Successful Scar Removal and Liposuction - Kailua Kona, HI

Aloha, I am a forty two year old patient of Dr. Schlesinger’s. I had surgery two months ago. The initial consultation was for scar reduction (I had several surgeries as a teenager. The scar adhered to my abdominal wall, which would tear when I coughed or sneezed – excruciating!) Dr. S came across as very knowledgeable and competent during the consultation. He seemed very familiar with the procedure, explained what it entailed, talked about expected outcome and risks, and answered the questions that I had brought. After he took pictures and measurements, I asked him about liposuction vs. abdominoplasty… “since we’re going to be in there anyway” & It’s my turn for my mid-life crisis… He said that my skin was perfect for liposuction, and that abdominoplasty would be overkill. After getting price quotes, I went home and took a few months to talk to my husband and think about it.
After a few particularly nasty scar tearing fits, I decided that I really did want the procedure, but I wanted to lose weight beforehand. I did the HCG diet, lost 40lbs and then came back in to see Dr. S. He was thrilled with my weightloss and re-measured me. We scheduled the surgery (scar reduction and lipo), and off to Honolulu I went, husband in tow. We rented a condo, I knew that I would be more comfortable with a real bathroom and kitchen, and stayed for three days after the surgery – and was very glad that I had the extra time! The surgery staff were very friendly and chatty, the offices are swank, the anesthesiologist was a great guy, I felt very comfortable and cared for…so much different from the emergency surgeries that I had undergone before! Dr. S came in a talked to my husband and myself before they put me out, he made sure that we didn’t have any unanswered questions or concerns and reassured us that everything would be fine… next thing I know, I’m waking up, pain isn’t too bad at all, and everyone is saying how well it went. Apparently, I was pretty dopey because the doctor said that I needed to spend the night at the center because he didn’t want anything to happen to me on the trip home (this was at 9pm – he came back to check on me!). So I had a slumber party with another patient, and went back to the rental the next morning, where I lounged around on pain pills and sprayed lots of stinky DMSO on myself for the next few days.
As the swelling slowly went down, my new shape emerged. It’s pretty awesome to fit in my clothes that haven’t seen the light of day since before my son was born 11yrs ago! I went from a size 16 to a 12 on the diet, and now I’m an 8! (There is still some residual swelling, so I may be a 6 by the end of it all.) But, the biggest thrill is that I can cough and sneeze- painfree! I can do exercises that I previously was physically incapable of doing, due to the adhesions and oddly enough, my menstrual cycle has regularized (actually, I was ok with the infrequency, but Dr. S says “don’t complain about being healthy”). I continue to get ultrasound (Tasha is awesome!) and the Dr. checks my progress. The only negative that I can think of is that I’m itchy in some of the lipo-ed places, apparently this is fairly common…it kind of feels like a sunburn that’s a few days old, annoying more than painful. This too shall pass, and what price vanity, eh? Oh, and recovery took a little longer than expected. I have a very physical job and went back to work after two weeks. I should have waited at least one, maybe two more. It was doable, but I think that it may have prolonged the swelling. Anyway, I recommend giving yourself lots of recovery space.
I can wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Schlesinger. He is highly experienced (35+ yrs), he is passionate about surgery and patient care, he’s a funny guy to boot… and he did a great job on me! Mahalo!