49 Yr Old- Mommy Makeover Journey - Dr. Goico - Dominican Republic

I am 5 months post op. I am so pleased with my results. Dr. Goico did a wonderful job. My recovery has been pretty good. I experienced different things at certain times. For example during the second and third months I had a lot of itching. I just used anti itch cream and had my husband give me massages and scratched my back for me. My butt was also sore around that same time and still is a little. It felt like I had been doing a lot of squats. I actually did not think my butt was any different at first but it just seemed to take shape and get fluffier and better every month. As a matter of fact my husband makes a comment everyday about how good my butt looks. I definitely notice the difference now. I looks very good with my body. I started using a compression vest for my tummy tuck. I just felt like the compression suit was compressing my butt too much. My husband also appreciated that :-) Now I switch up between the vest, compression suit or the Spanx higher power compression garment. If I go a few days without enough compression I start to swell. For my belly button,I used cotton balls shaped into my belly button then taped it. I did this for about 3 months. My belly button looks great. I still tape my tummy tuck scar with medipore tape. I find that this helps it heal flat. I also switch up and use silicone tape sometimes. My vertical scar (wound opening) took a couple of months to completely close. I started using Medihoney (Manuka honey) on the wound and that stuff was awesome. I just applied it to a bandage daily and everyday my wound would heal and close more and more. I started feeling the lipo pain during the second month. It was just a burning sensation on my sides. I especially felt it at night and when I would first get out of the bed in the morning. Right now at the 5 month mark my lower belly is still kind of numb and I feel a tightness in that area and around my belly button. I had extensive muscle repair so I know it is going to take time to completely heal. I also found that I can’t over eat. If I do then my stomach hurts and gets really tight. I lost 10 pounds while I was recovering in the DR and I have gained back 5 pounds. I am really happy with my results so far.

Initial Contact : I first contacted Arelis in November. My surgery was scheduled in January. I contacted her by phone and through Whatsapp. She speaks english pretty good. Her daughter who helps her, speaks english very well. She usually helps her with her whatsapp communication. They actually lived in the states for a while. I told her I was having surgery with Dr. Goico and gave her my expected date of arrival and departure. She doesn’t require a deposit. She said to pay her after I arrive. To make sure she had my name and dates I sent her a whatsapp message confirming the information. She contacted me through whatsapp about a month before I left, requesting that I send her my flight information once I had it.

Cost: Arelis charged $120 a day for me and $60 a day for my husband. This included transportation, meals, snacks, supplies, and daily care. I know it’s expensive but my first time doing this I wanted someone who would handle everything. I also wanted someone to take care of me and be with me through this process. I also didn’t want to worry about being nickeled and dimed for everything. I wanted all inclusive care.

Airport: After a long delay I arrived at the airport in the DR very late. I was able to contact Arelis through whatsapp letting her know that my flight was delayed and gave her my new arrival time and information. She replied immediately letting me know it was okay, just keep her updated. When I left the baggage claim area at the airport Arelis and her assistant were there holding a sign with my name on it. She greeted me and my husband with hugs and we were on our way to the recovery house.

Recovery House: The recovery house is on the 6th floor of a gated condo building. It is located in what is considered one of the best neighborhoods in Santo Domingo (Piantini). There are also onsite security/property keepers. The recovery house was very nice. The building is not the newer condo type buildings, but it is nice. Arelis house is a two story condo with modern decor. There are three recovery bedrooms on the first floor of the house, so you don’t have to climb any stairs. All of the bedrooms have private bathrooms and individually remote controlled air conditioning. There are flat screen tv’s in all the rooms with cable. There are some english stations but we brought our own HDMI cord and attached our laptop to the tv and watched netflix. The Wifi was pretty good.

Food: The food was really good. She loves to cook and feed you. She has an assistant who stays there and helps with your care and the cooking. Some of the things we ate were salmon, steaks, tacos, fish, pork and chicken. She always served lots of vegetables. My husband and I loved the food. I was eating like crazy before my surgery, but after surgery my appetite wasn’t the same. I had to tell her to feed me a little less food, because I didn’t want to waste it. She made sure I ate healthy nutritious meals. She does ask you what you like to eat and she tries to accommodate. We had three meals a day and two snacks. The snacks were usually fresh cut fruits. After my surgery I had fresh pineapple juice everyday. This really helped with my bruising during recovery. The last week we were there she ordered us some fast food a few nights. We ordered pizza (which was so good) and chinese food. You can bring some snacks if you want. I know how I am after surgery so I brought some protein bars and almonds just in case I didn’t want to eat. Some of my meals were served in my room but most of the time we ate at the table, family style. I didn’t mind cause it was nice to get out of the room for a while.

Supplies: Arelis supplies a lot of items. She had baby wipes, button down gowns with pockets, hand soap, chux, wedge bed pillows, gauze, tape, gloves, blankets, and lots of bed pillows. There is a pharmacy next door to the condo and a convenience store a few blocks away that sells everything. So if it's something you forgot or don’t want to pack you can purchase it there. The Plastimedic clinic provides compression socks, 2 lipo foam pads, and one stage 1 Faja .

Transportation: Arelis or her daughter took me to all my appointments and waited until I was finished. Let me tell you, the people in the DR drive like crazy. Every trip was an adventure. They are used to it and I didn’t see any accidents, but it's nothing like driving in the states. Arelis was very accommodating. They even took us back to the airport the day after we arrived because the airline had lost my luggage. She also took us to the store a few times. I was happy that they don’t charge for every trip.

Husband: I am so glad that my husband was with me during this process. It was more of a comfort thing. Just knowing he was there. He really didn’t have to do much because Arelis wanted to take care of me. Even though Arelis had a 24 hour call button, I usually had my husband help me overnight. We were the only ones staying at the recovery house during my surgery so my husband was able to use another room to do his work and make his calls. He worked remotely during our time in the DR. He also likes to workout, so he found a gym that was a 15 minute walk from the recovery house. They gave him a two week membership. That worked out great, because he was able to get out of the house for a while. Arelis made my husband feel welcome and like family, she even fixed some of his favorite meals.

Other Important Stuff: Arelis is so sweet. She is like a mother figure. She took such good care of me. On surgery day she took me and my husband to the clinic and when I woke up she was back at the clinic with my husband. She even went to Subway Subs and brought him something to eat for his dinner when he stayed overnight with me at the clinic. The next morning she came back and helped the massage therapist put me in my first faja. She then helped me get discharged and taken to the car where she very carefully drove me back to the house. The first few days were tough. It was hard to do anything by myself. She helped me in and out of bed, go to the bathroom, wash up and get dressed. My button down dresses really came in handy for my doctor's/massage visits. I also had a fanny pack that I used to place my drains inside of or I wore a marena bra that has closures on it to hold the drains. She is a drain expert. She kept my drains clear of clogs and recorded my output everyday. She also was in contact with Karel (Dr.FG’s assistant) everyday about my care. She made sure all of my massage appointments were scheduled and let me know daily what time I would be going. Arelis also administered the Heparin shots every night. These are the blood thinner shots Dr.Goico wants you to have for the first 7 days. He also gave me antibiotics and some pain medicine to take daily. Arelis made sure I took my medicine on time daily. My faja, t-shirts, compression socks etc. were washed every couple of days, as needed.

Arelis is a excellent care giver. If you want someone who is hands on and will handle everything from the time you get off the plane to the time you leave, then she is the best. I understand why Dr. Goico recommends her.

Well, I am a little over one month post op and I am finally feeling better. Recovery has been good except for that back pain. Even though it's still there it is not as intense as it was before. I noticed that I was having some swelling in my lower back where I was having pain. So, I decided to put a piece of my lipo foam under my faja on my back area and the swelling has started to go down.

The tummy tuck has been mostly painless. I still have numbness on my lower back and abdomen. I also still have some swelling in my lower abdominal area. I did have a little dehiscence (wound seperation) at the "T" scar. I caught myself stretching out (which I am used to doing) while I was sleeping and I think it caused some separation. That's the downside to the vertical scar, you have to be very careful. Its easy to put pressure on that area and cause separation. Also, remember to keep your legs bent and not straight while laying down to do your massages. Anyway, Dr. Goico assured me that it was not infected and would heal fine, and it is doing well. My horizontal scar looks good. I am applying rosehip oil and after it dries I apply Medipore tape over it. The tape has helped the scar heal flat.

I am standing about 90% straight now, but I notice by the end of the day I am bent over a little more. I had lipo on my flanks, back, and under my arms (bra fat area). I am having a little annoying pain in those areas from time to time. I have my husband massage those areas with oil and arnica cream and it usually helps.

I am really pleased with my butt lift. It was so swollen in the beginning that I thought it was going to be too big. I wanted it to be very natural looking. As the swelling is going down I am really happy with what I am seeing. Dr. FG did a great job. I was concerned about losing fat by laying on my butt after surgery, but it has been fine. Dr. FG said he puts extra fat in to compensate for some fat loss.

I am still wearing my faja 24/7 and plan to do that for the first two months. Some nights I sleep in a binder. I am currently in a Maria E stage 2 faja. I always put the lipo foam under my faja to help with compression. I have moved down one row of hooks weekly on my faja. I know they like to move it faster but I refuse to be in pain from a faja. I think it should be tight enough to apply compression but you should be able to breathe and it should not cut off your circulation. So I am now ready to move to the next smaller size.

Dr. Goico has been available and responds quickly to any of my questions or concerns. I am really pleased with my results so far. Everyday I look in the mirror I see my body changing and becoming more shapely :-)