My Journey to my Dream (Part 2) - Dominican Republic

Hi ladies
I’m doing great I will post pictures soon

Hello Everyone,
Wow going to a foreign country for cosmetic surgery! Some people thought I was crazy but I did extensive research, poring over reviews and photographs, and even spoke to clients who had had procedures done here in the U.S. It seemed to me that the expertise and experience along with the best “bang for the buck”, lay in having the procedures done in the Dominican Republic and then it was just a matter of deciding what procedures I really wanted done and narrowing down the choice of the Doctor to perform them. So, let me divide up this review into the following format:
1. BIO / CHOOSING A DOCTOR
2. CONSULTATION MEETING WITH THE DOCTOR
3. SURGERY
4. RECOVERY HOUSE
5. POST-OP
6. OVERALL
I am a 54-year-old woman living in the U.S., who frankly wanted to look and feel younger and I wanted to feel good about me and how I looked again. To accomplish this I wanted a tummy tuck, liposuction to my mid-section, love handles, back rolls, arms, and my double chin, along with lifting my breasts and bringing them out from under my arms. Other areas of concern were my butt as I wanted a fuller rounder shape and additional liposuction to my inner thighs.
After much research and comparing results and reviews the obvious choice for me was Dr. Mallol. I loved the beauty of the shapes he had sculpted in others and his reviews were excellent. I e-mailed him and described the work I wanted done and return contact was quick and felt very personal. He asked a series of questions and wanted photographs and medical history and based on the information I provided, he gave me his recommendations, options and costs for the individual procedures and an overall package including the following:
Initial consultation/examination
Blood work
X-ray
EKG
Anesthesiologist
Surgical procedures
One night at the clinic
1 Garment (Faja) and a Bra
5 Massages
Medical follow-up appointments
8-day stay at the Recovery House
Ground transportation from and to the airport (SDQ)
Post-operative medications
My traveling partner and I chose to arrive a few days early to get acclimated and enjoy some of what the Dominican Republic had to offer in terms of recreation as I was quite sure I would not be up for anything but getting home once the surgery and recovery were completed. So, we made arrangements to stay in a Hotel and then transfer to the recovery house after the procedure. It was decided that I would meet with Dr. Mallol the day prior to the procedure as the extent of what I was having done would require most of a full day to accomplish and he needed to examine me directly and give me the options and his recommendations.
2. CONSULTATION AND MEETING WITH THE DOCTOR
Our Driver picked us up at the hotel and drove us straight to meet the doctor. We walked into the Hospital. It was actually very nice and clean similar to any reputable clinic and hospital you would find here in the U.S. I was advised to go upstairs and taken to a room to have my medical history taken and my blood drawn while waiting for the doctor. He walked in with a big smile and He spoke very good English. He was charming, funny and very knowledgeable. I was so impressed at how patient he was in taking me step-by-step over everything that he was going to do. All in all, he spent what felt like 2 hours talking with me for this consult. This was the breakdown and what we decided after his examination:
He was going to perform a tummy tuck and liposuction on my entire mid-section area, my back rolls, love handles and transfer some of it to my butt. Additional areas included the arms and double chin area. After examining my breasts, it was determined that I had far more fat than actual breast tissue and that there was little he could do to improve them without implants. He explained that I would end up looking somewhat disproportionate without them as well, so I opted to add implants to the procedure for an additional cost. We discussed the proper sizing and type of implants and the long-term safety of them.
A final Price for the procedures was agreed to and signatures and payment given. They only accept Cash in U.S. Dollars so be prepared and have it available and have some additional on hand (if possible) should it be decided that other procedures or areas not included in your original estimate are required and/or desirable. The hardest part after all is setting everything up and getting there, so you will find that addition work is a bargain compared to coming back another time. Budget accordingly.
Prior to leaving he gave me his personal WhatsApp number. This was for us to be in contact should I have any questions or concerns. He will also do several follow-ups with you using this method of communication. I was then advised to fast overnight. No food or fluids. Our driver took us back to the hotel to rest up before the big day.
3. SURGERY
The next morning we woke up and the driver picked up my friend and I and we headed over to the hospital. This part was really impressive, we must get approved by three different health care practitioners prior to starting the surgery.
Nurse. - She asks brief questions, checks your blood pressure, heart rate, jots down a bunch of information.
Cardiologist. - Comes in to check your heart rate and most everything the nurse does, then jots down all their notes and approves you.
Anesthesiologist - He comes into the room right before surgery, checks all the above, jots down notes and takes you through the entire procedure.
You're then given your hospital garments. The doctor will then come into the room and mark you up and calm you down. They then put you on a wheel chair lock your stuff up in a cubby in your recovery room and roll you down into the surgery room. Once in the surgery room, the anesthesiologist will talk to you and calm you down and before you know it you're in a daze. I woke up in-between surgery but never once did I feel the slightest bit of pain. I remember waking somewhat and then going back into a daze.
What to expect when waking up from surgery:
Waking up from Surgery was rough. Every patient spends an entire night at the hospital. This is for your health. I woke up with three tubes coming out of me. The first one being your IV for giving pain and other medications through. The second one is a Foley catheter and at the end of it was a bag full of your urine so they can monitor your fluid output. The third being your drainage tube. I had no idea I was going to have one of these and let me explain to you what this thing is. So this tube is wrapped up around you internally and pretty much lines your waist. It pulls fluids out of the body from the front and back through very tiny incisions and connects into one tube externally pulling into a spring-loaded container that is about the size of a DVD and a few inches in thickness. The main purpose of this tube is to drain out all excessive fluids. The nurses at the hospital will flush this container out for you when it's full and the staff at the recovery home will continue to do so throughout the week. As each day goes by you start to notice your body is draining less and less fluid. Which is good news!! Also I feared the idea of having the drain removed but it was actually not that bad at all, I laughed at how fearful I was when removing it because I actually felt very little.
You will also wake up with a faja on, the faja is a compression garment that is used to keep everything in place and help you heal quicker. The best way to describe it is that it looks like compression shorts connected to a corset that hooks up on the front with straps over the shoulders. A sort of one piece lycra body suit. The compression against the skin feels soothing in a way and when it’s not on, everything just hurts. It feels super tight at first because of all the inflammation but after the first week or so things really start to improve. At the hospital you are hooked up to an IV until you leave. After a few hours from waking up they will finally bring you water very small amounts at a time to not shock the body. They will also inject pain and other medications into your IV as required. Only the next morning will you get food. I was given soup and a juice box. Yet again small amounts so you don't vomit which at this stage would be very painful. I have to complement the staff at the hospital as they were very helpful and caring even though there can be a few challenges with the language barrier, as not all are fluent in English.
There is some possibility that after surgery you may be required to get a blood transfusion depending on your hemoglobin levels. I was actually required to have one because my level was lower than the normal. There is an additional charge for this and it did take quite a while for the blood to arrive and then be transfused into me. Remember liposuction is a serious procedure it drains your body. Depending on how low your level is you may need this additional blood. Each unit of blood costs about $100.00, be sure to have extra cash on hand as cards are not accepted.
Let me also say that days one and two are the worst part. Liposuction is a painful procedure your entire body feels stiff and sore but I promise you if you can get through this initial period it only gets better!
The doctor will come visit you the next morning in the hospital. He brings you all your medications and discharge information. He will go over each medication and everything and even complement you on how amazing you already look. He will get you to laugh, I promise you that. You will then be discharged from the hospital and taken down the elevator to get into your driver’s car to be taken to the recovery house. The staff at your recovery house will help get you upstairs and get you settled in bed. You will then receive what will feels like the best lunch of your life. The doctor will do follow-ups throughout your stay and continue to do after you leave.
4. RECOVERY HOUSE
At the Recovery House, you will be assigned a room which depending on which one and what options you have selected may be a single (higher cost) or a double/triple shared accommodation. You will be provided with a Hospital type bed and Staff will assist you with Medications, self-care, dressing changes etc. Meals and snacks are provided let them know in advance if you have any significant dietary restrictions and they will work to accommodate you. The food is simple but decent and it is very important that you eat although (especially at first) you may not feel much like eating. Your body needs nutrients and protein in order to heal and if it isn’t getting them from eating a balanced diet, it will get it from the fat that you just paid good money to move around your body. The fat placed in your butt for example may start to be consumed if insufficient nutrients are being provided by what you’re eating, so word to the wise, EAT! Also, water is critical as you also need to stay hydrated to aid in the healing process. Be sure that the water is bottled or purified as local municipal water is unlikely to be reliably safe for consumption.
Simple, easy to get in/out of clothing (such as a dress that buttons in the front) a robe, your own towel or even a favorite pillow will make things much easier and more comfortable. You will receive almost daily massages which are essential to the recovery process and help to remove excess fluids from the tissues. Though there is some pain associated with them, overall you will find you feel better afterward. The massages are conducted in your room and the ladies that give them are amazing and very caring. the recovery house Staff can have items (such as OTC meds or takeout food) delivered to the house for you at an additional cost, it is a good idea to have a supply of Dominican Pesos to pay for things with, as the exchange rate for direct U.S. Dollar purchases varies widely and is usually not in your favor. Banks will give the best rate, don’t be tempted by the exchange booths at the airport! I would also advise against using the local ATM machines as they can and will hold and keep your card if there are any flags on a transaction from your bank or from their end and you will have to work with both entities to recover your card. Simply put, take extra cash and exchange some at a bank for Dominican Pesos and things will go much smoother for your smaller transactions.
They will try to make you as comfortable as possible but communication is the key, ask questions be your own advocate and be sure you are understanding what you need to and that they advise you of the times for your massages, follow up appointments and critical things such as getting you to the airport on time for your flight home etc. We found our driver (provided by Dr. Mallol’s office) to be very accommodating, flexible and fluent in English, a definite plus!
5. POST-OP:
It has now been 4 months since my procedure and overall I am quite happy with the results. I first off want to talk about the incisions the doctor made on my body for the tummy tuck and the liposuction. I had concerns about scaring from the tummy tuck and from where he was going to poke me for the liposuction and how noticeable the scars would be afterwards. I’m sure you all have this question and so here is what I found out:
The Tummy Tuck incisions are the largest and will take 6+ months to completely heal and though they are still noticeable there has been vast improvement over time. As for the liposuction, each incision is super small. To put in into perspective it's as if someone took a permanent marker and dabbed a small dot onto your skin. It is actually pretty amazing how he could perform all of this work through such tiny little openings. The incision is where my drainage tube was coming out of a was slightly bigger than the others. I actually purchased silicone gel sheets which you can cut up and place over your scars purchased at my local pharmacy. These have been working amazingly well and though costly, I strongly advise you all to purchase them.
Doctor will also advise you to continue getting Lymphatic massages to help with drainage. Although you don't have the tube in you to drain the fluids your body will find other ways to dispose of it. It is very important to get a few a month and more if possible. It shouldn't be too hard for you to find someone in the area where you live that offers this service.
Continuing to wear your Faja is critical and the one that you are originally given right out of surgery will get eventually get loose on you. Out of surgery you are quite swollen and through the healing process and fluid drainage you will go down in size. The doctor recommends that you go down a size and order a new faja online. Buy a quality Faja, the best ones seem to come from Columbia and as it will be worn a lot and washed frequently, you want something that will hold up and it’s worth the investment. As time goes on I notice my results are getting better and better. They say it takes 6 months to fully see them and I can't wait. My chin has turned out great. Best of all, my Breasts look and feel so natural and I am loving the proportions he sculpted me to.
6. OVERALL:
It takes courage to go through with this if it truly is something you want. To build your self-esteem and confidence at a much lower cost than what doctors charge us in the U.S., is well worth it. Not only are you going to look and feel lovely but you will notice the boost in confidence you will gain. We each have only one life and we all deserve to look and feel our very best each and every day.
Dr. Emmanuel Mallol is really an incredible talent and if you are stressing about choosing the right doctor, I promise you he will not let you down. There are several things he did that I found to be impressive and spoke to his character. He gave me my dream body but during our consult he never sold me on anything, he told me what he truly believed would work and get me as close to the ideal I had in my head of what I desired to look like. He listened, he heard me and did what he said he would do. That to me is proof that this man loves what he does and is willing to go above and beyond to ensure your happiness. He truly cares about his patients and his follow up care and personal messages will assure you of that. It is one thing to practice as a Doctor/Surgeon but to be an artist as well is a whole other level. This man doesn't only liposuction your body he sculpts it and I think that’s why I was so impressed with his work from the very start. I bid you all a Bon Voyage on your journey to find the new you!