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POSTED UNDER Mommy Makeover REVIEWS

Mid-30s, 2 Kids (5.15'', 123 Lbs)- Extended TT, 200cc Moderate Profile and Lipo - Bye Hanging Skin, Hello Boobies! - Moncton, NB

ORIGINAL POST

Well, I have finally gathered the courage to write...

prettysunflower
WORTH IT$15,000
Well, I have finally gathered the courage to write this review after months and months of reading other reviews and finally going through my very own mommy makeover (with muscle repair and liposuction) a little over 2 weeks ago. I promised myself that I would write a review to share my journey as reading others have helped me tremendously!!

A little about me... I'm 5.15''and 123lbs and a mother of two. My last pregnancy was brutal as he was a big baby and left me with muscle separation and lots of hanging skin. I also had to have physiotherapy after to straighten my hips and pelvis. During my pregnancies I gained 35 and 40 lbs (and lost the weight through healthy eating and exercise). Prior to that, in my late teens and early twenties, I had gained and lost about 65lbs (I lost the weight when I changed my eating habits and started exercising and have never looked back!). As far into my childhood as I can remember, even before gaining the 65 lbs, I never had a flat stomach. I remember always having this pooch on my stomach that never seemed to disappear even when I lost weight. I also never had much as far as breasts. They got a tad bigger while I was pregnant but nothing like I would have hoped.

So here I was 30 something years old with two kids and I had the belly of a 65 year old woman who had 10 kids and my breasts were pretty much reduced to saggy nipples *whomp whomp*. I was beyond uncomfortable in my own body/skin and just couldn't stand it any longer!! So my Physician and I decided on an extended tummy tuck to address the saggy hips, breast augmentation (200cc Mentor Moderate Profile – I wanted to remain small as I am pretty active), liposuction of the upper butt/lower back, inside thighs and inside knees.

In my own personal journal I wrote down how I felt after the procedure, so I’ll copy/paste some of these entries…

prettysunflower's provider

Dr. Susan E. Skanes

Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
Staff professionalism & courtesy
Payment process
Wait times

I decided to go with Dr. Susan E. Skanes. She is the surgeon my family doctor recommended when I discussed wanting a Tummy Tuck. Dr. Skanes doesn’t advertise herself as some of the other surgeons in the region do and when I asked her about it, she indicated that she doesn’t feel the need to do so since she has been doing this for 20 years, business is good and her work speaks for itself. She has a very caring demeanor and I felt she really took the time to listen to me. She encouraged me to come back to her office every 3 to 4 weeks to address any questions or concerns and to discuss the procedure. I really felt by the time I had the surgery 6 months later, that she understood what I wanted and expected out of this surgery. Likewise, I also had a very good idea of what to expect and realistic results that could be achieved which is pretty important as you don’t want to go through all of this and be disappointed in the end. To me, having a surgeon that truly listened to what I WANTED instead of dictating what I NEEDED was very important as I had a consultation with another surgeon in the area who basically told me I needed a butt lift and wanted to put implants bigger than what I was comfortable with. When I suggested smaller implants and liposuction, he just dismissed this entirely. He also did not feel the need to see me again and advised I could deal with his office manager when and if I decided to book the surgery… Mmmhm, NO thank you! Dr. Skanes also has a minimalist approach. The safety of her patients is of great concern to her and she encouraged me to try a less invasive solution before even thinking of taking a more drastic approach (liposuction on the upper butt instead of a body lift or butt lift). She didn’t have a fancy portfolio with before and after photos unlike other surgeons which made me a bit nervous but at the end of the day my intuition told me to go with her plus I felt I would have read or heard something if she were bad. She did manage to find a photo of a breast augmentation she had done and advised that her assistant was in the process of preparing a portfolio of her work.

Replies (1)

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July 14, 2015

Thanks for sharing your story with us. I'm happy to hear that reading other's reviews helped you make your decision. If you feel comfortable, it would be great if you wanted to share some photos with the community.

UPDATED FROM prettysunflower
20 days post

The dreaded Before pictures... urgh!!!

prettysunflower
Here are some of my Before pictures... these were taken 10 days before the surgery.

Replies (2)

July 16, 2015
You look great. How will the scar across the abdomen heal? Did doctor give you any tips?
July 16, 2015
Thanks! My doctor said she though my scar would heal beautifully and I would end up with just a nice white line but it's still pretty early to tell. I removed all the steri-strips yesterday and the day before and scar is pretty raised but I think that's all part of the scarring process. She did mention I could start using Bio Oil or other creams of the sort. When I asked about silicone sheets, she told me not to use them but I'm not sure why... They would be nice right now because my incision is rubbing my clothes and is pretty sensitive! I may ask her again next appointment if the discomfort is still there. I'll post some pictures of the scar on my tummy shortly :)
UPDATED FROM prettysunflower
20 days post

More Before photos... can't believe I'm sharing these!

prettysunflower
These photos were taken a little over 2 months before the procedure, right after Easter, so I weighed about 5 lbs more than I do in the previous pictures.

Replies (0)