regretfully yours

i have gotten several request for photos . Here are my one year post - operative photos . i was repeatedly told by Dr. Gartner that it takes “ up to a year “ to see the difference or for your body to settle . With the exception of my pouch , everything else looks the same pre- and post surgery .
My stomach is NOT FLAT , or concave , it’s globular , and when i sit , i still have my rolls . I could grab fist full of fat from top and sides .

I choose this Dr. Gardner to perform abdominoplasty and liposuction of my back, hips, and inner thighs .Five of my friends had same procedure with awesome results . They all had their surgery done by senior plastics resident at University Hospital and paid half of what I paid. I figured if they looked that great being done by a resident imagine what I would look like if I choose a “experienced” surgeon, or so I thought.
So I researched and choose this surgeon. During the consultation phase, I was very specific of what I wanted and realistic of my expectations. I would have been happy with merely 70 % or 7/10 improvement. You will be told “ I can do this and I can do that “ by him. I was so hopeful and excited.
So I put done my deposit on the first visit. Soon , very soon after surgery I KNEW something was not right. My friends started to look great within days post-operatively. I on the other hand did not look different.
During every post –op visit, I was repeatedly told “ your still swollen, it will take weeks, months even up to a year to see the difference”. At the 6 month mark, again I KNEW I did not look right. When I complained about it , this surgeon said “ well it’s not my fault if you have bad skin” or “ your fat is under your organs and I can’t reach that area”. At the 6 month mark my friends were rocking bikinis and I with the exception of a small roll taken out looked that same. In addition, they all had weighed less and dropped 1-2 dress sizes. I was still wearing that exact same clothes and did not drop AN OUCNCE.
Again , when I went back to complain, this surgeon said , “the pictures show improvement because you can close your bra by one clip see here in ” . Please note, clips a MILLIMETERS apart on a bra. I did not pay almost $ 10,000 to have a millimeter difference !!!!!. It’s been well over the “wait one year” mark. I still have my back fat, my thighs still rub together, my upper stomach fat protrudes over by pants and my hips are still the exact same width. Ihave a globular stomach , instead of two rolls i now have a uni-roll.
I would say I had a 25 % improvement at BEST. Had I been told that in the beginning , I would have NEVER gone through with the surgery knowing it will yet such low results.
Another friend my mine went to the same Senior residents clinic to have again the same procedure after mine. Needless to say she looked amazing the first week. And paid WAY LESS then what I paid.
The only thing that got slimmer or smaller was my bank account !!
I would not recommend or wish this surgeon on no one. Its has taken me a very long time to forgive myself for making this very poor choice. I went through a phase of utter depression, having taken one month off work and paying all that money for what ? Nobody noticed at all and when I finally did share my surgery with family and friends that all said the same thing " and you paid how much for that". I would not want anyone else to ever feel the way I do. Regretfully yours.