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Before and after photo's.
These are better quality photo's of:
The first is after Dr, Steockel opened me up 3 times to try to stop my draining and seromas's. This was the day before my corrective surgery by Dr. Russell.
The 2nd is a couple of months after my corrective surgery. Dr Russell found out that the issues I was having was because of numerous infected internal stiches! The scar is that wide and red because of being opened up 4 times.
The scar is perfectly flat and the reddness is going away!
Thank you Dr. Russell with Specialists of Plastic Surgery!!
The first is after Dr, Steockel opened me up 3 times to try to stop my draining and seromas's. This was the day before my corrective surgery by Dr. Russell.
The 2nd is a couple of months after my corrective surgery. Dr Russell found out that the issues I was having was because of numerous infected internal stiches! The scar is that wide and red because of being opened up 4 times.
The scar is perfectly flat and the reddness is going away!
Thank you Dr. Russell with Specialists of Plastic Surgery!!
I lost 70 lbs. and still had 10 lbs. of stomach...
I lost 70 lbs. and still had 10 lbs. of stomach skin remaining. I opted for a a "drainless" tummy tuck, but ended up having drains off and on for 5 months.
My first issue was apparent immediately after the surgery. My eyes felt like they were on fire. Instead of being able to go home and rest, I had to be seen by an eye specialist. She said my eyes had been burned by the light above the surgery table. Not a serious issue, but I had to get two prescriptions for eye drops.
A few weeks after my surgery, I noticed that the area above my incision was no longer flat but, instead, "puffed up." I had seroma issues. To deal with the seromas, I had drains off and on for 5 months. Dr. Steockel tried injecting isopropyl alcohol, waiting 30 mins, and then removing the alcohol. In three efforts, this procedure did not fix the problem.
Over the months, I was opened up 2 more times to try and find the "issue." These two procedures were done in the surgery room, but not with the clean conditions under which the original procedure was conducted. During the procedures, the door was actually kept open and people could come and go. (This fact may explain what was found later.) Also, being opened up 3 times created a large amount of scar tissue.
In a final effort, I had to do "vac therapy" for two weeks. This therapy used a sponge/tube/vacuum system that I had to carry over my shoulder. It did help in reducing the amount of drainage, but I began to develop fistulas (open wounds that develop internally and work their way out). These fistulas did not respond well to simply putting on medical gauze for weeks, so Dr. Stoeckel gave me some silver nitrate sticks. The silver nitrate was supposed to burn the inside of the fistulas to help them close, then heal. This process caused fluid to run out of the fistulas, actually burning the skin it came in contact with.
After 8+ months, I underwent a fourth procedure, using one of the three plastic surgeons I consulted before my initial operation. This doctor found 14-15 inside sutures that were infected. He indicated that these areas would never have healed, even with antibiotics. He spent approximately 1.5 hours removing and cleaning the infected areas. He also removed a significant amount of scar tissue, which was caused by the previous 3 surgeries. Post-procedure, I had a completely flat stomach, no scar tissue, and needed drains for just two weeks.
I reached out to Dr. Stoeckel, not to ask that he pay for the corrective surgery ($7400), but to simply pay a portion of this cost due to the added 1.5 hours of surgery time that was required to correct what he was unable to find. He disagreed, saying I should have come back to him to continue my treatments and to try to resolve the issues.
To his credit, when I contacted him later asking if he would at least give me a special deal for liposuction of my flanks, he agreed. Unfortunately, one side of my flanks has quite a bit more fat remaining than the other one, looking uneven. I will have that fixed later, after a break from surgeries/procedures.
The pictures I am posting were taken a few weeks after my original surgery, during the following months when I underwent two more surgeries with Dr. Stoeckel, the night before my fourth surgery with another plastic surgeon, and finally my "after" pictures. I am thrilled with the results. My stomach is totally flat, my scars are totally flat, etc. The redness will lighten up to a normal skin color in a year or so.
I hope my sharing this experience will help others with their future decisions and any complications you may have (hopefully you won't have any). I am here if anyone needs any more info, has questions, etc.
Take care.
P.S. Total costs:
$8400 first surgery
$7400 corrective surgery from 2nd plastic surgeon
$1500 lipo
TOTAL: $17,300 :-(
My first issue was apparent immediately after the surgery. My eyes felt like they were on fire. Instead of being able to go home and rest, I had to be seen by an eye specialist. She said my eyes had been burned by the light above the surgery table. Not a serious issue, but I had to get two prescriptions for eye drops.
A few weeks after my surgery, I noticed that the area above my incision was no longer flat but, instead, "puffed up." I had seroma issues. To deal with the seromas, I had drains off and on for 5 months. Dr. Steockel tried injecting isopropyl alcohol, waiting 30 mins, and then removing the alcohol. In three efforts, this procedure did not fix the problem.
Over the months, I was opened up 2 more times to try and find the "issue." These two procedures were done in the surgery room, but not with the clean conditions under which the original procedure was conducted. During the procedures, the door was actually kept open and people could come and go. (This fact may explain what was found later.) Also, being opened up 3 times created a large amount of scar tissue.
In a final effort, I had to do "vac therapy" for two weeks. This therapy used a sponge/tube/vacuum system that I had to carry over my shoulder. It did help in reducing the amount of drainage, but I began to develop fistulas (open wounds that develop internally and work their way out). These fistulas did not respond well to simply putting on medical gauze for weeks, so Dr. Stoeckel gave me some silver nitrate sticks. The silver nitrate was supposed to burn the inside of the fistulas to help them close, then heal. This process caused fluid to run out of the fistulas, actually burning the skin it came in contact with.
After 8+ months, I underwent a fourth procedure, using one of the three plastic surgeons I consulted before my initial operation. This doctor found 14-15 inside sutures that were infected. He indicated that these areas would never have healed, even with antibiotics. He spent approximately 1.5 hours removing and cleaning the infected areas. He also removed a significant amount of scar tissue, which was caused by the previous 3 surgeries. Post-procedure, I had a completely flat stomach, no scar tissue, and needed drains for just two weeks.
I reached out to Dr. Stoeckel, not to ask that he pay for the corrective surgery ($7400), but to simply pay a portion of this cost due to the added 1.5 hours of surgery time that was required to correct what he was unable to find. He disagreed, saying I should have come back to him to continue my treatments and to try to resolve the issues.
To his credit, when I contacted him later asking if he would at least give me a special deal for liposuction of my flanks, he agreed. Unfortunately, one side of my flanks has quite a bit more fat remaining than the other one, looking uneven. I will have that fixed later, after a break from surgeries/procedures.
The pictures I am posting were taken a few weeks after my original surgery, during the following months when I underwent two more surgeries with Dr. Stoeckel, the night before my fourth surgery with another plastic surgeon, and finally my "after" pictures. I am thrilled with the results. My stomach is totally flat, my scars are totally flat, etc. The redness will lighten up to a normal skin color in a year or so.
I hope my sharing this experience will help others with their future decisions and any complications you may have (hopefully you won't have any). I am here if anyone needs any more info, has questions, etc.
Take care.
P.S. Total costs:
$8400 first surgery
$7400 corrective surgery from 2nd plastic surgeon
$1500 lipo
TOTAL: $17,300 :-(
Provider Review
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
111 Ridgeview Dr., Cary, North Carolina
I am rating Dr. Stoeckel high in bedside manner/time spent/e-mail responses etc. He was very easy to talk to. My low overall rating and after care rating are simply because while opening me up three times over many months, my enduring 8 months of issues and discomfort, he did not find the cause of my issues, which the new PS did immediatly.