New Year, New Me ... correcting mistakes of childhood past - Bogota, Colombia

I am 35 male, 6'3" and have been considering tummy tuck / lift for almost a decade. There are a lot of people here with experience so would love to hear some feedback. I am one of the few males on here so hoping that other males also join the party.

I was 220lbs as a 15yr old and average height for that age. One summer school holiday, over 6 weeks, I lost over 60lbs [of baby fat] with diet and exercise - lost 10 inches around my waist and gained 10" in height. The fast weight loss, I believe, killed my skin. In my 20s I had lipo, and then two other revisions with another surgeon. Lipo was horrible each time - it made things worse - caused dimples, hanging, asymmerty, etc. I got NO benefits out of it.

I consulted a few surgeons regarding tummy tuck and some are for it while others say I am too borderline and they would not want to cut me up. I ESPECIALLY hate my flanks - it sticks out when I wear tight clothes and I get very self conscious when people put their hand around my waist, some have even commented how soft it is!!

So I needed a surgeon who specialises in extended tummy tuck and even perhaps an inner thigh lift - body lift. And since I am soo tall I worry also that the surgeon will not be able to handle me properly during surgey giving me sub-par results.

The cost (money/scar/time) vs benefit argument. I understand that for many people this might be an easy decision because they feel they DEFINITELY need the surgery. It's because I am borderline that this is a tough decision.

So after 6 years of research and almost non-stop research over the last 3 months, I have decided it is better to JUST DO IT rather than keep thinking about it. I have lived 20 years wanting a better body .. worst case, i will have to spend the next 20 years hating a botched up surgery. Then after that I will be too old to care, I hope.

So I have short-listed three category of surgeons:
1. one specific US based surgeon. His credentials are impeccable, his experience in this sort of surgery extensive, and his cost reasonable. I am surprised to have heard very little of him on RS. I guess the hold up of choosing him is that in US I imagine the doctors will be very conservative with the surgery and lipo. With good reason too, I guess. And the extra cost of after-care as I am alone and non-US based meaning I will have to pay for after-care and hotels for 3 weeks.

2. a Mexican based surgeon - not much of him on here, but he has his own sub-forum at OH. His credentials Mexican (many int'l surgeons also have American certification and/or international plastic surgery certifications). But given the extensive reporting on him at OH I trust he gives good results. In Mexico I like that all costs will be less (he costs the same as doc 1 above but his price also includes 12 days nursed care in a hospital/hotel, transport, medicines, garments, etc).

3. Surgeons in Brazil - the land of the beautiful and surgically enhanced, and now the world #1 ranking of cosmetic surgery per capita! There has been extensive reporting of Brazilian surgeon Ivo Pitanguy - proclaimed by NY Times to have a hand gifted by god. He is surgeon to American stars and models. He is 87 and still practices - charges the same as doc 1. For other brazilian surgeons I have been looking at I have used the criteria that they have to be graduates of Ivo Pitanguy's training AND certified by American and International plastic surgery associations. Brazilian surgeons are not allowed to post before and after pics so that has been the biggest hurdle. It means I will have to go there in their office to see these pics. And ofcourse the language barrier - people in Latin American countries DO NOT SPEAK english and a bit ho-hum about customer and patient service.

Again the biggest draw on Mexico and Brazil is that they will be prepared to push the envelope more than Western surgeons.

I would love some feedback on my post and pics. Sometimes it is hard to think objectively when thinking about something so personal to me. IF you feel I should not have surgery at all then that is fine too - would love to hear all opinions.

I saw a few surgeons in person. They included Dr Capella of NJ and Dr Triana of Cali, Colombia who were the front-runners. Hats off to their integrity - they both earnestly advised that tummy tuck will not give me as much benefit as it gives others and their recommendation would be to not get a tummy tuck. So ends this journey. I have removed my pics.

So it did not end there :-)
I spent two months in Colombia - training my a$$ off (personal trainer 5 days a week), eating super healthy, walking 10+kms a day, etc etc. But yet I still had rolls of fat. I decided that I will go ahead with it and will have to live with the regret (but be able to move on atleast) if the tummy tuck is not successful).

So I am no longer going ahead with a body lift but just a tummy tuck (extended/circumferencial) if needed. And lipo all over.

While in Colombia, I saw many doctors (here they charge 100,000 - 150,000 COP for consultations - about $50-75). But I wanted to be 100% sure of what I am doing.

After a lot of surgeon and soul searching, I found the surgeon I am going ahead with - Dr Dario Juris in Bogota Colombia. On paper, he had all the things I was looking for - registered with various Plastic Surgery boards (including Colombia, American, and ISAPS). And then the best part - he is Alumini of Dr. Ivo Pitanguy. I verified all these by going to the various boards/alumini listing.

When I met him in person, I felt very comfortable with his manner, advises, and recommednations. He openly recommended against tummy tuck and suggested with Lipo he can give me great results also. Some other procedures I was wanting to do (laser to face) he said he does do but again said it is not for my case. He was great with answering my questions and he speaks English which was another bonus!!

His secretary, Claudia, has been amazing with answering my questions quickly and providing the info I need. The surgery is quoted as 7,000,000 COP (for the lipo) and 2,500,000 for the tummy tuck (for my particular case - he charges based on what the patient needs, size, etc etc). His quote included:
* one night in the clinic after surgery (great!)
* all other operation fees
* first binder
* medicines needed

With him you do need to get some of the basic blood tests done. When talking about lipo, he offered a variety of anesthesia choices - epidural, general, etc. I was going to go for general. But since I am 99.9% sure that I will be getting a tummy tuck also .. I will be going general anesthesia anyway.

with lipo I think he said he needed me to stay in town for 8-10 days, with general I think it is 14 days. He has recommended

I am trying not to think too much about this but I am very anxious about the operation and taking a leap of faith in Dr Dario Juris (Pretty much everyday of my life since I Was 13 (so 20+ years) I think about how fat I am and how it actually affects my interaction with other people .. and stops me from having a proper intimate relationship as I feel inadquate to meet THE ONE). I think when Dr Dario Juris is marking me up I will make one last request to 'suck me dry'.

I have been on this site pretty much every other day for years ... and want to contribute to it as much as I Can. I have researched quite a bit and will be putting up more details in the near future. You'd be surprised how many people have surgeries here and it's not seen as a big deal. Beauty is important to Colombians and they are not afraid to turn to the knife for assistance ... in return I believe the surgeons have a high standard to live to.

After the surgery, I will give my opinion on why I chose Colombia over USA (and no it was not the cost - the outcome is much more important to me than the cost).

Any tips??