Very Satisfied with Procedure and Doctor

This site was very useful in helping to select the doctor and to decide to do the tummy tuck so it’s time to give back to the community 5 months post-op.

Dr. Silverman was the first surgeon I met based on my initial research online. It was also the only one I ended up meeting since the first consultation inspired a great deal of confidence. While I can’t know for sure, he may be the surgeon in the Ottawa area doing the most tummy tucks. For example, a healthcare practitioner referred me to one of her patients who had this procedure done a decade ago and by coincidence it had also been done by Dr. Silverman. He has state of the art facilities, a large online portfolio of before/after pictures where you can likely find a few people looking like you and an impressive resume. He is calm, soft spoken, knowledgeable, listens and responds to all questions. For example, my husband wanted to ensure we knew what I was getting into so he had done a lot of research on the providers, procedure, potential complications and mitigation techniques. Dr. Silverman responded to all our questions. He never made me feel uncomfortable in any of the appointments. Although the vast majority of reviews are positive, there are some negative reviews and, while you can judge for yourself, some of these reviews are about the fact that as a private provider, he can refuse a customer. In the end, he was the best one based on our due diligence and we were not concerned with the public notification from almost a decade ago on his public profile with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. We had full confidence in Dr. Silverman. You should also have full confidence in the doctor you will select so you don’t find yourself in doubt about a response or decision made. It’s the basis of a good doctor-patient relationship.

Of the entire process, the only improvement I’d like them to make is having better communication at the end of the initial consultation regarding the nude photos the assistant needed to take. This is before committing to the surgery and signing any paperwork so I didn’t agree and kept my underwear. The clinic still gets a mark of 99% though.

There were a few preoperative paperwork and things to do but overall pretty simple and the support staff responded within 1-3 business days to my questions. It was easy to select a day of surgery with the team. It’s a costly surgery for sure and one of the factors to consider, but I still decided to move forward. On the day of surgery I was able to drop the kids at school and head there afterwards. The pre-operating meeting went well, all pre-existing conditions and individual circumstances were taken into account. The anesthesiologist considered my fear of vomiting in the IV sleep medication. I closed my eyes and when I opened them the surgery was completed. So I missed the most important part! But everything went well if I judge by the result and post-op recovery. Shortly after waking up, I had an abnormally high heart beat without any other symptoms, which was caught and addressed by the medical team while I was getting consciousness back. The post-op nurse and medical staff were great. Dr. Silverman came back later in the afternoon to check on this complication. Upon review with the staff and with the condition improving, I was released home a bit later than expected, shortly after dinner time. That’s an example of why the confidence you have toward the doctor is important. It’s a big surgery so you walk slowly with help from someone and make sure you have a person taking care of you at home for a few days. Take care of everything you can advance at home. The pain was tolerable and didn’t have to take opioids. Tylenol and Advil only, I was quite impressed for a significant surgery like this. Dr. Silverman uses a drainless technique and basically you have a bandage over the scar and a binder to wear for 6 weeks. Make sure to ask how to adjust the binder and take note where it is installed at the clinic because it will move up a bit. Night went well. I slept on my back with a pillow under the knees. It took about 2 weeks to sleep on the side. Like with any surgery with IV, you accumulate fluids and the face looks a bit more swollen in the next 1-2 days. I had a planned follow-up appointment the morning after surgery day where I was able to see the result of the surgery (after that it starts swelling a bit and unswell over the following weeks). I could have driven 7 days after surgery but waited 10 days. He said to wait to make sure you can move your head and body to check your angles and off any opioids. From the day after surgery I walked a bit every hour during the day and stood up straight with deep breathing. My husband helped to ensure I was straight during this. I had to readjust the waist band 3-4x per 24 hours and it was easier for someone else to do that for me. After 10 days I was moving well enough around the house and was able to cook. I kept the cookware within easy reach. Had to be careful that the dog didn’t jump on me or the kids hit me at the wrong spot. I would have been able to work in an office by then but would recommend waiting for the 2 weeks follow-up for that. You’d have constraints with any physical job you have to lift more than 10 pounds since you can’t lift anything more than that for 6 weeks and no exercise or anything physical like vacuuming, dog walking, etc. I didn’t take any chances with this. He removed the surgical tape and the belly button stitches at the 2 weeks follow-up. Then, for 3 months, I applied silicone tape they sell at the clinic and changed it every 3 days (removing in the shower was easier). No cream, oil, nothing. The first time I removed the silicone tape I was worried I had opened the scar a bit but it wasn’t the case. I had emailed the medical team and they responded but it had resolved by itself by then. There were follow-up appointments at surgery + 1 day, surgery + 2 weeks, surgery + 6 weeks, 3 months later, etc. All follow-ups so far have gone well and he responded to all my questions about my new tummy, scars, etc. Dr. Silverman is there to make us feel beautiful and that’s a word you will hear him say throughout the entire process. By the way, the entire process was premium service, nothing to compare with the service we get in the public system. I’m very happy to have selected Dr. Silverman to do this surgery and I highly recommend him.

Now, beyond the provider you select, there is the whole decision behind getting plastic surgery done, in particular when this is the first time. It took me a number of years to decide to do it. Initially, I was worried about some horror stories you read online. However, we read a lot on the topic and even if some studies determined that tummy tuck is the cosmetic surgery with the highest complication rate, these are based on procedures done around the world with various techniques. While risks always exist, doctors like Dr. Silverman use a number of risk mitigation techniques like the binder and a quilting to prevent liquid buildup. By selecting a top provider, you are also confident he will be able to manage any complications. Dr. SIlverman says it’s actually one of the procedures where he has the least number of complications. There is also the taboo associated with plastic surgery, but in the end you can tell who you know understands you. Paying for medical care is also something we are not used to in this country. I strongly considered non-surgical procedures but the outcome was not as certain for still a high cost. In the year before the initial consultation, I did more than an hour of cardio every second day for more than a year and ate better in trying to improve my situation and while it helped with muscular mass and fat, it didn’t have a significant effect on the tummy. Finally, I also had some pre-existing conditions like chronic pain, neck hernias and bruising easily which I thought would be problematic but in the end Dr. Silverman took well care of that. I didn’t have any bruises from the surgery.

We all have our reasons for wanting to do this and nobody can judge you or I. In my case, even if I was back at what I weighed before bearing children, I had a significant diastasis, a destroyed belly button with a hardened skin dot above it, a fair bit of stretch marks below and above the belly button, excess skin and increased lower back pain. As I eated throughout the day, my belly bloated due to IBS and no muscle retained the stomach. I was unable to train my abs or do any weight training due to neck hernias and chronic pain.

As you can see on the after photos taken recently, the diastasis was sown together for a firmer core, the belly button was removed and skin was pulled down to the horizontal scar, all skin including the stretch marks below the belly button are gone, a new belly button was created, skin was tighten and fat was also removed on the belly and in the love handles for a more hourglass shape, which is the bonus I didn’t expect from this surgery. I took before and after waist circumference measurements at the narrowest part of the waist, at the belly button and the largest circumference of the belly before the surgery. You see results immediately after surgery and then some light swelling occurs which goes away over a few weeks. I think swelling is now gone and this is the final shape.

To document the surgery, I took before and after pictures at morning and night along waist measurements. At the morning measurement I have lost 1.0 inch of circumference at the narrowest part of the waist, 4.5 inches at the belly button and 2.5 inches at the widest part (the last measurement is less reliable because I’m not sure where was the widest part before the surgery so I’m not measuring at the same spot post-op). At the night measurement I have lost 1.25 inch of circumference at the narrowest part of the waist, 5.25 inches (that’s 13.3cm or 15% of the pre-op waist) at the belly button and 3.0 inches at the widest part. Pictures and measurements are without me holding the belly in, just a natural stance. Since surgery day I lost about 1 pound from the surgery due to fat and skin removed (estimate based on CC of fat removed) and 2 pounds from normal weight variation.

All my clothes fit so much better. I got alterations done on some clothes. I used to buy small or medium bottoms or sizes 4-6 (but was wearing loose shirts over it to hide the pouch, in particular in the 2nd half of the day) but now I buy small or sizes 2 or 4. I was very excited to buy a bikini again and came back home from the first store disappointed because I had been unsuccessful. Before having a scar or the kids, I would just buy anything and it would fit so I had never wondered about the different types of bikinis. But I went back twice and tried different locations and found the style that would work: high leg bikini bottoms without strings on the side so the band hides the entire scar while still being sexy. You should plan a higher budget than usual for clothes in the year after surgery because if you were like me, you may have adapted your wardrobe over the years after having children and so now that you can wear fitter clothes again.

There are three unexpected benefits from the surgery. First, by not having a pouch anymore, my breast appears relatively bigger than before, even if it’s still exactly the same. I find it’s more proportionate to my body now. Second, I want the results to last so I’m more mindful about my nutrition. Dr. Silverman had said I needed to be at a weight I had been maintaining for some time before the surgery (a year I think) and that I’ll maintain afterward as gaining or losing too much weight may alter the results. Finally, since surgery, I have not experienced the lower back pain I started to have after my last children (and my chronic pain related to the neck hernias has not gotten worse).

In terms of next steps, I will wait after the summer to review with Dr. Silverman the options to reduce the appearance of remaining stretch marks (those that were above the belly button before surgery) and a hardened skin dot I previously had above the belly button which is now just above the horizontal scar. The vertical scar I have is almost unnoticeable and very short.

I’m very happy with the surgery and to have found who I believe is the best doctor in the area to do it: Dr. Silverman. I hope some of this information will be helpful in your journey.