32 year old Australian girl getting a BBL! - Dominican Republic, DO

HI guys, sorry for some reason I don't get notifications from people commenting on my post. I am just over 1 month PO and will do a detailed update with information for any other Aussie girls thinking of heading over to DR.

Results:
I personally love my results. My figure looks curvy but natural. My waist is currently sitting at 29" (still going down) and my butt is at 43". I want my waist to get to 27 inches so fingers crossed i'll get there! Clothes are sitting really nicely on me and my stomach is flat.
I love love love my boobs. I got a full lift with 300 cc textured implants under the muscle. They were initially riding really high, causing the nipple to point downwards which initially worried me. Once they hit the one-month mark,’ the implants started dropping. I had one small stitch spitting out at the T junction of the lift which I had to remove, causing the wound to breakdown slightly. This is not a big deal and is easily managed with antibiotic ointment and cleansing with a chlorhexadine based wash. The wound heals on it’s own. I'll write more detail about this in another update.

Doctor review:
Dr. Molina was so personable, and a great doc overall. The girls in his office all looked amazing, and I felt immediately at ease once I met him. I was so nervous as I was so far from home and hardly spoke the language. I was convinced that I was completely mad for doing this. Dr. Molina could speak fluent English (as can his wife) and took his time in his consultation with me. He explained that I had nothing to worry about and that he would take care of me.

I also loved his assistant; she is so full of life and brings a sense of calm and control when you're feeling nervous. She met me at 6.30am and told me that i had nothing to worry about and reassured me that I was in great hands.

For my post op visits I met his gorgeous wife Dra. Loz. I cannot speak more highly of her. She is so efficient in handling your post op needs and is always available to help whenever I have a question. TBH I feel that having Dr. Molina and Dra. Loz work together is part of what makes him such a strong and safe doctor. I can message her any time of day and she is always responsive and helpful. I was nervous when I had the stitch split and she totally calmed me down and gave me step-by-step instructions, and everything was easily managed.

I also loved his anesthesiologist, who also spoke fluent English and sat with me before my surgery to discuss my options. She was so reassuring, and even in Australia when i've had a surgery I haven't felt that comfortable with an anesthesiologist. I was nervous going in and she held my hand and said "relax, breath, I am going to be here every step of the way with you". I relaxed and fell asleep.

The Recovery:
The first night at the hospital was tough in the sense that I couldn't sleep. I was also getting hot/cold and feeling generally disoriented. My bf stayed with me and ended up watching a comedy with me at 1am because I couldn't sleep (bless haha). I went to my hotel the next day and felt like I had a slight UTI from the catheter so I just drank heaps and heaps of water. Getting up and down is a struggle but I managed with the help of my nurse and BF.

I think the hardest thing was that I didn't immediately see results. The results only started to show as the swelling subsided, so I felt all this discomfort and honestly looked heavier than when I went in. The boppy pillow is an absolute must for the recovery, as is having a nurse or someone there to help you. I will do another review with what I brought from where.

The hardest part for me, and probably the only time I felt honestly worried was my flight home. I flew from Miami -( 6.5 hrs) San Fran - (14 hours) Sydney and felt completely wrecked (20.5 hours flight time with 1 hour stop over, not including the 5 hours I was stuck at Miami airport). My legs swelled so much that they nearly doubled in size and my vajay was rock hard (no idea why that happened). I think the long flight is really hard on your body so make sure that you stay in DR long enough to handle it. I only ended up staying 8 days. If you are coming from Australia I also think breaking the flight up a bit would have helped. E.G. stay in san fran or LA for a night or two then fly from california / texas home. When I got home I felt out of it for a few days and just rested with my legs elevated to help reduce that post flight swelling.

ALSO I highly recommend braiding your hair before surgery with some leave in conditioner because I decided to leave it in a bun and I didn't brush/ wash it for like 3 weeks. oh my lord I stunk bad and my poor mum had to spend 8 hours once I was home trying to get a brush through it. I had to cut out knots.

My back is still a bit swollen now, and a bit tender. It is pretty much the only place that hurts still. I am looking forward to when that goes down.

The Country:
OK, honestly, I didn’t really like the country at all. It is kind of like Bali. There are some beautiful people and things to do there but everyone left right and center tries to rip you off. I started to feel like a walking ATM. Everything I planned to do was so difficult. Getting to wither Boca Chica or any beach areas costs like $100 USD per way, and there is no real safe public transport. I was expecting to do some good shopping over there, but the malls were even more expensive than the USA. Keep in mind the Australian dollar is only like 70 US cents after conversion so you lose a lot of money doing nearly anything. Getting around Santo Domingo is also so unpredictable time wise. I nearly missed my flight despite leaving my hotel 3 hours earlier. I planned on picking up some compression socks and heading to the airport. I made my flight by about 10 mins. My boyfriend tried to go fishing in Bayahibe and paid nearly $600 AUD and caught nothing. He also paid for a lobster meal on the beach and was served fish but no lobster. The language barrier is so real, which is totally fine as you are in a Spanish speaking country. I just recommend that you download a translator that can be used offline.


My recommendations:
• Braid your bloody hair haha.
• Use uber to get around DR, as ‘drivers’ will nearly always try to rip you off.
• Communicate with your Doc but I feel like so many girls have unrealistic expectations going in to surgery. Sometimes I still feel a bit down when I see the gorgeous women of instagram but then remember that I look 1000 x better than when I went in to surgery. I can now wear a swim suit, a dress and go braless for the first time in pretty much my whole adult life. Your doc isn’t god and will do the best they can with what you give them.
• If you are staying at a hotel use a private nurse. I used one called Yudit and she was great. She organised Marvel (another nurse) or herself to be with me whenever I needed. She doesn’t rip you off and will stay with you as long as you need. P: +1 809 603 9638. I found having Marvel with me on the day of surgery really useful, she translates everything for you and makes the day go more smoothly.
• If you are coming from Australia, and plan on bringing cash, pre book your cash for pick up from travelex online (I’m pretty sure you get a much better exchange rate than if you do it on the spot). Make sure that you shop around for a good rate because you will get completely ripped off other wise. DO NOT USE THE AIRPORT ONES AS THEY WERE OFFERING ME 1AUD TO 60US C – THE EXCHANGE RATE WAS 74 CENTS! If you haven’t planned this in time, go to the one at the airport and bargain them. Since you are exchanging a large amount of cash, they will usually do a better price. I ended up getting 1aud for 70us cents. I wouldn’t settle for any less.
• When you are on that plane make sure you walk every hour, wear your compression stockings and drink so much water. It is extremely hard on your body otherwise.
• Be prepared to have a doctors note ready at Santo Domingo airport when you leave. Not everyone needs one but sometimes they will ask (particularly if you are padded up in your garment). I took my garment off while getting through security and put it back on in the bathroom to avoid this.

I had my surgery on Friday December 9th, I'm now 48 hours post op and am already feeling stronger. Dr. Molina is amazing. He took his time with me, and so far, my results look great. I had a Bbl, breast lift with implants and arm &a thigh lipo. I feel stiff and sore, but it's nothing that I can't manage.

Dr. Molina is one of the safest doctors in the DR. He and his wife communicate with me well  and his results are great. I was booked with another surgeon, however felt nervous about the lack of communication and inconsistent replies. I'm so nervous as this is such an adventure, but am also very excited.