An Honest Review!

This is a long review, but I want to be thorough. I know when I was making this big decision, the more information I had from real patients, the better. I had a tummy tuck and breast augmentation (lift and "c" implants) from Dr. Chet Mays. First, let me say that this was a decision that took me a year to finally make. At the age of 49 yrs, I was concerned I had "waited too long" to have these procedures done. I was also concerned about the cost, as I do live on a budget. I shopped around. Picked the top three plastic surgeons in Louisville. I made an appointment with the first one and was completely unimpressed with his staff (rude and patronizing) and he was not reassuring at all (if anything he used scare tactics to make it appear he was the only safe option). I left his office feeling "less than" and put the procedures off another 6 months. After regaining my confidence, I FINALLY made a call to another doctor---Dr. Calobrace's office!!! I wanted my surgery done at the beginning of the summer so I would be recovered go by the time school was back in session. When I made the call, the first person I talked to was John Michael. He made the appointment for me, he patiently listened to my nervous "chattering", and immediately put me at ease. His professional, kind, and positive demeanor left me with a feeling that I had made the right choice! I hung up excited about my decision and looking forward to my appointment. I made my appointment with Dr. Mays because he could work with my schedule. I did not know a lot about him, but figured if Dr. Calobrace was working with him then he had to be trustworthy and professional (that was an understatement). I had my initial appointment with him and his nurse or assistant. I was treated so wonderfully throughout this whole event. I wish I could remember all the nurses' and assistants' names, because they are AMAZING. It makes HUGE difference when you are getting a surgery that is so personal, and many times emotional, to be treated with patience, kindness, and respect - this staff is on it! After my appointment with Dr. Mays, I met with the financing lady. Again, I cannot express how EVERY person in this office is professional, knowledgeable, kind, patient, and understanding. She helped me figure out the best financing option for me (on a teacher's salary :). PatientFi is who I did my financing through and I had no problems at all (they even personally answered the phone each time I called). So my date was set, and my financing was in order. I wanted to separate my experience with Dr. Mays in this review, so here it goes...at the initial consultation with him I was extremely nervous while waiting for him. I looked in the mirror while I was waiting and tears rolled down my face when I looked at my sagging, uneven breasts and my wrinkled up, hanging abdomen fat and skin. After having two kids 17 years earlier and losing a lot of weight in the recent years, my body had definitely suffered. When Dr. Mays walked in, he extended his hand and smiled-I was immediately put at ease. I was curious as to how he would approach my desire to have the tummy tuck and breast lift and augmentation at the same time. He helped reassure me that I had chosen the right size implants, and showed me and helped me understand how he could achieve the rest of my requests. I am not sure there are enough positive adjectives to describe Dr. Mays. The first ones that come to mind are professionally knowledgeable, reassuring, confident, understanding, kind, and caring. I have never, ever met a doctor so calm, confident and kind. He was so very patient with all my questions and concerns. He never made me feel like I "didn't belong there," or that my questions were a nuance. I left his office feeling so positive and excited about the upcoming procedures. He did the tummy tuck, breast lift and implants in the surgical center at Caloaesthetics. The morning I arrived I was escorted in by the staff like I was the most important person there. The nurses were top notch! They were confident, professional, kind and funny (had me laughing forgetting about my extreme nerves). When Dr. Mays walked in, I was immediately put at ease. He did some markings on my body and he was ready to go (on time and not hurried at all). The procedure went off without a problem at all. I woke, stayed in recovery a while, met with Dr. Mays again, and received explicit, detailed, and easy to understand post-op directions from the nurse. Once home, there was pain for the first three days, but it was manageable with the medicine, and each day thereafter the pain subsided. I had a drain for a couple of weeks, which was really no big deal (but one of the things I was initially concerned about). All my follow-up appointments were so thorough and reassuring. I know I called their office about 5 times with post-op questions - John Michael and the nurses were always kind, patient, ready and willing to answer any question I had. I even put a call into Dr. Mays after hours and he called me back from his home (his kids playing in the background and all) to reassure me about one of my paranoid questions, lol. It is now six months later, and I cannot say how pleased I am that I went with Dr. Mays. He is extremely knowledgeable, professional and I would say a true artist at what he does. This Dr. is AMAZING and in my experienced, patient-opinion should be listed as one of the top plastic surgeons in the state of Kentucky! My breasts look amazing, and my tummy tuck is 10 times better than I imagined. I had these procedures done for my self-confidence, pride and physical comfort, all these things have improved. I am forever grateful to Dr. Mays and all the wonderful staff at CaloAesthetics!