Harlan Pollock, MD (retired)

I miss dr. Harlan Pollock so much! He is a magician.
He took care of me for years. He is a perfectionist, and anything he has done was perfect.
Plus, he is a very nice person, his bedside manners were perfect. I miss you, dr. Pollock! I don’t know where to go now.

Hi everyone, after visiting four wonderful doctors, I finally decided on Dr. Harlan Pollock to do my tummy tuck. To be honest, when I started my quest I wanted lipo and had no idea what a drainless tummy tuck was. I decided to chronical my experience in hopes it will help someone else decide. My reason for choosing drainless is because the claim is that recovery will be quicker and I won't have to be hunched over. I have a two year old son so quick recovery is most important. But for him I would have chosen Dr. Perry Landon who almost talked me out of cosmetic surgery because he was so honest and empathetic.

Monday is my pre-op, two weeks prior. Can't wait.

Updated on 10 Nov 2014:
Went to my preop today and I guess it's official now since I paid. LOL. Had a long list of questions which the nurse answered even before the PS came in. I really like the nurse, Kim, she is easy to talk to. They also gave me a lot of written instructions which I really appreciate. The only thing that surprised me was that it says light activity starting Day 1. I had planned to stay in bed the first day and just sleep however this is not recommended. Not sure what I'll do or what " light activity" is. Any advice from the RS community would be appreciated.

Updated on 25 Nov 2014:
Here are my pre-surgery measurements.
Weight: 151
Waist: 37 inches
Leg: 24 1/2 inches

Updated on 26 Nov 2014:
Stayed overnight at Texas Surgery Institute. Great staff and beautiful facility. This was optional but since my surgery was late in the day my PS recommended I stay. Definitely a luxury to recover here. Hubby slept on couch/bed and I got IV fluids and medicine. Plus they put these things on my legs for circulation and the nurses were very attentive. My PS came by this morning to check on me and I saw my tummy for the first time. It looks beautiful!

Updated on 29 Nov 2014:
Today I'm finally back to normal, or at least 90%. I am actually surprised by how little pain I have experienced. I had a full TT w/ MR and lipo on flanks and thighs. The first two days were the worst and I needed my husbands help getting up and sitting down then I finally took the narcotics and I became more independent. Today was my first day completely drug free (except ibuprofen) and I have been able to do everything I normally do, even pick up my son to put on my lap. (Yes, I know I shouldn't, but I was sitting down and it didn't hurt). Glad my sister is staying with us for the week to watch my son, because it would have been hard the first two days for hubby to take care of both of us.

Surprises:
1. Weight and measurements are exactly the same as the day of surgery. I'm assuming this is due to the swelling, though I know this is not a weight loss surgery I still hoped.
2. Still haven't had a bowl movement. Doctor said not to worry about it so Im trying not to but I don't remember ever going this long without one.
3. Coughing is very painful. I pray I don't get sick or I'll definitely go back on the narcotics.
4. I saw the PS the morning I left the hospital but then he called me the following morning to check on me. I though this was especially nice because it was thanksgiving.

Updated on 30 Nov 2014:
These are my post op photos that I took yesterday. The jury is still out on whether it was worth it or not. I'm hoping that my stomach will be even flatter once the swelling goes down. Also looking forward to all the bruising being gone. Everywhere there was lipo there is a bruise which is the flanks and the inner thighs. PS said that I didn't have any fat to remove in my abdomen.

Updated on 3 Dec 2014:
Yesterday I went for my one week follow up and got my stitches removed and finally saw my scar underneath the tape. I must say that I was dreading this moment because I have seen some horrible scars on this site. My biggest fear was that it was going to be uneven or too high. Neither of which I could fix. I'm happy that it is perfectly symmetrical and right in line with my pubic hair as you can see in my photos. I was surprised to see that I looks like a wave or a "W" coming in at the center. I also like my belly button, it looks natural.
I talked to the doctor about Embrace scar treatment and he doesn't think that i need ANY scar treatment. One of the things I didn't realize was that with this progressive tension technique you don't get as much pulling i.e. the scars don't stretch as much i.e. naturally thinner scars. However, Kim, his RN says that she has had positive results with it and she would do it so I decided to give it a try. I go next week after the scar has healed. I'm interested to know if anyone else has done or intends to do any scar treatment.

Updated on 6 Jan 2015:
Can't believe its been 6 weeks!

Here are my measurements
Weight: 141 (down 10 lbs)
Waist: 36 (down 1 in)
Leg: 23 (down 1 1/2 in)

Important milestones:
Day 4: off drugs (except Ibuprofen)
Day 5: first post op poop (uneventful)
Day 13: started scar therapy (embrace)
Day 14: back to work (uneventful)
By one month most of my swelling was gone. Yea.

I wore my compression garment the entire six weeks but yesterday I retired it. Yea, again :)

So glad I did this especially when I look at the before and after pics. Definitely worth it.

I'm also posting my updated pics.

Simply an amazing surgeon who puts an emphasis on quality and results. Takes his time to do it right and give you the facts to make your own decisions, nothing is rushed. Thrilled with him and his amazing staff. A true perfectionist! I had him do a breast augmentation in 1997 and it was true success and I still love them after all these years!

Dr. Pollock was very helpful and made every effort to meet my schedule requirements. Every aspect of my experience was first class. The office visits were pleasant and privacy was evidently a key concern for the doctor. The Texas Institute for Surgery was a first class experience as well. The wait time was minimal and every aspect of the process was executed with the utmost timeliness!

Day 1-3 post surgery were no problem with minimal pain. Day 4 I was out and about and attended two Christmas dinners. Days 5-6 were pretty normal with minimal discomfort. Stopped wearing compression day 7 and began sleeping on my side. Swelling was 80% diminished by day 10.

So far, every aspect of my experience was first class!!!

After having three kids and losing quite a bit of weight, my body needed some help. Dr. Harlan Pollock performed a breast lift and the results are amazing! The recovery was easy and quick. My breasts look like I'm twenty years old again. The only con would be that I waited too long to have this done.

I had silicone gel breast augmentation surgery in 1976. After several manual procedures performed by the physician release contractures, my left implant ruptured in 1979 releasing silicone into the biceps and forearm tissue of my left arm. My physician told me this was impossible. Months later, he removed both gel implants, found both of them to be ruptured, and replaced them with saline implants that were uncomfortable, hard and ripply. He created a pocket on the left side that was so huge that the implant In 1989, a surgeon removed these implants as well and tried to extract the silicon in my biceps. He woke me during surgery to explain that the product has virtually "melted" into my muscle tissue and would be nearly impossible to remove without great risk to my nerves.

Granulomas surrounding the silicone have seemed to increase in size recently and my skin is taught, lumpy and very uncomfortable. I have numbing in the arm. My arm cannot be flattened beyond 15° above the horizon when I lie on my back. The circumference of my left arm is 12.75", while that of my unaffected right is 11". I cannot rotate my arm around my shoulder and I am functionally as well as visually disfigured.

Are there any advancements in removing extravasated silicon gel from surrounding tissues? I've read that Shur-Clean, a wound dressing, is effective in dissolving the substance under surgery. I have granulomas now. What is likely to be found? Do granulomas improve the ability of a surgeon to remove the engulfed gel. Will the granulomas ever digest the gel? Can the gel be induced to excrete through the skin?