POSTED UNDER Abdominal Etching REVIEWS
48-year-old Male Gyno, Hi-def Abdominal Sculpting, J Plasma
ORIGINAL POST
I recently had a full chest and abdominal high def...
SwiftRunDecember 20, 2017
WORTH IT$45,000
I recently had a full chest and abdominal high def procedure led by Dr. Jason Emer. Below is a more detailed review of my experience, but the quick summary is that I had a wonderful experience with Dr. Emer’s team and the results have far exceeded my expectations. After having considered the procedure for several years and going through multiple consultations with several highly regarded surgeons - my only regrets are that I waited as long as I did and that I didn’t start my search with Dr. Emer’s team. I do not work for Dr. Emer, nor did Dr. Emer or any of his affiliates have anything to do with this review. I am writing this review because these are things I wish I could have accessed online during my search.
A bit about me -
I am a male in my late 40’s. I am in a stable relationship of over a decade. I am a public health professional who works on infectious diseases in developing countries. I have participated in competitive sports throughout my life including at the collegiate level. While I love running, climbing, cycling and generally competing in athletic events – my ability to consistently participate has increasingly become more and more limited by travel required for work over the last 5 years or so.
My experience with Gynecomastia -
Gynecomastia has been a part of my entire life. I don’t know if I am the typical case as I was always competitively athletic and fit most of my life (until recently). As a reference I am 5’9” and prior to surgery about 166lbs which was the heaviest I have ever been. BMI has never exceeded normal range. Nevertheless, regardless of how fit I was, the gyno was always apparent. In fact, often when I was at my fittest, as I built pectoral muscle, the problem got even more pronounced. As I aged, lost some muscle mass and worked more – fat gain was more and more of a battle. Nothing serious – probably what most men in their 40’s struggle with. I cannot say I was ever overly depressed about the appearance of male breasts, but it did bother me. I would choose not to remove my shirt for relaxation - e.g., at the beach or pools. I would only remove my shirt to swim laps or be in the water. The clothing I choose was often shirts that didn’t cling to my body. As I played on several teams, I periodically had to deal with teasing from other team members. Other instances of teasing would periodically happen, while it wasn’t appreciated, I tended to do my best to let it not affect me and move on. The real issues were about my own self-perception. I got sick of feeling self-conscious and discomfort in my own clothing.
Searching for Specialists –
In my mid-forties I decided I was going to have the surgical procedure and began looking for physicians. I searched on and off for 3 years – it so long because of work travel responsibilities, and honestly questioning whether the cost was worth it. I met several great physicians and learned a lot about the procedures. What I ended on is setting some high priorities for who I would choose: 1) The frequency they did surgical procedure(s) and specifically on males; 2) their medical training, 3) their willingness to work with my own primary care physician, 4) their coordination with other specialists; 5) my interaction with the physician and their team. Dr. Emer met and exceeded my priorities on all points.
I should add that utilizing state-of-the-art techniques and technologies was also high on my list of priorities. While many of the specialists I found insisted on only utilizing long-established techniques developed in 80’s and 90’s, that was a bit of a detractor for me as I knew there more contemporary and much less invasive and tissue-specific technologies. In my own field, advances are often driven by those rare practitioners that can embrace new technologies that work, as well as the skill and experience to differentiate those that do not. For me, Dr. Emer fit the bill.
Finally, Dr. Emer gets the sensibility of athletically minded individuals as he is one himself.
Dr. Emer & Team –
Dr. Emer surrounds himself with the best of the best both medically and administratively. Let me start with Dr. Emer’s patient coordinating team; Robert Cerecedes and Jonathan Kohanim. I really cannot provide sufficient praise. Really just a phenomenal team. Jonathan was great at balancing my desired outcomes and budget with surgical priorities. Robert – the surgical coordinator – is simply one of the most dedicated and organized individuals I have encountered in a healthcare setting. In addition to coordinating pre- and post-operative testing requirements and specialist appointments, he makes himself available to patients 24-7. He must have had at least a half dozen conversations with my regular primary care doctor about the procedure, required tests, and recovery. My primary care doctor who has known me for 15+ years even commented to me about his level of attention and persistence to my case. He simply is a well-seasoned professional in this field.
Surgically, once Dr. Emer and I settled on a balance of my desired outcomes and the required procedures, he chooses the surgical specialist to partner with. In my case, while Dr. Emer was going preform all the high-def sculpture, lipo, J-Plasma and fat transfer, Dr. Johnson Lee would preform the gland and excess skin removal. Dr. Lee’s work is excellent. The incisions have healed wonderfully with no apparent scaring. In addition to being a top-notch surgeon, I found Dr. Lee to be an incredibly personable physician.
As for Dr. Emer- his work speaks for itself. It’s simply amazing. I went in with what I would consider realistic expectations for a 48-year-old. I am three-weeks out and I can say he exceeded my expectations in every way. His ability to envision what your body will look like once he is complete is amazing. As he spoke with me pre-operatively and begin mapping out the changes, I recall thinking he must have thought he was speaking with a 25 year old. Dr. Emer and Dr. Lee mapped out the surgical plan directly on my body as they spoke with me about it….all along I was thinking “is this really necessary?” Dr. Emer was both confident, realistic and compassionate both in his vision and addressing my concerns as he mapped his plan on my body. Fast forward to anesthesia and recovery…..a blink for me, a 7 hour set of procedures for Dr. Emer and Dr. Lee. All I can say is I woke up amazed. I could not believe what I was looking at. Gynecomastia gone. Problem areas that I had subjected to thousands of crunches, toes-to-bar, sit ups where just sculpted to accentuate the muscle hidden beneath the fat. I kept thinking that it is just the anesthesia, but days after I was still seeing the same results and feeling the same gratitude.
So what was hard?
I bruise really really easily. A few days after the surgery I did develop bruising. While Dr. Emer was immensely attentive, my primary care physician who had seen me through multiple sports-injuries, fractures, and dental surgery – all of which I had significant bruising – had no concern what so ever. Three weeks later, I’m looking in the mirror bruise-free- still amazed at the incredible results Dr. Emer produced. I have lost a lot of muscle mass, but that is what happens when you are not allowed to work out or be active at all for 3 weeks for recovery. I’m looking forward to getting back into the gym as soon as I am clears. Other than that, the hardest thing for me was sitting still.
What would I do differently?
1) Listen to Dr. Emer. There are several things he suggested that I wish I had taken him up on. No major disagreements, just the extent of each procedure. He does this a lot. His experience gives him a clearer vision of what the outcomes will look like. Because budget was an issue for me, I wanted to minimize things that I thought were not absolutely necessary. What’s interesting is that there were a few procedures that he did not feel comfortable doing unless they were accompanied together – namely J-plasma and Liposculpture – while I eventually gave in, I must say he was absolutely right. Without the J-plasma it is unlikely (given my age) I would have achieved optimal results. Could the lipo sculpture be done without J-plasma? Probably. Would the outcome have been as good as it was? Unlikely. As a side note, at least two of the other plastic surgeons I consulted who did not offer J-plasma (one in San Francisco and one in Atlanta), warned me that at my age the appearance of loose skin would likely be present in some areas.
2) Stay two nights at the nursing aftercare. That is actually what I ended up doing, but only as a last minute decision after surgery. The first couple of days are rough. Lots of fluids draining from your body, lots of protocols and appointments.
3) Lymphatic Message – DO NOT SKIP THIS. Lymphatic Message, and in particular message by Armin was probably the single most helpful aftercare thing I did. Specifically, in the first 7 days. I would almost say this is absolutely critical for drainage and prevention of seromas. Let me add a pitch here for Armin Khachatryan. Don’t be fooled by his mild manner – he is good, really good. My primary care physician has communicated with him several times and trusts his judgment. You will feel incredible after his sessions. Additionally, he is the eyes and touch of Dr. Emer’s team – communicating constantly about your progress.
4) Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment - not my personal favorite. While there is significant volume of evidence that hyperbaric treatments accelerating wound healing, I still think it is not necessary. In my case, with bruising, there is no evidence published in first-tier peer reviewed literature that it assists. My experience at the specific facility I used was also not great. What would I recommend? If you want optimal results for wound healing and minimizing scaring I would absolutely do it. If scaring and the rate of wound healing is not high on your concern list….I might consider minimizing the sessions.
5) Get multiple compression garments. They are expensive, but absolutely necessary especially in the first two weeks. Your garments will get soiled daily with bodily fluids and you need the ability to wash one while you wear one.
6) Get yourself some Arnica cream. While Dr. Emer will prescribe the pills – which are surely more effective as they get directly into your blood and tissue – the cream worked great for me as the nausea from the other medications made it so I could not hold down anymore pills.
7) if you are older, say 45+, recovery is going to be slower.
Cost –
Dr. Emer is not cheap. As I stated before, he surrounds himself with the best of the best. I would say he is considerably more expensive than other physicians I consulted. Could I have achieved similar results on any single procedure? Hard to tell. Could I have received the entire package of procedures, care and total body outcomes elsewhere? Unlikely. Would I do this again? In a heartbeat. I only regret waiting as long as I did. Would I choose Dr. Emer? Without any doubt. I only wish I had started my search with Dr. Emer. He is truely a high-def sculpture visionary. What he was able to accomplish on this 48-year-old body was just amazing.
A bit about me -
I am a male in my late 40’s. I am in a stable relationship of over a decade. I am a public health professional who works on infectious diseases in developing countries. I have participated in competitive sports throughout my life including at the collegiate level. While I love running, climbing, cycling and generally competing in athletic events – my ability to consistently participate has increasingly become more and more limited by travel required for work over the last 5 years or so.
My experience with Gynecomastia -
Gynecomastia has been a part of my entire life. I don’t know if I am the typical case as I was always competitively athletic and fit most of my life (until recently). As a reference I am 5’9” and prior to surgery about 166lbs which was the heaviest I have ever been. BMI has never exceeded normal range. Nevertheless, regardless of how fit I was, the gyno was always apparent. In fact, often when I was at my fittest, as I built pectoral muscle, the problem got even more pronounced. As I aged, lost some muscle mass and worked more – fat gain was more and more of a battle. Nothing serious – probably what most men in their 40’s struggle with. I cannot say I was ever overly depressed about the appearance of male breasts, but it did bother me. I would choose not to remove my shirt for relaxation - e.g., at the beach or pools. I would only remove my shirt to swim laps or be in the water. The clothing I choose was often shirts that didn’t cling to my body. As I played on several teams, I periodically had to deal with teasing from other team members. Other instances of teasing would periodically happen, while it wasn’t appreciated, I tended to do my best to let it not affect me and move on. The real issues were about my own self-perception. I got sick of feeling self-conscious and discomfort in my own clothing.
Searching for Specialists –
In my mid-forties I decided I was going to have the surgical procedure and began looking for physicians. I searched on and off for 3 years – it so long because of work travel responsibilities, and honestly questioning whether the cost was worth it. I met several great physicians and learned a lot about the procedures. What I ended on is setting some high priorities for who I would choose: 1) The frequency they did surgical procedure(s) and specifically on males; 2) their medical training, 3) their willingness to work with my own primary care physician, 4) their coordination with other specialists; 5) my interaction with the physician and their team. Dr. Emer met and exceeded my priorities on all points.
I should add that utilizing state-of-the-art techniques and technologies was also high on my list of priorities. While many of the specialists I found insisted on only utilizing long-established techniques developed in 80’s and 90’s, that was a bit of a detractor for me as I knew there more contemporary and much less invasive and tissue-specific technologies. In my own field, advances are often driven by those rare practitioners that can embrace new technologies that work, as well as the skill and experience to differentiate those that do not. For me, Dr. Emer fit the bill.
Finally, Dr. Emer gets the sensibility of athletically minded individuals as he is one himself.
Dr. Emer & Team –
Dr. Emer surrounds himself with the best of the best both medically and administratively. Let me start with Dr. Emer’s patient coordinating team; Robert Cerecedes and Jonathan Kohanim. I really cannot provide sufficient praise. Really just a phenomenal team. Jonathan was great at balancing my desired outcomes and budget with surgical priorities. Robert – the surgical coordinator – is simply one of the most dedicated and organized individuals I have encountered in a healthcare setting. In addition to coordinating pre- and post-operative testing requirements and specialist appointments, he makes himself available to patients 24-7. He must have had at least a half dozen conversations with my regular primary care doctor about the procedure, required tests, and recovery. My primary care doctor who has known me for 15+ years even commented to me about his level of attention and persistence to my case. He simply is a well-seasoned professional in this field.
Surgically, once Dr. Emer and I settled on a balance of my desired outcomes and the required procedures, he chooses the surgical specialist to partner with. In my case, while Dr. Emer was going preform all the high-def sculpture, lipo, J-Plasma and fat transfer, Dr. Johnson Lee would preform the gland and excess skin removal. Dr. Lee’s work is excellent. The incisions have healed wonderfully with no apparent scaring. In addition to being a top-notch surgeon, I found Dr. Lee to be an incredibly personable physician.
As for Dr. Emer- his work speaks for itself. It’s simply amazing. I went in with what I would consider realistic expectations for a 48-year-old. I am three-weeks out and I can say he exceeded my expectations in every way. His ability to envision what your body will look like once he is complete is amazing. As he spoke with me pre-operatively and begin mapping out the changes, I recall thinking he must have thought he was speaking with a 25 year old. Dr. Emer and Dr. Lee mapped out the surgical plan directly on my body as they spoke with me about it….all along I was thinking “is this really necessary?” Dr. Emer was both confident, realistic and compassionate both in his vision and addressing my concerns as he mapped his plan on my body. Fast forward to anesthesia and recovery…..a blink for me, a 7 hour set of procedures for Dr. Emer and Dr. Lee. All I can say is I woke up amazed. I could not believe what I was looking at. Gynecomastia gone. Problem areas that I had subjected to thousands of crunches, toes-to-bar, sit ups where just sculpted to accentuate the muscle hidden beneath the fat. I kept thinking that it is just the anesthesia, but days after I was still seeing the same results and feeling the same gratitude.
So what was hard?
I bruise really really easily. A few days after the surgery I did develop bruising. While Dr. Emer was immensely attentive, my primary care physician who had seen me through multiple sports-injuries, fractures, and dental surgery – all of which I had significant bruising – had no concern what so ever. Three weeks later, I’m looking in the mirror bruise-free- still amazed at the incredible results Dr. Emer produced. I have lost a lot of muscle mass, but that is what happens when you are not allowed to work out or be active at all for 3 weeks for recovery. I’m looking forward to getting back into the gym as soon as I am clears. Other than that, the hardest thing for me was sitting still.
What would I do differently?
1) Listen to Dr. Emer. There are several things he suggested that I wish I had taken him up on. No major disagreements, just the extent of each procedure. He does this a lot. His experience gives him a clearer vision of what the outcomes will look like. Because budget was an issue for me, I wanted to minimize things that I thought were not absolutely necessary. What’s interesting is that there were a few procedures that he did not feel comfortable doing unless they were accompanied together – namely J-plasma and Liposculpture – while I eventually gave in, I must say he was absolutely right. Without the J-plasma it is unlikely (given my age) I would have achieved optimal results. Could the lipo sculpture be done without J-plasma? Probably. Would the outcome have been as good as it was? Unlikely. As a side note, at least two of the other plastic surgeons I consulted who did not offer J-plasma (one in San Francisco and one in Atlanta), warned me that at my age the appearance of loose skin would likely be present in some areas.
2) Stay two nights at the nursing aftercare. That is actually what I ended up doing, but only as a last minute decision after surgery. The first couple of days are rough. Lots of fluids draining from your body, lots of protocols and appointments.
3) Lymphatic Message – DO NOT SKIP THIS. Lymphatic Message, and in particular message by Armin was probably the single most helpful aftercare thing I did. Specifically, in the first 7 days. I would almost say this is absolutely critical for drainage and prevention of seromas. Let me add a pitch here for Armin Khachatryan. Don’t be fooled by his mild manner – he is good, really good. My primary care physician has communicated with him several times and trusts his judgment. You will feel incredible after his sessions. Additionally, he is the eyes and touch of Dr. Emer’s team – communicating constantly about your progress.
4) Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment - not my personal favorite. While there is significant volume of evidence that hyperbaric treatments accelerating wound healing, I still think it is not necessary. In my case, with bruising, there is no evidence published in first-tier peer reviewed literature that it assists. My experience at the specific facility I used was also not great. What would I recommend? If you want optimal results for wound healing and minimizing scaring I would absolutely do it. If scaring and the rate of wound healing is not high on your concern list….I might consider minimizing the sessions.
5) Get multiple compression garments. They are expensive, but absolutely necessary especially in the first two weeks. Your garments will get soiled daily with bodily fluids and you need the ability to wash one while you wear one.
6) Get yourself some Arnica cream. While Dr. Emer will prescribe the pills – which are surely more effective as they get directly into your blood and tissue – the cream worked great for me as the nausea from the other medications made it so I could not hold down anymore pills.
7) if you are older, say 45+, recovery is going to be slower.
Cost –
Dr. Emer is not cheap. As I stated before, he surrounds himself with the best of the best. I would say he is considerably more expensive than other physicians I consulted. Could I have achieved similar results on any single procedure? Hard to tell. Could I have received the entire package of procedures, care and total body outcomes elsewhere? Unlikely. Would I do this again? In a heartbeat. I only regret waiting as long as I did. Would I choose Dr. Emer? Without any doubt. I only wish I had started my search with Dr. Emer. He is truely a high-def sculpture visionary. What he was able to accomplish on this 48-year-old body was just amazing.
SwiftRun's provider
Replies (4)
October 22, 2020
Did this procedure really cost 45k or is that a typo!??
October 30, 2020
the procedures are customized to what someone needs. if they are doing a FULL male HD lipo with chest, arms, full torso, full J plasma all areas, fat grafting, nipple lift/gland removal, and sometimes mini tuck, YES the price can be 40+ actually even more especially with body lifting or implants. this is not traditional body contouring this is sculpting and defining. come consult with us. jasonemermd.com
We truly appreciate you sharing a detailed account of your experience and the treatment proccess for Hi-Def Lipo and for the kind words expressed about our entire team. We couldn't be more pleased to know that you love the results of your procedure and feel confident about the recommendations we had made. Your words are humbling and we strive to exceed our own expectations when it comes to bringing our patients the best results imaginable. We look forward to seeing you again in the future!