40yrs Old Mum Who Has Had 2 C Sections with Large Muscle Separation and Umbilical Hernia, for Mini Tummy Tuck and a Little Lipo.

Name: 40yrs Old Mum Who Has Had 2 C Sections with Large Muscle Separation and Umbilical Hernia, for Mini Tummy Tuck and a Little Lipo.
Item: Alex Campbell, MD
Rating: 5
Author: Principessa_

Principessa_
Worth It
Cost: $5,495
Alex Campbell, MD, Premium Care , Cartagena, Colombia, CO

I am a busy mum of two beautiful girls aged 1.5yrs...

26 Nov 2016
3 days post

I am a busy mum of two beautiful girls aged 1.5yrs and 2.5yrs. And they are gorgeous my world. But after two very close together pregnancies and probably the fact I was at the end of my thirties my tummy muscles never recovered.
I continued to work out through out both pregnancies which may have helped keep my shape in some ways, but unfortunately I ended up with a very large muscle separation at the end of it all resulting in me looking four months pregnant regardless of the fact I was back to my original weight.
My husband and I decided I should not rush into anything first try Pilates, yoga, do as much research as possible on getting those muscles back together again. I bought a binder which I wore and we said let's give it at least one year and a half to allow the body time to heal and of course if we want to go for a third and final child, before making any drastic surgery decision's.
So here we are I can safely say those muscles are not coming back together ????. Even though I could live with the tummy I don't want to, I don't need a miracle but I want my nice figure back and get into those bikinis ????. I have always been a beach girl and the thought of not wanting to get out there seems like a big part of life would be taken away from me.
So with some research money was going to play a factor as well as choosing the right doctor. I came to the decision on Premium Care, Dr Alex Campbell and his lovely wife Dr Restrepo.
We figured we could try and do a a two for one family holiday and mummy makeover, lol. That's how I sold it to the hubby ????.

Pro op pics and four days post op pics

27 Nov 2016
4 days post

Day of surgery and day 2

27 Nov 2016
4 days post

I ended up staying for two nights in a small hotel room across from the Premium Care Clinic. This ended up being a blessing in disguise as I needed to get carried in to the hotel by a chair. So there was no way I could have negotiated four flights in our apartment.
2) I ended up having stronger pain medication in the hospital and as a result of that and a little stress I was unable to pee. So we faced another obstacle and that was that I needed to have a catheter inserted. Wow does that hurt, the nurses and doctors were amazing but unfortunately we had a few complications where we needed to insert it in and out and in and out again for various reasons and that was horrible. I had a nurse stay with me all the time and between Angela, Nico and Manuela they were so sweet and wonderful.

Day 3

27 Nov 2016
4 days post

Day three started so much better, we removed the catheter and I was able to pee, yippee! So after Dr Campbell gave me the all clear I was met by Christina who is also a lovely rep at Premium care and we set off for some lunch and headed back to the old city where I met my hubby and kids in a new apartment.

I felt a million times better without the catheter and although I have the drains I can hide them fairly well so my babies won't tug on them. I am sore and the drains are leaking a little but it was great to be home.
That evening we sat and had a little pizza and continued my medication and an ok sleep. As good as can be expected in bed with three large pillows upright.

Day 4

27 Nov 2016
4 days post

Day 4 is also another good day, I am still sore but we managed to get up and go for a lovely stroll through the old town and had some delicious coffee, I am tucking my drains in my underwear.
I showered removing the Faja and having a relaxing massage from Virginia(she comes everyday to help relieve the swelling). This is such a pampering touch after all of the previous pain.
The swelling is a little more today and she assures me it will probably get a little worse before it gets better. My tummy has uneven swelling so I have the epifoam underneath my faja, this is too smooth out any wrinkles.
My girls are a little upset and acting up because I can't pick them up and cuddle them so that's hard. But we ended up happy by bedtime. Sleeping was a little harder because of the swelling but not too bad.

Day 5

27 Nov 2016
4 days post

Today is raining the swelling is a little more so we are relaxing in the apartment and will venture out to the mall a little later. Bruising is quite bad but I feel good. The drains are still in and I have an appointment tomorrow with the masseuse and then Dr Campbell to take a look at everything and redress the wound.
Fingers crossed the drains can come out , they are usually in 7-10 days. But you never know.

Day 6

28 Nov 2016
5 days post

So last night I was complaining of some tenderness on my right side near where the drain is. I noticed it a few days back and just thought it might be sensitivity close to the drains etc.
It seems to be getting worse and more tender to touch, like an abscess under the skin. Could this be a Seroma? Mmmm.... I just couldn't sleep at all last night.
I cannot see it as it is under the bandages but I have an appointment this morning at 9 with the masseuse and then a review with Dr Campbell at 2.30pm so I will update on the progress a little later.

On a brighter note hubby the kids and I went out to the mall yesterday and I had my hair cut and colored just the way I love it. I was thrilled what usually costs me $300 cost $86. I felt so much fresher we had a lovely dinner downstairs at a ceviche restaurant and the fish was delicious.

Day 6 continued

29 Nov 2016
6 days post

Virginia gave me an ice massage this morning wow that feels great and I can feel it helps with the swelling. The afternoon was my check up with doctor.
So far we have taken the right side drain out as that was starting to hurt and irritate me. The left side will be taken out in two days.
The swelling causing a pouch between my rib cage and belly button, he is not sure about but feels it needs more compression to push the skin down, so we have added some extra epigram to that area under the faja. Let's hope this works.
Last night was a little stroll through the old town and a relaxing evening stopped for a Mojito at a Cuban bar before retiring.

Four Weeks Today

22 Dec 2016
29 days post

Sorry for the delay. So four weeks today and the swelling in the legs is a lot less I am walking each day for a little exercise. I am feeling good.
I still have the bulge above my belly button and breast bone. I was concerned that perhaps the Dr didn't manage to sew all the way to the xyphoid point because it was a mini tummy tuck. He has assured me that he did, so it must still be swelling, so I am keeping the compression and faja on all the time and trying to master the art of patience lol.
I am not supposed to lift anymore than 10kilos for two months. That is not really working out as my two girls are 11 and 14kg and I have to lift them into cars and high chairs, beds etc but I try to minimise it as much as I can. The scar is nearly fully healed so I will take the tape off in a few days and start on the silicone gel for the scar.
I am really pleased with the scar it is really neat and tidy Dr has done a really good job with that. I will post photos soon.

Nearly Two Months Post Op

17 Jan 2017
2 months post

Hi all,
So far everything is fine except I still have this large bulge at the top of my abdomen. I have worn the compression all of the time and extra padding. It has been there since the surgery so we are hoping it is swelling.
But I will ask again if it could be anything else.
I will keep you posted. I also feel like I have pulled a muscle or something that is a bit sore from running after the kids. It is very important to take it easy in the first few months even if you feel recovered, you really are not.
Everything else is fine but I do not want to return to the gym until I am completely in the clear, so for the meantime just walking each day.

26 Nov 2016

My initial consultation was via email with Premium Care and once I had sent off photos and descriptions we then followed up with a skype session with Dr Alex Campbell. My initial impressions were extremely positive, I found Dr Campbell very professional but extremely relaxed and had no problems chatting with him. He made me feel extremely at ease and nothing was too much trouble. We talked about different procedures and decided upon a mini tummy tuck, with muscle repair and umbilical hernia repair. My muscle separation goes right up towards the rib cage and he assures me he could still get to it with a mini. So fingers crossed! We decided fairly quickly we are like that once we have made up our minds that's it, off we go. So one month later we packed up the kids boarded an extremely long flight from Dubai where we live to Miami, U.S.A. We had five days to relax and spend some family time at the pool and beach and shops and then headed on the next 3hr flight to Cartagena, Colombia. Once we arrived a Premium Care rep came and treated us and took us to our accommodation. The next afternoon I headed for my pre op consultation in the offices and consultation with the aenethetist. That evening we walked around the old town and had a lovely steak and some red wine and after ten o'clock no food or drinks so showered with sterile wash and hoped into bed. The next morning was a five am wake up quick wash and headed to the Medi Help hospital to register and have vitals taken and prepped for surgery. It was very cold and after getting wheeled into the operating theatre I was nervous but o.k. I was greated by the nurses and anesthetist and Dr Campbell. Dr Campbell washed me with a warm sterile soap which was much nicer than the freezing cold they usually use so it was quite relaxing. Then onto the operating table and before I could even think I felt woozy and was out. I woke up in recovery and not sure how long I was there but quite a lot longer than usual, I am not very good with pain management. So they kept me under observation a little longer and provided stronger medication. I did forget to mention we did have some hiccups. No1. We had accommodation booked for seven nights that I found online, unfortunately we couldn't stay there for the first three nights so I booked another small apartment. What I didn't realize until the pro op which happened to be the night before surgery that our accommodation was four steep flights of stairs with no elevator

5 out of 5 stars Overall rating

5 out of 5 stars Doctor's bedside manner

5 out of 5 stars Answered my questions

5 out of 5 stars After care follow-up

5 out of 5 stars Time spent with me

5 out of 5 stars Phone or email responsiveness

5 out of 5 stars Staff professionalism & courtesy

5 out of 5 stars Payment process

5 out of 5 stars Wait times