Interesting Experience!

I am not one to write reviews... Ever. But after spending $20k, I think it’s quite necessary I do. The first time I talked to dr Brent Moelleken, it was extremely pleasant. He acted like he cared about my well being as well as my aesthetic concerns. Very well spoken, & I really liked the fact that he fixed hernias without mesh! So amazing as I’ve heard many complications can come from that. I had 3 hernias & diastasis recti. I had 2 almost 10 lb babies on my 110 lb 5’4” frame & it wreaked havoc on my torso. I couldn’t stand to wear a bikini as a combination of loose skin & a slight bulge due to ab separation stole the spotlight. In the beginning, I was more focused on just getting through the surgery, as I was really nervous to go under a knife for the first time. I met with Dr. Moelleken for the first time after I had put my deposit down. I addressed a bad review from one of his patients that I saw on here stating that her diastasis recti opened back up & he claimed he couldn’t recall that patient. Said nothing of it except the fact that he had never had a re-opening of the abs occur in all of his years of practice & that patient should’ve come back in to address it. (I now understand why she probably didn’t, but will get to that later...) I felt... Halfway reassured. Also, in email discussing pricing, the price wasn’t made clear to me. I had emailed back twice asking for an explanation & it was made to sound differently. I didn’t address it because we had already paid our down & I was pretty set on this drs ability. My husband was on board & I thought I had done my research pretty well. So we went through with it. The morning of surgery, I was super scared & nervous. I loved his or nurse, Carie I think her name was? She was so real, so comforting & just amazing. I will say her & my anesthesiologist were amazing. The surgery went great, woke up feeling great, stayed in serenity aftercare facility-per recommended- for one night. Had my post-op appt that day & then one the next day. Short & quick; he said everything looked great. I healed up great at home, even with an 18 month old + 3 year old! As I started healing, I had realized the loose sagging skin was still there. I was a little bummed but tried to tell myself “at least I got the internal stuff fixed.” I thought I would address it, however. Because after all, he is a cosmetic plastic surgeon who mainly focuses on the aesthetic outcome, right? She basically said it’ll always be like that, nothing you can change. I felt down though because I am seeing all these amazing results from other moms who had full tummy tucks who claim they look better than pre-baby & look great to me! So I go in for my (five week post-op) first in person appt since post-op day 2 appt to kind of show him & see how recovery was going. He said everything looks great! Which I can respect, he thinks it looks great, but I am his patient & I have my concerns that I feel should be allowed to be addressed especially after spending an arm & a leg for his services... I asked him if I should’ve gone with full tummy tuck (I had the hybrid done) & he told me I couldn’t get a full tummy tuck because I didn’t have enough skin. Which I could respect that. Mind you, I addressed the things I appreciated, like the low scar. However, I was asking if there was any other way... Any other treatments I could do or revisions to do to fix it, & he basically told me that this surgery brings in your waist & it can go out other places. Probably meaning the lower abdomen, because I had stated I still felt like there was a little bulge. I just said ok & he walked out. I get my clothes on & open the door to walk out. As I am walking out, I can hear dr. Brent talking with crystal (front desk manager I think) mumbling something like... “she isn’t satisfied with the results, like come on, you’re not going to look like such & such” I walked upright beside him & he said ‘it’s as if she wants to look 20, not gonna happen. (mind you I’m 25) now; I am not sure if he was talking about me, but I was the only client in the lobby the whole time I was there, & I never saw anyone else walk in or out of the rooms. So, assuming it was me, I was extremely appalled. That they would talk about me like that, right in front of my face. After I paid $20,000. I still believe it to be incredibly unprofessional to disrespect a patient in front of other patients. So, even if it wasn’t about me, that really wasn’t okay. So after that, Crystal reminds me I need to get the silicone patches for my scar healing. She tells me if I write a review, I can get it for free. I declined & decided to pay the $150 because I’d rather tell the truth then save some money. I was honestly so set on this doctor because of his amount of good ratings. It never really occurred to me that there were only a small number of reviews that included pictures as well. I solely picked this doctor because of his reviews, his amazing doctor awards & his experience. I am so glad my issues are fixed internally, but I am so disappointed with the way I was treated when asked about the aesthetic outcome. I can always find the silver lining! But I just want to put this out there in case it can help others make a decision. I saw a couple of bad reviews but ignored because of the overflow of good ones. I wanted to believe this was the one & that I would get the outcome I wanted. This is a lesson for me to make sure reviews are real people, see pictures, & go with your gut. You get 2 stars doctor because 1: you fixed me internally without mesh & 2: my recovery period was way less gruesome than I thought it’d be. Soooo, if you don’t care much about how it’s going to look & more about fixing the internal issue, he did that part.

After posting this review, Crystal (Dr Brent’s front desk manager) called me. She was extremely apologetic & was compassionate to my feelings. She made it a point to have a follow up visit ASAP, first thing in the morning, so I could have Dr Brent’s full attention. Although she stated it wasn’t an excuse, she expressed that the day of my previous visit in which I was referring to originally, had been an extremely busy day. So if there was any lack of attention to my concerns, it was not personal. She apologized about the conversation they were having as I walked up & reiterated that they were talking about ‘botched surgeries’. I am just very pleased with the way they handled the situation. They treated me with care & respect after seeing how I felt about being unheard & invalidated. Dr addressed my concerns and told me to wait at least 6 months before we decide tightening up the skin more. However, he said he would do this. It wasn’t made clear that he will cover the costs if that will be the case, but I’m sure/hoping that is the case. It’s been almost 2 weeks since my last visit there, & I am just now updating. I really am pleased with my low scar, & it is improving over time with the silicone patches. I’m just praying over time, things will tighten up so we don’t have to do another surgery.