is had full torso lipo, then when I saw him for the in person consult, he wanted to do the TT instead for an added 1k. I said I could not do it, and he agreed to do the TT for the original quote price. When I got to the surgery center for pre-op, he wrote down that I was getting medial thigh lift, butt/thigh lift and a TT. So yes it was negotiated into my price.
Anyway, betrayed again. meanwhile they keep trying to sell me on a boob job.
SO I am done, and I can't in good conscience give him a pass, pretend everything is great and not warn other people. Yes he does a nice job on the cut and sew, my scars look pretty good. But I now have even more pronounced saddlebags (saddlebags are not hips) and a donut hanging off my stomach instead of a flat tummy and no results in the thigh lift- all for over 12K.
There are others who have had similar results in their lower body lift and either buy into his excuses or just don't want to admit he failed them, and I wont out them, they can do it when they are are ready. But if real reviews by the community are what we truly have to make decision on then this is my real review. I had to wait several months to do it because I was so emotional about it. But it has been weighing on my mind for a while that I needed to do this, part catharsis and part public service.
I think that is all the details and story to tell. When I feel I can, I will get some recent pics.

I am back home home and my cat is so happy he hasn't left my side all weekend. Hubby had to work so I just continued to relax and watch movies with my 8 lb bed hog Charlie. Gosh I missed my comfy bed...

Before I go too much further, I just want to say thank you very much to my husband and girlfriend who went with me and helped me that first week out of surgery. It was difficult getting in and out of bed, I didn't want to eat, and I couldn't reach anything on my body because I could not bend. I felt like I had been super glued from my waist to my hip in a solid 5" band. The LBL and MTL were kind of a breeze, except you can't open your thighs or flex your hips much to protect the sutures. The lipo, though, is very tender, and I did not go into a suit for a week, I just had a compression mummy wrap that was pretty loose after 4 days. I know people do this all on their own, but I just would not recommend it. Plus I have to say, as a primary care giver, it is nice to have someone wait on me for a time. And they took really good care of me. Ah but that is all over now. Back home, back to work and back to taking care of my family and home.

So why did the doctor say I was not a patient? Because I came out of surgery and had a 15 minute cogent talk with the associate surgeon right after, then spent 2 hours on the phone with family. I was ready to leave post op by noon the next day. My swelling went down so fast I all but fell out of the mummy wrap (he prefers not to put you in the suit until the drains are removed). I was standing perfectly erect in 1 week and climbing stairs (slowly) and my overall energy and mood. Also, I worked from bed running the last week of the campaign. He said, although he did multiple procedures, including some fat grafting to even out my derriere, and the lipo removed 3 liters from my torso, I just wasn't "patienty" except for the getting in and out of bed, which had a lot to do with the lack of mobility in my hips.

So 2 weeks post and I can do just about anything but bend over to get flat things off the floor and deep bends in the knee (still protecting those incisions). I know part of this has to do with the pre-op care and conditioning I did, including toning up my lymphatic system which is the main mechanism that manages the swelling, and the other part is the care and detail that Dr. Gutierrez takes during surgery. He does not let you bleed. He is a micro surgeon by training. He is precise in his technique, very gentle with the tissue and this keeps bleeding to an absolute minimum. Less bleeding = less bruising = less swelling and less complications and great recovery. Truthfully, the only thing holding me back is this dang garment.

I am so getting excited to see my scars. I am supposed to leave the tape on and let in come off naturally. Of course the very first area to come off is the groin, which I can't see. But the tape is starting to come off the pubic area and my lines are very straight. I love that Dr. G uses internal stitches and tapes the top skin. NO PUCKERS! or blanket stitching look. Not very red, so far as I can see and just this small straight line. Why doesn't everyone do it this way? It is another reason I chose Dr. G over others.

So I am in my second suit after less than a week and I need to shop for my third as I expect to be out of this one within 2 weeks. I am trying to decide if I should continue in the full body suit or move to an high waist bottom and then a top. The lipo went up my shoulder blades and even a little in the axilla and my left arm ( to even them out) so I am thinking maybe a top with half sleeves? Anyone have an opinion here? I am using lipo foam 360 around the middle which goes up just to my shoulder blade. Gosh it makes this suit feel better,especially the zipper area that bunches whenever you are bent. I'd like to get some compression in the axilla. I shoved some oversized pads in the armpit of my suit until I ran out. Maybe rolled up socks will work? Has anyone used a tummy board?

I think that is it for now.

1 week post op. Went to see Dr. G and get my first compression suit m because the compression dressi g bad been too loose for days and not giving me any suppot. However still draining too much to remove drains due to the lipo.

A WORD ABOUT LIPO this is the only thing that gave significant discomfort. I had lipo 360 from waist to underbust. This is the only thing that bruised and produced the majority of swelling that settled in my lower back. Unlike the thigh and butt lift, this was more than uncomfortable when I needed to move. Just laying there wasn't a problem. Rolling over, in and out of bed or going potty was. The paracetamol kept things well in check but I started to get dizzy so switched to ibuprofen Saturday afternoon. Once I got the compression garment and ab binder on Monday, this was all much better as it was supported much better and the ab binder was finally able to address the lower back swelling. (You can see the swelling in the pics). Next hurdle is getting these drains out which are hanging out the bottom of my suit through the open crotch.

Thank god I had spent the time strengthening my legs and arms. It has made a huge difference in the little bit of movement you have to do. I recommend everyone improve their strength before taking this on.

THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE IN THEIR RECOVERY KIT
Toilet seat riser, yes my legs can handle but it was tricky and lower puts undue stress on sutures

She pee, first several days after surgery you dont even attempt to sit and peeing standing up unnecessarily wets the groins sutures.

Burdock, a natural supplement that supports the lymph system which is what handles your swelling. Take the month before surgery stopping just a few days before surgery and then start again 2 or 3 days post. I dont recommend starting right after surgery as it increases urine production, but it does a marvelous job of managing swelling and keeping lymph moving. Skin brushing, which is a non hand lymphatic masage, i also did and recommend before surgery to make sure the lymph system is clear of stagnation and flowing freely. Although I had swelling the surgery areas, I never had swelling in my extremeties or my labia. I like skin brushing over manual lymph massage because your are less likely to over due the pressure, which is counter productive, plus it exfoliates and tonifies the skin. Do not skin brush freshly lipoed skin, but you can do extremeties post op and you can brush over the garment. Google skin brushing for more details and technique.

Protein powder or protein shakes, protein is critical for good recovery but I found my appetite really lacking the first week post op. Most food sounded very unappealing and the smell of bbq was a turn off. I had a steady diet of bananas and protein smoothies made with banana, strawberry and a vegetarian based protein powder for the first 5 or 6 days. I chose to be dairy free due to antibiotics which can upset your gut flora, no need to add digestive distress to the mix. Bonus, this plan plus adequate amounts of water throughout the day kept the bowels moving easily.

Bendable straws, because you wont be so bendable. ;)

Thin soft material like a tee shirt or pillow case, for between your legs when you're laying abed the first several days. You are supposed to keep the groin area dry but keep your legs closed, uh huh yeah right. A wash cloth or hand towel size piece of cloth patted in their does the trick. Depending on how sensitive your skin is, and surgery made me very sensitive- every wrinkle in the sheet became irritating for awhile, I found thin and smooth material was most comfortable. Plus easy to adjust as needed while laying about and having to navigiate the drain lines. Once you are more mobile, switch to pads.

I hope this helps. As i think of other helpful hints, I will post.