Full Body Lipo and Breast Implants with Dr. Jose Leon in Dominican Republic

So, I was still weak when I got to the airport, so a man helped fast track us to get a wheelchair no fill out all the forms. Then this amazing airport employee wheeled myself and another man all the way to the gate. We tipped him very well! I did not have first class seating, and I was on the aisle. I will worn that I did get bumped by a woman on my implant and it hurt so bad I almost cried. Landing in Atlanta there were no wheelchairs outside the exit of the plane, but we walked down the ramp and there were a couple by an elevator. There was one employee and a few elderly women that did not have anyone to push them. Luckily my husband pushed me. It is a 12 minute walk to exit the international terminal, so I highly recommend a wheelchair!! It was nice getting home, and I started lymphatic massage immediately. I am doing cryotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy too. I take arnica pills and still use the cream. I am about 2.5 weeks out of surgery. The feeling goes from pain to numbness to stiffness. I have not taken pain pills for about a week or more. I have very hard lumps on my whole stomach, sides, back inner thigh. They re painful and I have an exercise roller I use to roll them. This healing is a process for sure! Everyone heals differently and every day gets better. I attached photos of my note for medical travel, my warranty for my implants, photo of the garments thy use here (I would suggest buying one and trying to wear it before going to get used to I and it is helpful to have a second one while the other gets washed), and photos of my body. I can sleep on my side now comfortably thank goodness! I did go back to work exactly 2 weeks from surgery and the first day was tough, but it really helped to get back in a routine and not be in the house anymore. If you have any questions, I am here for you! I am trying to be as detailed as possible. Thanks! Xoxo

So the first night t the hotel was awful. They had me in a size small garment stuffed with lipo foam on stomach and both sides, so it was just too much compression no it was hard to breathe. I am a side sleeper, so sleeping on my back elevated was very difficult. It was hard to get in and out of bed not using my arms. I had my nurse (see photo) named Ana stay with me 3 additional day no nights and then just days for the remaining time. I went back for a follow up visit to Dr. Leon on Friday (3 days after surgery) and he could tell from my drain that I was bleeding too much. I did not think anything of it, but he met morning I was o weak and dizzy when I stood that I could not even go down to the free breakfast and get my omelette and fruit. My nurse called Dr. Leon and he said I needed to start strong iron supplements 3x a day and he sent hi blood guy to draw blood in my hotel room. I was t a 7 hemoglobin. Very low for me going in at 13.7. He sent the blood guy every day until the day I left and it raised to 8.4, so he said I didn't need a blood transfusion thank goodness! He said I did not bleed much during surgery, but that the combination of the heparin shots and me being very vascular caused me to lose too much blood. He stopped the heparin shots too, but I did get one before my flight.
On my last appointment before flying out he gave me a letter to fly, a warranty for my implants and removed my drain. I only had 3 massages before becoming anemic and 2 before I left. My nurse was able to do them. She had me buy a few tubes of this cream for bruises (see photo). I also want to say having a nurse is so important because sHe had to get rid of so many blood clots in my drain. Back to the garment, m friend flew in who had surgery with Dr. Leon 3 months prior, and thankfully she brought her garment which was a medium and I could handle wearing that. I am still struggling with garments as I have bought like 4 more and none fit right to be comfortable with popular compression. Not being able to bathe was very difficult too. I just felt dirty and oily even with wipes. My nurse washed my hair once since I was not strong enough to go to a salon. She was amazing! I will say too that we probably spent like $400 in pesos too that was needed for pharmacy and other things along the way. Also, I had no appetite while there, but forced myself to eat and drink a lot of water. Now, I know everyone heals differently, but my experience was one of total regret. I had really wished I had never done the surgery and cried so much. My friend did not have any issues like me. I posted some pictures of my body while down there, and I will update with more information soon on my return home. Thanks and I hope this helps!

I arrived on Monday August 28th from direct flight from Atlanta into Santo Domingo at about 1pm and got a tourist card and went through customs. If you re on the back of the plane like me, you have a long wait for this process. I had one checked bag, and after picking it up, walked out to find my driver (Neper) holding a sign with my name on it. He drove us to the clinic (about 30 minutes away), and I had to wait about 4 hours to get my consult. There were 4 other ladies waiting to be seen for follow up appointments too. The waiting room is small, so my husband had to sit in the hall. While waiting, the cardiologist came and did an EKG (equipment was way different than in US). He did not speak English. I also had my blood drawn and hemo was 13.7 and all was cleared for surgery. I discussed wanting over the muscle implants since I lift weights and know that under the muscle causes implants to move while doing chest exercises. He agreed that I have good tissue to do this and did not need a lift. He uses polyurethane implants for over the muscle, which are the gummy bear implant with a textured covering over them that re the most successful implant to use for over the muscle. The US does not use these yet. We then discussed areas of lipo. He agreed on chin, armpit, flanks, full stomach, inner, outer and back of thigh and inner knees. He did not think I would be successful with arm lipo as it would look worse. The driver then took us to the grocery so I could buy a bunch of water, protein drinks and snacks before being dropped off at our hotel (Embassy suites). The hotel room was great. One side was couch with TV, small kitchen area and dinning table no he other side was 2 double beds and TV. There was plenty of storage space for everything I brought as I overpacked of course. The bathroom was huge no had 2 entrances for both sides of the room. They have an Applebee's on first floor and a movie theater too. They also have room service and free hot breakfast. I hired a nurse/ masseuse for my stay and they will need her information on check in. I was told to be t he front for pick up at 6:45am the next morning. So no food or drink after midnight.
We were picked up right on time and brought to the clinic. Dr. Leon came to mark me up, the anesthesiologist came to ask questions and put my IV in. I waited for a while and then came the blue pill (midazolam) and got wheeled off to the OR. I had discussed with Dr. Leon that I would prefer general anesthesia and he agreed. They also give epidural with general anesthesia so the patient does not remember anything. I remember waking up to a bunch of people putting my faja on. I was so thirsty, but thy will not let you drink or like 4 or 6 hours after. My AC in the room was broken, so they had to switch me to another room. There are about 6 rooms and 3 were being used. They have a doctor and nurses there to check on you, but you do not get a call button. I hired my nurse for that night and so my husband had to go back to the hotel before 9pm, which is about when all hell broke loose for me. Dr. Leon checked on me around 7pm when he was heading home, and he was very nice and that I did well in surgery. So, when the anesthesia wore off, I immediately was in panic mode. My surgery was about 3 hours, so I got back to my room about noon. I would say around 10pm is when the catheter started to feel like a needle in my bladder. It was killing me, so I begged to get it removed. They called Dr. Leon and he agreed thank goodness. Then I had to pee in a bedpan about 5 times throughout the night, which was awful since everyone was asleep including my nurse. I have insomnia, so I knew I would not sleep that night even with all the pain medication. It was an awful night. You cannot get out of bed, they only had a couple channels in English, and the faja was way too tight for me. I had to wait for Dr. Leon to arrive the next morning to be able to leave to go back to the hotel. I did have one drain from lipo in my backside. You have to carry around or clip the drain to your faja. They call it your baby. I get back to the hotel and take my sleeping pills and sleep for a couple hours. I will update the rest of my journey in my next entry as it is a long story. Thanks for reading and ask any questions you like!!