Over Fifty - Don't Be Afraid. My Body Was Restored to my Former Beauty Queen Shape! - Encino, CA

Ten months later, and I am so very happy with my results. Take a look at my journey.

After decades of being the "pretty big girl", I wanted to be normal, again. I wanted people to see my face first and not my excess weight. I was tired of being the beautiful woman trapped in the "overweight" body. Last January, I committed a full year working with my RFO doctor, nutritionist, RFO group therapy, and personal trainer. I thought that I could restore my body by exercise and diet alone. That was not possible! Yes, I lost 55 lbs from diet and exercising 3-days per week. However, it only made matters worst because I then had sagging arms, tummy, back, legs. Worst of all, my full D-cups were reduced to a barely there B-cups, more specifically, flat breast pointing toward the floor.
So, I interviewed five plastic surgeons. I explained that I wanted to keep my curvy shape and just wanted to firm up a few key areas. I did not want to be transformed into a "thin stick with big boobs." Some doctors had their own vision what they could do for me. They offered to liposuction for everything from head-to-toe, including my knees. Others offered to give me a Brazilian butt using the fat that they removed from my belly. There was nothing wrong with my perky, round, "sista girl" butt. I didn't want any of that extra work. I also wanted to keep my big hips and thunder thighs. I wanted fuller breasts and a smaller waist.
I arrived 30-minutes early to each of my visits, on purpose. You can learn a lot about the office staff and patient satisfaction/complaints just by sitting and observing the waiting room. In some offices, I heard nurses and receptionist being rude to patients who were clearly in pain or in a panic state of mind. I watched how the staff treated each other - disrespectfully or graciously. I observed staff frantically searching for missing files, incorrect patient information or proof of payment. I saw spoiled children creating havoc in the waiting rooms and non-responsive parents ignoring the high noise level that they created. Their offices were chaotic and disorganized. Some office waiting rooms were so small, that I had to shift my chair to let patients arrive or leave. In one cases, I was so disturbed by the lack of order, that I left without ever seeing the doctor. The last thing I wanted was to be in that chaos (in pain) after my surgery.
TIP to surgeons: ban children from your waiting rooms! Make those disrespectful mothers find a babysitter or stay at home! Your patients are already stressed out when they arrive to make the decision to have an elective surgery. Loud, demanding, crying brats, destroying the magazines and demanding candy treats in the waiting room, only increase our level of anxiety.
After checking references, patient rating on websites, medical board of California, and a host of other resources, I decided to move forward with S. Sean Younai, MD, FACS. His office was clean, spacious and lots of rooms for patient privacy. He and his staff were cheerful and caring. He listened carefully to my requests and was able to show me actual before and after pictures of patients that had my body shape. He clearly understood that I wanted to be a curvy woman, but not too provocative that it would distract from my professionalism.
In preparation for the surgery, I was supplied with ample information (packets). They explained the DOs and DO-NOTs; how to care for the recovery and number to call 24/7 if I needed help or had questions. The surgery was great! I had booth BA and Tummy Tuck.
Today, I love my body and I am happy with the level of care that I was given by Dr. Younai and staff.