Full Tummy Tuck with Body Contouring Lipo and Breast Reduction - A Fresh Start! - Thane, India

Wow! What a journey this has been, and it's not over yet...I would like to not just write a review of my doctor, but share my story - I'm afraid it might be a little too long, but I wanted to describe my experiences as best as I could in case it helps some one else in their journey! So here goes....
It all started with my twin pregnancy in 2007...Due to unexplained bouts of significant bleeding I was put on bed rest for the first 5 months. The result of the bed rest early on, my hypothyroidic condition, and a general reduction in activity as my pregnancy progressed was that I quickly gained a lot of weight, especially in and around my mid-section. By the fifth month I already looked like I was 8 months along, and by the time I delivered my normal-sized boys at full term my belly was HUGE - I could use it as the table for my full-size dinner plate when I sat down to eat! Needless to say, after delivery I was left with separated, loose abdominals and lots of stretch marks and loose hanging skin. Also, as a result of the pregnancy and subsequent 2 full years of nursing my twin boys, my already ample breast tissue grew to massive proportions and, of course, sagged massively!
After almost 5 years of trying to lose the weight with no success, I was frustrated and depressed. My tummy was always protruding like I was 6 months pregnant, and worse yet, you couldn't tell where my tummy ended and breasts started - it was all one big round mass I was carrying around in front of me! I couldn't find any clothes that fit me due to the size of either my tummy or my chest or both. My self-image had taken a massive hit and the usually vibrant, confident and social me now avoided social activities and became a withdrawn home-body.
Tired of feeling this way, I finally started exploring plastic surgery. Realself is one of the websites I visited a lot and found very helpful. (That is why I am writing my story in detail - so I can pay it forward!) The more I read, the more convinced I became that this was the solution for me. But soon I hit a stumbling block. Most of my close family members except my parents (who remained my pillars of support through it all), including my husband, weren't convinced when I told them that no matter how much I tried to eat right and exercise regularly, it made no difference to my weight or appearance. I was told that if I only exercised a little more and/or ate a little less, if I really really tried, I could lose the weight...that so many people do it all the time without taking "shortcuts", that cosmetic surgery is an expensive "cop out", an easy way out. (Speaking from experience, there is NOTHING easy about getting cosmetic surgery - but I will get to that later) My husband was additionally (and more so) concerned about the risks of surgery and general anesthesia - What if something bad happened to me like coma or death? In his opinion, if I had a "true" medical problem that required surgery then it would make sense, but why would I take on those risks for elective surgery to fix "merely" cosmetic problems? This created a lot of self-doubt in me and I almost gave up on the idea.
Then came the new year - 2013...And I just couldn't bear the thought of going through yet another year of the same frustration and low self-esteem. Then, in a moment of absolute clarity, I realized that I had to put myself first and do this for ME, no matter what anyone thought! I was willing to take the small risk of something going wrong for the potential pay-off of a much more fulfilled life. And I knew that if I felt good about myself, it would only make me a better wife and mother, so ultimately I would also be doing this for my husband and kids! After that realization, there was no looking back for me. Albeit reluctantly, once he saw my determination, my husband also came around!
With that hurdle cleared, the next thing to tackle was "Where"? It's no secret how expensive cosmetic surgery is in the USA, and how much cheaper medical care overseas is. But that wasn't the only factor to consider. I am a first generation immigrant and all my immediate family is in Mumbai, India. I couldn't even dream of getting the kind of support and care for me and my kids post-surgery here in the US as I would with my extended family in India. And so Mumbai became the obvious choice. Next big decision: "Who"? After a lot of research and some actual consultation/communication (electronically) with a few surgeons, I finally settled on Dr. Sameer Karkhanis. The first thing that stood out as a "plus" for him was the great reviews he and his facility got, especially on realself, and especially by medical tourists because their expectations are typically different (higher) than those of the locals. Medical facilities can be downright scary in India if you can't figure out the right ones to go to, so "medical tourist approved" facilities and doctors are definitely a safer bet. The second "plus" was the price he quoted...he was neither the cheapest, nor the most expensive and I wanted to stay away from both ends of the spectrum. But what really decided it for me was my gut instinct! After only the first couple of communications with him (electronic), I just got this strong "vibe" that he was the right doctor for me, which I never got from any of the others I communicated with. My "belief' in him would be tested when, after all my plans were finalized and tickets were booked, he unilaterally postponed the surgery date on me by 2 weeks. Luckily, I had planned a long-enough trip that I could absorb this delay, but it was still a disappointment to lose those 2 precious weeks. Some family members advised me to contact another renowned surgeon who might be able to operate closer to my originally planned surgery date. But I just could not shake my gut instinct and decided to stick with Dr. Sameer. And I am glad I did! So my advise from my own experience is - Go with your gut (after doing the due research, of course)...it is usually right!
So I finally went under the knife on Apr 30th. The original plan was to do both the tummy and the breasts at the same time, but after a face to face consultation and lab results showing an Hgb count just shy of 13, which was the cutoff for combined procedures, it was decided to do the tummy tuck first followed by the breasts in 5 days. During pre-operative "marking", Dr. Sameer commented on how my fat deposits were "unusual" in their location and amount, and that in his opinion they would have been extremely hard, if not impossible, to get rid of with exercise/diet. After all the self-doubt I went through to arrive at this point, it was good to get this validation!
My first memory post-surgery is of pain - gnawing pain in my abdomen like something was biting/chewing me from the inside! I was in so much pain that even though I could see and feel that my stomach was finally flat, I could not enjoy that moment! The doctor must have given me some strong sedatives/pain killers because the next 24 hours or so after that, all I did or wanted to do was sleep! I had absolutely no appetite and it didn't help that I had a gastric tube going down my nose that felt like something was constantly stuck in my throat and made swallowing quite uncomfortable. The doctor said that by the time they sewed me up my stomach was so bloated with gas that they had to put the tube in to release it. By the next day, when I still hadn't eaten much at all, my well-meaning family pressured me into eating a small meal, following which I vomited and felt very breathless. And that was the beginning of several days of feeling nauseated, bloated and constipated and having no appetite. On top of that, I simply couldn't seem to catch a "full" breath, especially when I tried to lie flat, so I had to sleep upright. Feeling like you can't breathe is the worst feeling in the world! I was on constant oxygen and breathing treatments to help me breathe and keep my pulse ox from dipping too low. Apparently, all this was happening because I had been hit by a double-whammy of sorts. Firstly, I was now quite anemic, as the surgery and lipo had caused my Hgb levels to drop to below 8, resulting in less oxygen in my lungs with resultant breathlessness. Secondly, my GI system had gone on "strike", as a result of the shock of surgery, and also because it just didn't like all the physical pressure from now being "corseted" into a tight space versus the abundant room it previously had with my loose, stretched abdomen! The doctor used the analogy of how a person would feel going from a big open room to a tiny cubicle in one corner of the room to describe how my diaphragm, stomach and intestines now felt! My diaphragm was now pushing up on my lungs, making me short of breath. I had to do breathing exercises several times a day to get my lungs to re-expand and stop "shallow-breathing".
Surprisingly enough, the pain from the tummy tuck was not too bad after the first couple of days, in fact, it was the lipo that hurt a lot more! And because it was done all over from my chest down, I was hurting all over! I had big bruises and swelling everywhere - it looked and felt like I was run over by a truck!
Needless to say, I was pretty miserable for most of that first week after surgery. Seeing my condition, the doctor decided to postpone the breast surgery by another week, to 13th May, to give me a chance to recover enough from all this. Slowly, my breathing normalized, my pulse ox levels became stable, the gastric tube came out and my appetite returned. I was finally discharged to my parents' home on 5th May.
Once home, I was, for the first time, able to take a really good look at my body. Although Dr. Sameer had told me he would lipo the torso, bottom and thighs to achieve body contouring, that is, shrink my lower body all over so it looks proportionate to my new flat tummy, I guess I really didn't understand, because what I saw was far beyond what I expected! Below the breasts, I now looked like a much sleeker, lighter version of myself - no more fat rolls and love handles! No wonder they ended up removing a whopping 9 litres of fatty junk from me! Despite a lot of swelling, I could tell that my tummy was pretty flat from the belly button down. Above the belly button, however, it still looked puffy - much better than before, but still puffier than the lower half. The doctor told me this was from the residual fat in the upper abdomen that didn't get cut off or lipoed. The level of my elation at the outcome of the surgery depended on whether I looked at just my torso below the breasts, or at the "whole" me. That's because my chest now appeared even bigger than before and completely dominated my appearance, thereby significantly negating the positive impact of the tummy tuck/lipo. Dr. Sameer had told me I had made a smart decision by choosing to do the breasts as well, and now I could see what he meant!! So here's another piece of advice from self-experience: If you are also unhappy with your large breasts, consider getting them reduced at the same time as the tummy tuck - the final result will be remarkably better that way! I do realize that the cost of doing not one, but two cosmetic surgeries at a time in the US could be prohibitive for many. Maybe it would be worth exploring medical tourism in that case! I know a doctor you could contact in India haha...
So now I was recovering at home, the incisions were healing really well, the bruising and pain was reducing every day, and so was the swelling, although at a much slower pace. Overall, that first week of recovery at home would have been unremarkable, except for two things: Firstly, the compression garment which had to be worn 24/7 was a pain to take off and put on...also, I was always sweaty and itchy in some part of my body when it was on and it left deep pressure impressions after periods of continuous wear, which itched and hurt. Not fun! Secondly, probably as a result of all my digestive issues immediately after surgery and/or the hormonal changes, the hemorrhoids from my pregnancy which had not given me any trouble all these years suddenly started acting up. I was trying home remedies and ointments but it wasn't really helping with the constant discomfort! On a side note, speaking of hormonal changes: I have now missed 2 periods since the tummy tuck. I now understand that the shock and hormonal changes of surgery (3 surgeries in my case, as you will learn if you read further) can disrupt the menstrual cycle, for upto 6 months in some cases... but for some reason, this had never come up in my reading, so when I first missed my period I was taken by surprise.
Anyways, back to my story...I was now eagerly awaiting my next procedure so I could finally get rid of my cow-like udders and have breasts once again! And finally that day, the 13th, arrived. I had already made it clear to Dr. Sameer that I wanted to be "small-chested" now , but he had explained to me that my anatomy was such that I was naturally "broad-chested" and if I went too small that would also look bad. He assured me that he would go as small as possible while still maintaining proportion with the rest of my frame. And he delivered! I love the size of my breasts now - they are about the size they were in my twenties, when I was considered "blessed" in that department! The doctor had also assured me that this surgery would be a breeze compared to the last one, and so it was! I was back home the very next night, with minimal discomfort in the chest area! My understanding was that Dr. Sameer would do additional lipo to get rid of the side-boob and back fat, and also try to remove some of the fat in the upper abdomen that they couldn't get last time. After the surgery, I could see those rolls of fat were gone and could tell that the upper abdomen was less puffy than before, but I still had to ask him if he really ended up doing any lipo at all as I felt no pain whatsoever this time around!
Here I want to talk about a rather interesting thing that happened when I walked into the OR for my breast surgery: Doctor Sameer's partner, Dr. Bijoy, noticed the pouch of fat that hung under my chin (and gave me the invariable double chin in all my pictures) and asked me if it bothered me. I said yes. He asked me if I wanted it removed as well. In a split second, I decided, why not? And that was that...I came out of surgery with a face mask on because they also lipoed my chin - ON THE HOUSE! It spoke volumes to me about the dedication of this team of doctors to their craft...They try to do everything they reasonably can to get the best possible outcome and achieve the best look for their patients. They put the patient first and are not all about the bottom dollar (or Rupee, in this case!).
So now I was back home, with a compression bra and a face mask to go along with my oh-so-favorite compression garment. Surprisingly enough, in spite of being the least constrictive of the three, the face mask was the most annoying. I had to wear it 24/7 for 2 weeks, so that made me practically home bound as I did not want to go out and attract people's attention with this very obvious and unflattering contraption wrapped around my head! Dr. Sameer later told me that the mask is the main reason why many patients who could benefit from chin liposuction don't want to get it done! Had my decision to get chin lipo not been so spur of the moment, I wonder whether I, too, would have opted for it...but now that it's done, I am loving the results and couldn't be happier!
As I recovered, my incisions were healing beautifully and the swelling and bruising in the breasts was slowly receding. Now I could really appreciate the combined outcome of my procedures and I liked what I saw. I had dropped 20 lbs and 2-3 dress sizes from both surgeries...I could finally see myself in cute, fitting tops that actually looked good on me!
My enjoyment of the new me, however, was short-lived, because as all this was happening, my hemorrhoids, which hadn't stopped bothering me the whole time, suddenly decided to become much much worse! Passing stools was sheer agony and I was extremely uncomfortable in any position, all the time! Finally, on the 19th, things got so bad that I just broke down and cried uncontrollably! I saw a specialist the very next day, who informed me that my hemorrhoids had thrombosed and my only solution for relief was immediate surgery. So, the very next day, the 21st, I went in for my third surgery under GA within a period of a month!
I was discharged home the next day with my discomfort improved, but far from completely gone. It took me another week before "pain down there" wasn't constantly on my mind anymore. Just as that was resolving, a new problem emerged - a nasty itchy rash in my groin area and inner thighs. Back to the doctor yet again... I was told this rash occurred due to a combination of two factors - all the antibiotics I took with all 3 surgeries that wiped out the good flora, and the warm and moist environment "down there" created by heat and sweat. Medication worked to curb the rash, but if I got hot and sweaty like I invariably did if I stepped out in the very hot and humid Mumbai summer with my full-body synthetic pressure garments on, it flared up immediately. Of course, I could not bear the thought of being out in public scratching myself, so once again, I was more or less home-bound all the way until I returned home to the US on the 5th of June.
It is now the 18th of June and my rash is gone, the pain in the backside is minimal and it seems to be healing well, and as for the cosmetic surgeries - everything is coming along beautifully overall! Interestingly enough, it is the lipo that still remains painful, although not as bad, and in fewer areas now. I do have a sensation of fullness/heaviness and pulling/gnawing in my abdomen from time to time, but it is totally bearable and brief. Swelling in the abdomen is getting better with every passing week, but quite a bit still remains, and I am told it could take many months, even a year, for it to completely go away. On another side note: Upon the advise of Dr. Sameer, I took a few sessions of lymphatic drainage massage by the physical therapist at their center, and it did help reduce the swelling and discomfort. So if it is available to you after surgery, do give it a try.
Back to the story: The swelling in the chest area is now greatly reduced. I do experience bouts of sharp/stabbing pains in both breasts regularly, several times a day. I understand this is pretty normal pain from the nerves regenerating, so I am not too worried about it. There are now a couple of minor issues remaining - one being the little dog ear I have developed on the right side of the tummy tuck scar, and the other being the fact that one breast looks slightly misshapen compared to the other and both nipples don't seem to point exactly in the same direction. I know it is still too early to draw conclusions about the outcome of the breasts as they are still settling... and the dog ear is mostly out of sight and mind as the entire scar is well hidden under my panties, so it may not be a big deal after all! But here's yet another piece of advice from experience: It will be extremely difficult if not impossible to get any re-dos/fixes done by your surgeon once you return home...something to keep in mind if you are considering medical tourism.
So, that has been my journey so far...and what a ride it has been! Having experienced it first hand, I would ask anyone who thinks cosmetic surgery is a quick and easy fix to think again...but I would also encourage those who are afraid to make that jump by saying that if it is the right solution for you, and in the hands of the right doctor, it is all worth it! It has given me a new start in life - My husband likes how I look now, even my kids love the new me and tell me I look beautiful, and most importantly, I love the new me. I have my confidence back and look forward to "living" again! Life is beautiful!!