My Brazilian Butt Lift with Dr. Ayman Shahine Performed on 5/18/13 — Part 1 - Union, NJ

Sorry, I thought I'd be able to get the whole operation into this post but as you can tell, I'm wordy, so I had to break it up. Pre-op story today. (BTW 4 days post and I have almost zero bruising, some swelling, pain is at a 4 of 10 with no drugs at all, and I'm feeling great!!

OK onward...

At about 4:30pm on Saturday I finally met Dr. Shahine for my pre-op evaluation. The first words out of his mouth were apologies for keeping me waiting and canceling my surgery the previous Thursday and I immediately liked him. This is not “an arrogant jerk who thinks he’s a God and doesn’t care about people’s time” his apology was sincere and he explained that sometimes surgeries take longer than expected and he’s committed to giving everyone the time they need. Again, if it was you on the table that needed the extra time would you tell him to rush so someone else wouldn’t have to wait as long?...

After looking at me, he told me that I probably had enough fat to get the results I wanted but that he wouldn’t actually know until he performed the liposuction. He explained that bodies can be deceiving and because I was so thin he wouldn’t know for sure until he got in. He explained that if there wasn’t enough fat that he could use stitching (look up “Brazilian Thread Lift”) to help support and lift the butt. The thread lift actually takes much longer to see the results (3-9 months) but it was an option if I did not have enough fat. Additional cost: $5500.

Along with my flat ass, loosing 30lbs three years ago along with aging also took a toll on my facial volume (Damn, it's like I'm melting WTF?). I’ve been spending about $3K a year on Juvederm injections for the past 3 years to help keep my face looking full & young but they dissolve with time. Shahine told me that if there was enough fat that he could fill in my laugh lines, cheeks, chin & lower lip for an additional $2.5K and the results would be permanent.

I know what you’re thinking, and no, he did not coerce me into spending more money than I wanted, I specifically asked “well, what could we do if I don’t have enough fat to lift my ass?” and… “is there anything we can do to give my face more volume?”… If I’m already paying for the one procedure it saved me about 3K to add on the others rather than coming back for another surgery so it was worth it.

OMG! (you’re probably thinking), you went from $6,500 to $15,000!! Yes, I know, I was not very happy about that either however let’s revisit the “being realistic” part… If I was 20 years old with a small ass that hasn’t slid 5 inches south of where it should be, had some extra fat and great skin elasticity I would have been golden. However I’m pushing 50 and knew that I didn’t have that much fat to pull up what was there.

Look at it like a kitchen remodel…you have a budget of $30,000 and an idea of your dream kitchen in your head. $30,000 is a LOT of money right? you should be able to hire a Chef with that! Well after the Designer comes over and you talk about knocking a wall out here and adding an island there, the reality of your dream kitchen is actually around $100,000 (I’m speaking from experience by the way) So do you settle with something so much less that what you dreamed of (which makes you feel like you totally wasted the initial $30K?) or do you wait and save or come up with the extra money so that you can do it right the first time? (BTW, don’t EVER tell my husband about the additional $8,500)

Next stop, the surgical room to get marked up and underway…(was still thinking about those fajitas I had for lunch hoping I didn’t throw them up on his feet!)…

Stay tuned for Part 4—The actual surgery (I promise!)

It’s the 3rd day after my surgery and I’m feeling MUCH better. I switched from the prescription pain killers (which make me nauseous, constipated & depressed) to the prescription dose of four Motrin every 4 – 6 hours. Honestly the first day after surgery the worst part was the nausea, not the pain!

Before I start writing about my reverse chronological experience from the surgery back to my first office visit I wanted to add that there was one more reason why I chose Dr. Shahine and that was due to his Surgical Assistant, Carolina. I had an instant rapport with her from my first consultation (and yes, these rumors are true you do NOT see the doctor on your initial consult.)

She was very professional and knowledgeable as well as sweet and funny. On that first consult office visit on Monday May 6th, I was ushered in to see her right away with no wait. Carolina asked me a few questions and we discussed my body, my goals, and what the doctor was going to do to help me achieve those goals. We joked about the fact that I was not looking for a BIG booty, just a little additional fullness and a lift. She told me that I should have enough fat to harvest for a nice outcome doing just a BBL and gave me a quote of $6,500.

Aside from really liking Carolina, I admit I was a little taken aback that the doctor did not do the consult himself. I’ve never experienced such unconventional policies so I asked if I could come back and meet the doctor before the surgical date and she said “yes, of course!” I made what I though was an appointment for the following Wednesday at 6:30pm, but never did actually meet him until the day of the surgery (more on that later.)

So my first surgical date was set for Thursday 5/23 until I realized that that was only two days before the holiday weekend and I had company coming over. I asked, well maybe more like begged, to be scheduled for the prior week otherwise it would be too close to summer and I would have to wait until the fall (I live on that water and spend a lot of time on boats, there’s no way I could be in a full compression garment 24/7 in the middle of June.)

Carolina completely understood my situation, and through her compassion and persistence she actually got my surgery scheduled for Thursday May 16th. I was not given a surgery time for that day but was told that it would be around 6pm and that I would be notified by phone when to head over because I live about an hour away and the doctor would be coming from NY. So I got coverage for myself at my business, got child care for my 11-year-old, and my husband took off work to drive me…I was all set. However, at 2:30 that afternoon I received a call that the doctor was cancelling all his surgeries that day because he was too exhausted and needed sleep. I was disappointed, inconvenienced, and a little pissed but honestly; do you really want a tired doctor performing surgery on you?? Not me!

My next problem was that if I didn’t get the surgery by Saturday at the latest, I was done until the fall and I was really mentally prepared right now so I didn’t want to wait. (More true rumors: Dr. Shahine does work in NYC and performs surgeries there in the afternoon and in Union, NJ at night.)

Having a brilliant husband with ADHD (which BTW is present only in most gifted people) I realized that this doctor has no concept of time (cough, I know, I know, what man does?) and all he is focused on is the patient on the table in front of him. If that patient requires five hours of surgery when he only expected to spend three, he will give that patient his undivided attention for those additional two hours and be completely oblivious to who’s been waiting three hours to see him on a couch in Union, NJ. Sorry, but if you were the one on that table would you want him to rush through your procedure because someone was waiting for a consult? Didn’t think so.

These types of gifted people all display the same quirky behavioral patterns. They’re not being disrespectful and intentionally making you wait for hours. Honestly they get so focused on what’s in front of them that the rest of the world could not even exist. They also burn like Energizer Bunnies, which is why Shahine can do surgeries all day in NY and all night in Union, but when the batteries need to be recharged they just stop. (More true rumors: This is why Dr. Shahine frequently cancels surgeries.) It happened to me, it sucked, I almost took my money back and went elsewhere but I am so glad I didn’t.

In the meantime, while the doctor is in his own world performing surgery, the office staff is getting hammered with irate people who have been waiting in the office for an average of four or five hours. (False rumor: The office staff is not in cahoots with the doctor to waste your day. They honestly don’t know when the doctor will arrive.) They tell you specifically NOT to come to the office until you’re called and they WILL call you when the doctor is on his way whenever that may be.) It’s really not the office staff’s fault, so be nice to them.

Is this all unconventional? Irritating? Infuriating? Yes, yes, & yes. However knowing what you’re buying into can make it a lot less stressful. Know that you’re basically going to be “on call” for your surgery and just because you’re not in the office waiting room doesn’t mean you’ll lose your place. If you’re first on the surgical list for the day and some stubborn person has set up camp in the waiting room for ten hours, you’ll get the call and still be first. So stay home where you’re comfortable and wait for the call

Back to my story, I pressured Carolina for “an answer” on rescheduling my surgery so thoroughly that she offered to refund my deposit and gave me the doctor’s cell number and I spoke with him directly. He was very nice on the phone and apologized for cancelling. Several phone calls later I was rescheduled for the next Saturday—my last day to do this. I was told that I was first on his list and could expect a time of about 11:30am and that they would call me an hour before so I could head in. Hooray!!

Saturday morning arrived and 10:30 came and went without a phone call. At about 10:45 my husband and I left for Union (against my own advice LOL!) but I figured if I wasn’t getting the surgery that day then I still needed to go pick up my deposit anyway. When I arrived at the office at 11:45 the doctor was not there but I was told that he was definitely coming. He told the nurses 1:00 so Carolina told me 3:00 (funny that’s the same time strategy I use for my husband’s timing).

My husband and I left to do some shopping at Lowe’s and then had a nice relaxing lunch (BTW the ‘Red Cadillac’ down the street has awesome Mexican food!) When I arrived back, I only waited about 45 minutes and the doctor had arrived!! (I really didn’t expect it was going to happen that day…so Mexican was not the best lunch choice in retrospect!)

Stay tuned for Part 3—The actual surgery

To prevent the slew of hackers that love hijacking posts, let me start off by stating that I do NOT work for Shahine, nor am related to (or know) anyone who does work for him. This is an honest account of my experience.

I’m a 48 year old Caucasian woman with bad genetics for both T&A (my Mom and older sister both did well in those areas, but I guess there just wasn’t enough to go around when I came along!) Shortly after nursing my daughter (who’s now 11-years-old) I got breast implants by a different surgeon in PA and loved them! But honestly what was not to love when by the time I was done nursing my boobs looked like two stretched out socks with marbles in them. My butt didn’t look much better, hence why I’m writing this story…

I did extensive research to choose a doctor in the NY/NJ area to perform my BBL. I spoke to a few on the phone that promote themselves as BBL specialists only to find that they only performed a few (or zero) procedures and had no B&A photos.
Ironically, after researching almost every BBL Doctor in the NY Metro Area I found one thing that was consistent with ALL of them. They ALL had patients that raved about them and were completely satisfied, and they ALL had patients that claimed their bodies were ruined by them.

So here’s the reason that I went with Dr. Shahine:

1. He’s done thousands of BBL’s

2. He has volumes of real B&A photos (and who cares if they were on the operating table! That’s the way he takes his “after” photos at least that’s proof right there that they are all his work.)

3. His education, credentials & certifications are very impressive (http://brazilianbuttliftnewjersey.com/brazilian-butt-lift-doctor-new-jersey/)

…and the most important reason of all:

4. While I was waiting for my consult (more on that later) I had the opportunity to meet four woman who were waiting for follow ups. One lady who was only 4 weeks post-opt actually lifted her shirt to show a nice smooth belly. She complained that there was a bump on one side but from where I was sitting 12” away it looked perfectly smooth to me. When she showed me her ‘before’ picture I almost fell out of my chair. She went from 5 or 6 rolls of FAT to perfectly FLAT!! That was what really influenced my decision.

Let me say here that I am 5’ 10”, weigh 136lbs. and wear size 5 jeans. And I don’t need liposuction because I’m fat, I need to sculpt some curves and fill out and lift my flat ass that keeps sliding south after living with 48 years of gravity.

If you are obese and expect that liposuction is going to make you look like Marilyn Monroe then I’ll tell you right now you are not going to happy with your results (and of course you’ll hate your Doctor and say he sucks.)

So be realistic about yourself and your results. A doctor can only suck so much fat out of you, there are limitations to how much can safely be extracted. So if you’re 40 pounds overweight you’re still going to be big afterwards. And don’t miss my point here if you want voluptuous curves and a BIG ‘ole Booty more power to you. My point is to be realistic with your expectations and understand that the man is a Surgeon, not Dumbledore!

Now, let’s talk about one of the top complaints that people have been jumping up and down about on these forums. Even though Shahine holds three other Board Certifications, people are saying that he’s not qualified (or even legal) performing BBLs because he’s not a “Board Certified” Plastic Surgeon… To clear up this issue in defense for my personal choice and for those who don’t know, board certification is completely different than having a medical license. Board Certification is a voluntary national exam, given to doctors to test their knowledge and experience in a specific specialty.

As long as the doctor is licensed to practice medicine, which Shahine does, they can practice anywhere they choose. A doctor does not need to be board certified to practice medicine in New York and you don’t need to be “Board Certified” to do a BBL so Shahine is not doing anything illegal. (BTW, Shahine is NOT the only doctor doing BBLs in NY & NJ who’s not board certified, just sayin’)

Understand the obvious, there are good doctors who are not board certified who are practicing medicine in New York. Likewise, there are board certified doctors who may not be good doctors. Just because someone is board certified does not mean that they are good, nor does it speak of their hands-on experience (which in my opinion is more important). I would rather go with a doctor who is not Board Certified that has done over 2000 Butt Lifts than a Board Certified doctor who has only performed 10.

So my Surgery was performed on Saturday 5/17/13 and in spite of some of my fears about using local anesthesia instead of General (more on that later) it was a complete success!! And like the four women I met in the waiting room attested to, once the local was administered and the procedure began I did not feel anything other than some pressure.

I’m posting some before photos and will continue with my story later. I’m two days post-op and still sore so going to take a break. I’ll continue with the actual surgical experience then give my own story on the waiting and unconventional hours that the doctor keeps. Dr. Shahine may march to the beat of his own drummer but don’t all the good ones?
Stay tuned for more later…