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POSTED UNDER Body Lift REVIEWS

I Did my Research and It Was Worth It! - Bethesda, MD

Name: I Did my Research and It Was Worth It! - Bethesda, MD
Item: Joseph Michaels, MD
Rating: 5
Author: NoVaGirl

ORIGINAL POST

I was lucky enough to meet Dr. Michaels over a...

NoVaGirlDecember 6, 2012

WORTH IT$10,000

I was lucky enough to meet Dr. Michaels over a year ago. I had just reached my goal weight, having lost half my weight (155 pounds) through nutrition and exercise.
As the weight started coming off, it was replaced by sagging skin, which had to be tucked and hidden, and got in the way of my newly active body. The hours and hours of cardio and strength training I did during my weight loss journey did a lot for my overall health, but all my hard work was not visible beneath the sagging skin. I couldn’t wear cute clothes, didn’t feel I wanted to show myself at the beach, and while who we are is not about how we look, there is no denying that how we feel about ourselves has so much to do with how we approach the world. The sagging skin was a constant reminder of who I was and not who I worked hard to become.
This part of my story is not unlike countless who have lost significant weight – either through bariatric surgery, or as I did it – though nutrition and exercise.
My surgeries have produced amazing results – better than I ever imagined! Dr. Michaels brought out my natural curves, and contoured where contouring was needed, leaving me with a beautiful girly figure – one I never thought I would have. And he’s a bit of a perfectionist, which is not a bad quality to have in a plastic surgeon.

NoVaGirl's provider

Joseph Michaels, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

4.9 | 93 Reviews

PROFILE

NoVaGirl rating for Dr. Michaels:

Overall rating

Doctor's bedside manner

Answered my questions

After care follow-up

Time spent with me

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Replies (9)

K_at_RealSelf

December 7, 2012

Hi there, welcome and thanks for sharing your journey with us. Congratulations on your weight loss, that's a huge acheivement! How was your recovery, following surgery? Did you have much pain, or need compression garments for scars, etc?

NoVaGirl

December 8, 2012

Thank you! My recovery was mostly better than expected. I don't think of my recoveries as painful. More like uncomfortable (once you get past the first 24 hours). You feel tightness in the area that was the focus of the surgery and there is limited mobility but it gets better each day. The only surgery I had pain was for my inner thigh surgery. I was recovering really well the first two weeks then did too much too soon and had some temporary pain from swelling. But it resolved pretty quickly. The thing I try to remember is that the body is trying to heal from this controlled trauma (the surgery) and it will figure out a way to heal. It just takes a little time and patience. A few weeks of discomfort is worth a lifetime of happiness. As for compression garments, yes, I wore them for each surgery. They help with the swelling, but not scarring as far as I know. I think genetics has a lot to do with scarring, but my scars from my first surgery a year ago are barely visible. I have been very lucky and blessed. Have a stellar doctor (who left me with neat, razor straight scars that are slowly fading away), and am thrilled with my results. For anyone hesitating to undergo any of these surgeries, i too had the same. hesitation at first. It's very normal. But with the right doctor and appropriate expectations (i.e. don't expect to go running after two weeks) it can really be a life changing experience. Good luck to everyone taking this next step!

K_at_RealSelf

December 8, 2012

Wow, thanks for all of the information, it's really useful. At somepoint I will be going thorugh this type of surgery myself, so it's great to have prior-knowledge of how they work and what to expect.

Do you have any before/after pics that you're comfortable sharing?

lynz26

March 29, 2021

Hi was it 10,000 for all the procedures

gilliebean

March 19, 2015

I would love to talk to you, i am looking into the same surgreon and would love to know more

jensor06

July 7, 2015

Do you have any before and after pictures. Where is this doctor located?

NoVaGirl

July 7, 2015

I had 4 surgeries: circumferential lower body lift, breast lift, leg lift and arm lift. Thrilled with my results, even almost 4 years after the first surgery.

Dr. Michaels' website has plenty of before/after shots.

He is located in Bethesda, MD and also the Fair Oaks, VA area.

Dr. Michaels was recently in a NY Times article, having participated in a high-profile skin removal surgery.

I feel very blessed to have found him. He possesses a unique combination of skill and care for the well-being of his patients.

If anyone wants to talk further, please let me know.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/15/nyregion/former-980-pound-man-adjusts-after-a-difficult-skin-operation.html?referrer=

Let'sDOthis

February 23, 2018

I too have used Dr. Michaels for my last surgery (which I haven’t posted about yet) he revised and old upper body lift for me. He is amazing. Very attentive and most definitely a perfectionist. Loose sagging skin? He is the Man!