Very Pleased with the Results of My Surgery

Treatment Provider

Provider Review

• 1 Mar 2017

In June 2016, I underwent breast augmentation, abdominoplasty and surgery to repair an umbilical hernia with Dr. Claytor. I would highly recommend Dr. Claytor to anyone who is thinking about having any of these procedures. Following the birth of my third child, my belly button protruded and I had a bulge in my tummy, which made me look like I was still around three or four months pregnant. Even after losing all of the baby weight, doing lots of cardio and trying all sorts of abdominal exercises, the belly bulge just wouldn’t go away. My children used to tease me, saying that my belly button looked like a nose and my belly looked like a balloon. Even more embarrassingly, upon seeing the little pot belly on my otherwise lean and athletic frame, people would often ask me if I was expecting. I learned from my family doctor that I had an umbilical hernia, which was the reason my belly button stuck out. He advised me of the option of having surgery to repair the hernia. At first, I was reluctant to have the surgery. But, I changed my mind when I found out that the potential health risks from an umbilical hernia can include incarceration or obstruction of the bowels. Knowing that my grandmother had died suddenly from a bowel obstruction at the age of 37, leaving my father to grow up without a mother when he was only three years old, I didn’t want to take any chance of having the same thing happen to me. In addition to the hernia, I also had a diastasis recti – a separation of the abdominal muscles - which gave my belly its puffy, rounded appearance. My husband is the person who first suggested that I get a tummy tuck to fix the diastasis recti. In his defense, I don’t think he did it because he was ashamed of how I looked. Instead, I think he just wanted me to feel more confident about my appearance because he knew it bothered me when my children teased me and people asked if I was pregnant. My husband is also the person who recommended Dr. Claytor to me. They met through a charitable organization they both belonged to, and my husband found out that Dr. Claytor had a lot of experience in performing the types of surgery I was contemplating. I decided to get breast implants because, for most of my life, I was so flat-chested that even an A-cup looked too big on me. My breasts got a lot bigger when I was breast-feeding my children. But unfortunately, as soon as I stopped nursing, I went right back to being as flat-chested as a ten year old boy, and the lack of breasts only seemed to accentuate my bulging belly. To make matters worse, my rather large nipples looked really droopy as a result of all of the breast-feeding. I didn’t want to have unnaturally large breasts. I just wanted them to be proportional to the rest of my body. And, I wanted to be able to find bras and bikini-tops that fit. I thought that breast implants might be the solution to all of these problems. I had read articles about “mommy makeover” surgery, and I knew that by combining breast augmentation with a tummy tuck and hernia repair, I’d be able to save money and decrease my overall recovery time. The reduction in costs was even more significant for me, because the hernia surgery was covered by my insurance. So, I decided to have all three of these procedures done at the same time. Dr. Claytor explained the risks of the procedures in terms that were easy to understand. He was able to alleviate a lot of my fears about general anesthesia, pain and discomfort, and the ability to return to my normal activities. Both he and his entire staff were always very polite and respectful. He took the time to call me the night before the surgery to ask if I had any questions or concerns, and he called again a few times during the week after the surgery to check on how I was doing. Although I felt very nauseous for several hours after the surgery, the hospital staff gave me anti-nausea medication to ease my discomfort. I had a significant amount of pain for the first two or three days following surgery and needed to take the pain medication and muscle relaxers Dr. Claytor had prescribed to me. But, after that time, I felt well enough to stop taking the medications. Both my breasts and belly were really swollen after the surgery. Over the next six to eight weeks, the swelling gradually went away. I had to wear an uncomfortable abdominal binder for approximately six weeks after the surgery to help reduce the swelling. For a couple of weeks after the surgery, I felt hunched over while walking because my abdominal muscles were pulled so tight. I also was unable to raise my arms up overhead all the way because of the swelling near my breasts. In addition, I had a lot of trouble getting in and out of chairs and beds because I couldn’t use my arms to compensate for my difficulty in bending forward and backwards at the waist and hips. Sleeping felt really awkward for a long time after the surgery. For the first few weeks, I could only feel comfortable if I slept in the recliner in my living room. After about a month, I was able to go back to sleeping comfortably in my own bed. As a result of the surgery, I have a scar under each breast and a scar going horizontally from hip to hip below my belly button. The scars from the breast implants were barely visible within six months after the surgery. However, the scar from the tummy tuck has been slow to fade and still hasn’t gone away completely. Before the surgery, I was running an average of around fifty miles per week. I also frequently did yoga and Pilates and lifted weights. I was able to return to doing all of these forms of exercise within about six weeks after the surgery. At first, I had to reduce my running pace and mileage, but within a several weeks, both were back to normal. The surgery does not seem to have affected my strength or range of motion, and I think my ability to do balance poses in yoga may have actually improved. Another benefit of the surgery is that I no longer get abdominal cramps when doing certain postures in yoga and Pilates. I am extremely happy with the results of the surgery. Dr. Claytor used the new “gummy-bear” silicone implants in my breasts, and they both look and feel very natural. My nipples now look perky and no longer droop. I look much better in clothing, and it’s a lot easier to find bras and bathing suits that fit. To my relief, my belly button no longer pops out like the timer on a Perdue Oven Stuffer Roaster, and I don’t have to wear baggy tops and sweatshirts to hide my deformed gut. Best of all, my children don’t make fun of my belly any more, and people have stopped asking me if I’m pregnant. I am truly grateful to Dr. Claytor for doing such an amazing job on my surgery. I feel very fortunate to have found such a talented plastic surgeon.