I wish I could give Dr. Lara more than 5 stars! My entire experience was nothing less than stellar! My first point of contact was through e-mail with his patient coordinator Fernanda. She was extremely professional and very easy to work with. She walked me through the process to obtain a free consultation. She even set up a virtual consultation after Dr. Lara saw my images and made his recommendations. I am a gastric bypass patient that is 55 years old. I was interested in work on my torso. I decided to undergo a circular abdominoplasty (with muscle repair), 360* liposuction, fat transfer to my buttocks (not a BBL- simply to create a balanced sihouette) and an anchor breast lift without implants. I traveled to TJ by myself and wouldn't change a thing. It allowed me to focus on ME and my recovery needs. Dr. Lara's surgical suite is next door to CER. He has his own surgical staff so they are a well oiled unit. Everyone was so very friendly! The surgical suite was exceptionally clean and modern. The staff told me everything that was happening and I was never left wondering. He had a cardiologist do an EKG right before surgery. His anesthesiologist was awesome. He visited me and told me all about how they do a epidural type of sedation because its safer for surgery in excess of 3 hours. Then he told me about the wonderful "cocktail" he would give me before they started the epidural. He told no lies. I was night night after the cocktail and the epidural was gone when I woke up. You spend the night in the surgical suite room. It was immaculate and wonderfully quiet and peaceful. The next morning the nurses helped me shower and get into my faja. I won't lie, you are sore but not in horrible pain at all. They called my ride to my recovery house and I had a week of care post op. I did re-visit Dr. Lara's office to have lymphatic drainage massages starting at 3 days post op. That is a must! His massage therapist was wonderful and the office (across the street from the surgical suite) was very modern and clean. I couldn't ask for a better experience. I am now 12 weeks post op and the results are simply beautiful!
(Just for comparison mistake, I did visit a local plastic surgeon. He wanted $27,000 with zero nights stay, no after care (my recovery house was an additional $160 per night BUT I had 24/7 nurses and doctor care plus all fresh and healthy meals and laundry!), no mention of needed drainage massages, and he only sends patients home with Spanx which is not enough compression for optimal results.)
