High scar, high/tiny belly button, high pubic area

I was ambulated by squad because my caregiver (my fiancée) is not a medical professional and after seeing my vomiting black fluid all over myself witnessing me going in and out of consciousness hours after surgery, he felt that calling 911 was the right thing to do. And it was. I needed medical care. When the squad arrived they worked to stabilize FIRST me as my blood pressure & heart rate were both dropping dangerously low before they supported me onto the gurney and rushed me into the ambulance where they witnessed me continually vomiting and losing consciousness again. It was truly terrifying and I was at the mercy of EMTs & health professionals at a hospital I was not familiar with. I was admitted to the hospital and given blood immediately. I was recommended to stay my entire recovery (NOT one day) which was unfortunate because I brought my CHILDREN along to enjoy Miami while I recovered from what I thought would be a routine procedure. This was not my first time having elective surgery and I didn’t have this experience before. I NEVER thought they would witness me in that state. I would have preferred our condo to a hospital room any day of the week so the hospital stay was NOT by choice abs absolutley NOT by choice. My daughter stayed in the hospital with me every night sleeping on the chairs every night and refused to stay at the condo. I shouldn’t have brought them in hindsight, but I didn’t expect to have such a reaction. I was given SEVERAL bags of blood while under hospital care for the uncontrolled bleeding and the CT scan showed a continuous bleed. Physicians did warn me that if the bleeding didn’t slow down I would be having surgery to have it cauterized. This is all on record. I had to lay as still as possible for DAYS to try and allow the bleeding to clot. Fortunately after MANY days it did clot and we I was able to be discharged safely. While in the hospital the staff contacted Dr. H which they charted. Once I returned home I was placed on Bactrim for months due to staph infection in the belly button which is also on record. I appreciate all of the concerns and wouldn’t wish this scar on anyone. I have seen many women’s results and wish I would have had a low, beautiful outcome. I would have NEVER agreed to this unsightly scar as my pre- operation emails show. I was EXTREMELY concerned about a making sure I got a low scar as a result. Suggesting I (or any woman) would agree to this is laughable. Real Self has emailed me and requested I remove the emails where Dr. H assures me that my scar would be low (despite my apprehensions about not having enough skin laxity) as well as emails where he ADMITS the belly button is too high and that he would fix it. Real Self stated I can share these emails to support my reviews personally if anyone wishes to reach out to me and ask for them as well as the recording where he absolutely DID offer my $1000.00 (in the recording you can hear me decline.) I have no reason to lie or disparage him. What would I gain from this? He kept every single dollar and I got scarred. I paid him, I trusted him, and I always planned to share my results. I just wish it would have been one of satisfaction. Truly disappointing.

I'm sorry you went through all that! I too traveled to Miami for my surgery, and although my results were just Okay, not what I expected, I am so happy that I did not have any complications. I brought my kid along too! Do not beat yourself over that, and do not let anyone, much less a medical doctor, try to blame you or your caregiver for doing what it was absolutely the right thing! When in doubt, hell yeah call 911, its your life! It's your health! Okay, once again, I have the same off feeling from Dr. Hochstein's response here. It just strikes me as a lack of empathy. I was disappointed with my surgeon's work but I cannot say a single bad thing about his attitude, personal demeanor, willingness to listen, or his ability to just care. I feel for you! Hoping you find an amazing surgeon (and human being) and ultimately have a wonderful outcome!

Thank you so much! It has been eye opening for sure! I don’t regret for one second allowing myself to be admitted to the hospital nor my fiancées decision to call 911. It was 100 percent the right thing to do at the time. Many surgeons ive consulted with since for revision have stated that they usually expect their patients to stay and be monitored for 24 hours post surgery for tummy tucks and other invasive surgeries because what happened to me CAN happen and often times trusted caregivers and not medical professionals. Thank you again for your kindness. Empathy is SO important when you trust your life with someone.

Nice job. It looks awesome.

Thank you for the compliment.

SO sorry you had to go though this and praying you find a resolution!!! My friend had multiple procedures done by Dr. H and also ended up in he hospital. She needs revision work too:(

Yes, the scar is not at all what I had anticipated and it is disappointing. I feel thankful to have come out of this situation with my health but I had never felt so dismissed by a surgeon in my life. No woman would agree to this sort of outcome, EVER. I am a confident person so this didnt “break” me and I have looked into many other surgeons who have made comments about my scar placement as well and have stated that they should be able to lower it by atleast 1-1.5 inches which is where I feel it would have been best hidden from the start. I appreciate your concerns and support. Fingers crossed my revision will be amazing!

Thank you for your comment and compliments. The scar is prominent and elevated along with my pubic area which is also a point of concern. The belly button has contracted significantly and is anatomically too high on my long torso (which was admitted via emails I have but cannot post due to Real Self guidelines, but can share personally if anyone would like. I have no reasons to lie or embellish. I am the one on the “losing” end if there is one. As far as your final sentence about his responses, it is evidenced here once again. Thank you again.

Thank you so much for the comment and the compliment. It does mean a lot and your thoughts parallel mine. I’ll be honest, my intent was and is NEVER to go back and forth with anyone publicly (because trust me, there was much of that in private but Real Self has removed those emails
from my post). I have kept my reviews very honest. Again, what would I gain from lying? I am scarred and will be out of MORE money and time healing to have it revised? It’s important to remain tactful during reviews and I understand that which is why I keep many of my opinions to myself and stick ONLY to the facts. Ultimately, Ill let the photos really speak for themselves, and they do so loud an clear. It’s just an unfortunate experience. I took a chance and I would have LOVED to have turned out satisfactorily, but that didn’t happen for me. As far as “doctor shopping” comment, I’m really not sure what was meant by that, because I consulted, traveled, paid, and trusted him...but I guess I’m doing that now for a revision surgeon? I appreciate your well wishes and I’d hate for my comments to paint a unfair picture of the staff’s attentiveness and empathy. The coordinator who assisted me pre and post op had a great positive energy about her and was really kind, understanding, responsive and attentive. I truly couldn’t say enough nice things about her. The office was also really well decorated.

I paid cash so unfortunately that was not an option at the time. Hindsight is 20/20. I would have accepted a full refund had that been offered, but $1000.00 was all that was offered and that is simply unacceptable in my opinion, so I declined.