Dr. Hamilton is a true artist. Period. I had a bilateral mastectomy, was botched and had 4 reconstruction operations after my mastectomy. In came Dr. Hamilton, two surgeries later, he fixed what others were not able to do, and made me feel for the first time like myself before my breast cancer. He looks at the total person and is incredible at his craft. I thank my lucky stars every day that I found him to complete my journey.
Aside from being an extremely skilled surgeon, Dr. Hamilton is compassionate, knowledgeable and makes you feel like you are his only patient. He has the most incredible bedside manner and really gets to know his patients. He truly is the best plastic surgeon in Houston. He is a perfectionist and his results are very natural. And the fact that he is easy on the eyes does not hurt either. Great aftercare and very caring staff.
I had breast cancer at 35. Had total mastectomy and the reconstruction was hell. Don't let MD Anderson tell you that you need to get your reconstrxn done there!! Great cancer hospital but their plastic surgeons are mainly in training. Dr. Hamilton had to do the clean up and he was in for a long ride. 5 surgeries later, I left very happy, and can't say enough nice things about him and his office. Kind and thoughtful, great bedside manner, very honest, an artist.... After all the doctors I saw for second opinions before meeting him, I was expecting more of the same....insensitive and blunt....what a nice surprise it was to be greeted with compassion, treated as an individual, and to have someone say "you are too young to be happy with a reconstructed breast. You will want them perfect at your age and that isn't going to happen. We will get it as close to perfect as possible though." They look better than any reconstruction I've ever seen. He does amazing (but expensive) botox as well by the way! I can't afford it but I do it anyway because it gives me a chance to see him. His private hospital was great as well - they called me and told me they were praying for me. Amazing. BTW, he flies under the radar. Notice he doesn't do any advertising or get on here ever. That's because he doesn't need to - his work is flawless and he has a cult following that keep him very busy.
Cost of $5k includes surg fee, ansesthesia and surgical center fee). I had the browlift yesterday morning. Major headache and major nausea all night. I am prone to migraine, so, expected I would have headache issues, and I did. The doctor did give me something for headache and nausea. The pain medication (hydrocodone) was relatively (not completely) effective. The nausea medicine did not work-and that was pretty bad. I eventually took a sleep aid, and was able to fall asleep (on my back and elevated) just fine. Still have slight headache this morning. My forehead and eyes are noticeably swollen, slightly bruised,but, not terribly so. Will update this for the next 4 weeks and will try to post a pic or two. The jury is still out today. Updated on 25 May 2011: day two post surgery: swelling to entire face and some bruising on eyes and upper cheek apparent moderate on cheeks, jawline and neck. experiencing pretty consistent low grade headache, but manage well with tylenol only. hard to sleep on my back and elevated head, but, doctors orders. still slight & occasional nausea/wooziness. day 3 post surgery: swelling peaks on day 3 and is significant (I am wondering: why did I do this, what have I done to myself and am feeling a little down.) particularly to forehead and eye area. had to take prescription sleep aid as it is dificult to sleep on my back and head elevated (on wedge pillow). Post op follow up with doc today, removes bandages and says swelling peaking on day 3 typical, to keep using frozen pea ice packs and I should start to see swelling subside noticeably and gradually, starting on day 4 or 5. Still have low grade headache, but still managing well with tylenol. still some slight nausea and woosieness. Day 4/5: swelling and bruising gradually beginning to subside on day 4. Still some numbness on right side of head, forehead and eye area, but started to feel that going away today as well. Went out briefly on day 5 with sunglasses and could have covered the bruising with make-up-would not have gone to work though. still a little headache pain, but, less than yesterday. prescription for nausea and headache pain, but afterwards managed persisent, low grade headache with tylenol. Evening of day 4 headache is mostly gone and occasional nausea virtualy non existent. Yeah!Tomorrow (Thurs) another follow up with the doc. Updated on 2 Jun 2011: Update on 12 days post surgery: Swelling and the little bruising I had began to go down dramatically on day 5, 6, 7. Days 8 and 9 out and about in public. Back to work 10 days post surgery and nobody has a clue (just a couple of comments-you look rested and more relaxed, must have been a good vacation). Still have some slight swelling (but not noticeable to really anyone but me) on my right side. They had a little trouble with right side-it was tougher to manipulate than my right. A small patch on the right side of the top of my head still a little numb, but, I can feel it tingling and am told this is a good sign that the nerves are reconnecting/recovering. As of today, I am VERY happy with my results, my physician and his staff. Updated on 2 Jun 2011: Hope this helps give those of you considering this procedure an idea of what is involved, and things to possibly expect. I would do it again.
Surgery will involve TT, mastopexy, small breast augmentation ( I have lots of saggy breast tissue), vaser liposuction (to arms, back, tummy, flanks, thighs, mons) and repair of diastus recti. I call myself the white Oprah of weight fluctuation. I’ve gained/lost a 100 lbs, then gained and lost various amounts as a general pattern throughout my life. My weight has been stable now for some time and I’ve adopted a low carbohydrate existence combined with daily intensive exercise (orange theory, boot camp and running). I’m terrified and equally excited. I started the consultation process in October with 3 surgeons (Hamilton, Mentz, Gill) and finally chose Dr. Steven Hamilton. Dr. Mentz was preferable in the initial phase because his pictures are gorgeous, he was likeable, his price was in the middle, but his office staff were unresponsive when I attempted to book which concerned me that they would not be very supportive following surgery. I liked Dr. Gill and his staff, but ultimately felt drawn to Hamilton. He is super quirky and waxes philosophical which drew me to him instantly. I literally dripped sweat on him during my first consultation due to my weirdo nerves! He is not well advertised, but came to me through word of mouth. His staff is kind, personable and responsive. I will say, his price tag is the highest $42k, but he is a safety stickler, a perfectionist and has great attention to detail. Updated on 20 Feb 2018: Tomorrow morning is the big day! I am working out twice today because I will miss it so much! I was told 6 months no abdominal/core workouts!!???????????? Caregivers booked, electric recliner rented, prescriptions picked up, childcare arranged, several family meals frozen, house is clean, living will in place, new button down wardrobe waiting and bulldog instructed not to jump on me when I return (right). Super nervous, but so ready!! Updated on 21 Feb 2018: I spent the previous day hydrating, starting stool softeners/taking fiber and eating easy to digest foods. I washed this morning with antibacterial soap and even meditated. My IV is placed and now I wait... I will try and update after this surgery tonight, but it’s expected to go up to 10 hours so that may be difficult. See you on the flat side! Updated on 24 Feb 2018: Today is the first day I’ve had adequate pain control. It’s the most painful experience of my life by far. The surgeon tells me he really worked me over to get a good result so I’m hopeful. I will offer this....if you have a multiple procedure operation, have an advocate with you the first 48 hours. They can help by having the nurse bring meds or call the doctor for additional orders. They can put cold rags on your face, feed you, rub your feet to distract from pain, pet you while you cry, cover/uncover you. We ended up hiring a lady and I’m not sure I could have done it without her. I was utterly dependent on her for everything. I ended up staying 3 nights in the hospital due to hypotension (low blood pressure)and pain control. Updated on 25 Feb 2018: Today, I’m still having a fair amount of pain, but it’s more of a 4/10 versus 9/10. I can deal with that. A friend brought over chicken pot pie and I took a bite and went into a crying speech about how her gesture equals REAL love. I’m getting a lot of side glances with my new emotional state and proclamations. The one piece speed skater compression suit itches like a [RS bleep] and yet, my skin underneath is too tender and gelatinous to scratch. The final theme today was the fatigue. Just walking a lap in my living room is exhausting and I can’t do much before the recliner calls ( I ran 15-20 miles the previous week). I am, however, grateful for the pain relief, good food, pets and all the familiar loving faces at home. I have a new appreciation. Updated on 28 Feb 2018: So, I pooped today.....finally. It has been a week since surgery, granted, I ate little to nothing the first three days in the hospital. I’ve been priming the pipes even before surgery (fiber,Colace). I’m a nurse and don’t know my limitations as far as what’s polite talk so feel free to stop reading any moment. It’s going to get graphic....Despite taking laxatives daily, walking, eating lots of fruit/veggies and staying hydrated, I was constipated. I found I couldn’t summon the muscle strength from my freshly stitched abdominal muscles to assist in having a BM. I ended up having to do a fair amount of self-disimpaction (look it up). Once the gates were opened, my laxative layering took hold and for the next 10 hours I experienced lots of abdominal cramping and diarrhea. Yay!! It was tough considering I still have my drains, lots of dressings, pantyhose and my compression suit to get off in a matter of a minute. I’m pooped today.... Updated on 28 Feb 2018: My surgeon told me about a neat trick that sort of helps bring everything together....pantyhose. You cut the toes and crotch out and it does a beautiful job of holding dressings in place and allowing the compression suit to glide easily over swollen bruised body parts. I bought a size up or two from my normal. My suit comes equipped with a pee hole so taking it off to use the facilities multiple times a Day is a non-issue. I’m supposed to transfer soon to the smaller suit to help with tissue adherence and decrease swelling. It looks like the right size for a 10-year-old! Here are some preliminary pictures. I’m ridiculously swollen! Updated on 5 Mar 2018: Life has improved significantly since surgery, but week number two had its own brand of challenges. The pain is gone replaced by soreness, but much better. The swelling in my feet, legs and hands resembled pans of risen bread dough and the swelling compressed my nerves making my feet numb. I was placed on a diuretic at bedtime so I could elevate legs simultaneously and achieve noticeable diuresing by morning. I did and got a glimpse of a less swollen body ( forgot to take pics).As a result of peeing all night, my post-surgical insomnia kicked into high gear leaving me an emotional/exhausted wreck the days following. My three drains couldn’t be removed yet due to high output. As of today, each of them are still putting out 50-100 cc daily. The constant fatigue, weakness and low energy make me wonder if I’m anemic or if this is a normal part of recovery? Each day, I try to increase my walking and/or take an outing to either the store/pizza joint/movie, but I always end up passed out in my rented recliner for hours after. I thought I should eat more since my appetite was poor the first week, but it hasn’t improved my condition. Also, I keep reading about how many people here LOVE their compression garment, but I have the opposite feeling. It’s itchy, hard to sleep in and restrictive. I still haven’t changed to the smaller one yet which I know will be broached in the next doctor’s visit. Hey, this still sucks!! Updated on 9 Mar 2018: I pulled out one of the drains in my sleep! Ahhhh!!!! It looked like a murder! It happened to be the mons drain putting out 75-80cc/day. The other intact mons drain was putting out only 20 cc/day. On a positive note, the remaining drain in my mons has picked up the slack and is now draining 100-140 cc/day. At two weeks this amount was concerning to my PS, but more so the dark red fluid. He suspects a hematoma draining old blood. I have noticed a firmness in my lower abdomen and hope this remaining drain will drain it enough so that no further intervention is required. Updated on 16 Mar 2018: I feel so weak/exhausted that getting through writing an email is a monumental task and takes a day. This is in part due to my brain fogginess (probably from anesthesia and insomnia) and word recall is difficult. I find myself sitting staring at nothing for hours with intention of finding a tv program. I just never quite get there. This is so different from my previous hyperactive self. I’m trying to increase my activity slowly, but find I’m still requiring a long rest after. I had a pretty low day yesterday to the point where my husband ( who was working overnight) called a neighbor to come check on me. I believe I am a bit depressed and the exhaustion makes it more difficult to pursue things that might lift my spirits (visits from friends, phone calls, binge watching a tv series, journaling, combing my hair). I think crying was therapeutic though. I’m also stressed trying to recover quickly so I can study/take a board exam (I’m a new NP), read research articles, prepare for my new career and most importantly, start interviewing for jobs. This timeline isn’t working with my pre-surgery plan and I feel a bit lost. I really thought because I was in excellent cardiovascular condition and was really determined to recuperate quickly that I would be one of the people on here with that dream recovery. Granted, there are people here with horrible complications and I do feel beyond fortunate to have avoided that thus far. On drains.....The office removed my back drain on week 2, I inadvertently removed one of my pelvic drains in my sleep and the last pelvic drain (with a stitch that had been white knuckling it for a week) finally gave way and slithered out at week 3. I worked hard to protect it because it was sill draining 90-120cc daily, but it popped while pulling up my compression garment. I developed a small hematoma in my abdomen and a small seroma on my back. I went in for needle aspiration that yielded very little fluid which is good. I’m hoping both will resolve on their own without further intervention. Even though they use a tiny butterfly needle to aspirate, it was unpleasant. My stomach is more swollen than before with one side bulging ( appears to just be swelling and not a seroma). My navel has dehisced (internal skin pulled away creating an opening with back drainage leaking out) and has yellow slough. As a result,I’m doing wet to dry dressings four times daily per the surgeon. I’m still itching like crazy and experience the occasional electric shock feeling as my nerves heal. I had to start taking pain meds again (Fiorcet) because of the swelling pain in my abdomen. I continue to take Zyrtec daily for itching in addition to applying Zanacaine cream and caladryl lotion. I’m trying to keep my garment on 23 hours a day, but when the pain and itching become unbearable, I have to have a break. Still in the shadows, but hopeful. Pictures in am.... Updated on 16 Mar 2018: 3 week pics. Swelling is still significant in my abdomen and asymmetrical favoring the left side. Still, I am starting to get glimpses of a better body than I had. I have vacillated between going with a less expensive surgeon versus the most expensive surgeon in town. Considering the extent of the work I had done, trust in the surgeon’s ability/responsiveness was at the top of my list. I was also worried that the adage “you get what you pay for” is not something to gamble with when it comes to your body. So with that, I’ll be eating ramen and living out of a cardboard box for the next year.....but I’ll look good doing it. Updated on 22 Mar 2018: So, I started developing intense pain in my lower abdomen and mons pubis a few days ago which coincided with increased swelling. I also developed a redness below my incision and on my mons pubis. I just drove first thing this am to my PS office and started crying trying to articulate the level of pain I had been enduring. They examined and believe it’s an infection. So I’m waiting in pre-op to have it opened and drained with a wound vac placement. I can’t stop crying. Updated on 2 Apr 2018: I’m now post-second surgery to incise and drain an infected hematoma in my abdomen. Turns out my fatigue, swelling and increasing pain were indicative of a bigger problem. It’s funny, when you are in the middle of something like this, it’s hard to know what is normal and what is not. Obviously, intense pain is not normal especially when I had been off pain meds after the first week, but I wrote off the fatigue and lack of energy as par for the course. Those around me didn’t say anything, but commented after that I looked pale and gaunt. Since the second surgery, my energy is improved, but there is the issue of this extensive hole in my abdomen. I now wear a continuous wound vacuum to help with increased healing time and decrease the chance for another infection. A nurse comes to my home for 1-2 hours three times a week to dress my wound. My life has been put on hold while I deal with this complication and the financial, professional, personal relationship setbacks. Despite all of this, I am grateful. Grateful that I have good care, access to medical equipment, support of my friends/family, medicine and my surgeon’s support. It has been a whirlwind of stress since this began trying to get some of my medical expenses covered, managing the additional costs incurred (childcare, hospital bills, my delayed contribution to our family expenses by not working, etc.). In addition, another surgery will be required to revise the scar from this and closing of my wound may take up to 3 months. I just want to get through the rest of this without anymore complications. Updated on 6 Apr 2018: As part of my recovery after sustaining an infected hematoma and subsequent reopening of my TT incision and clean out, I received a wound vacuum placement. Dressing changes are painful. Initially, I would take a Norco and Xanax for my pain, anxiety and nausea with dressing changes, but by week two, I’ve begun going without. It’s unpleasant, but not intolerable and with three dressing changes a week, I got tired of narcotic haze. I’m still caring for my children/house/studying which doesn’t work well on drugs. My only frustration is that the wound vac makes lots of noises resembling extreme flatulence. I get embarrassed going places because of the snickers which probably isolates me me more. Still, even if it screamed “this lady pooped her pants!!!” I would still use it because of the reduced healing time. I have to get on with my life. Updated on 25 Apr 2018: I was lazy and didn’t remove my silicone tape after the surgeon’s recommended 12 hours. I developed a red, itchy rash, but only on my breasts. Has anyone else experienced this? Updated on 17 May 2018: With all hat has transpired, I refused to buy new clothes until I could get through this trial, however, I was standing in a grocery store recently reading a cereal label and my pants fell down to my ankles! I’d taken to wearing suspenders under my clothes and the clips gave way. I ran over to Old Navy and tried on smaller pants/shorts having no idea what size I am. Turns out, I’m a size 6 or an 8 now! I was a solid 12 before surgery. I’ve even gained weight since the surgery because I’m restricted from sweating which would further impede wound healing. No workouts, no walking. I initially lost 16 lbs after surgery and have gained back 5 lbs.
