Where are the plastic surgeon reviews?

[Karma]

I had a full body 'makeover' by Dr Joseph Capella (Ramsey, NJ) in Dec 2015. This included a Lower Body Lift (LBL), arm lift & breast lift....all at the same time in one-6 hour long surgery. The man is an ABSOLUTE artist & the nicest, most caring surgeon I have ever had! His father was a founding member of the ASMBS & performed RNY surgeries for about 40 years....Joseph (his son) followed in his footsteps & performed RNY surgeries for many years as well but then migrated into cosmetic surgery....so he understands & is completely sympathetic to the needs of the 'formerly big'! I know, I know...him being an RNY surgeon is the only thing I can hold against him!! However, he is extremely easy to talk to and more than willing to sit & talk to you about your questions & concerns. Do yourself a favor and review his website http://www.capellaplasticsurgery.net/ He has TONS of before & after pictures & is so worth traveling for if you would need to/willing to. The cost was just under $20k (out of pocket), which included his fees & all hospital fees/anesthesiologists, all follow-ups, etc... I am a bit too shy to take pictures of myself, but if you are interested, there is a person..her name is Nikki & she had surgery a couple of months before me & she chronicled her whole adventure...complete with pictures! Her blog is Flirty by Thirty (password to see pictures is capella2014...she is nekkid...so be careful where you open them up!). I think you will be amazed at the details she gives & the quality of the work he performed. She had an additional thigh-lift (in a separate surgery), that I did not have...so those are the pictures that come up first...but keep going through & you will see her whole journey.

I live in southern New Jersey, so my trip there was just a car ride & my travel was not 'uncomfortable', however, I will also tell you (not to scare you), that this was by far the MOST painful recovery from surgery that I have EVER had & I have had 2 c-sections, the DS & a bowel obstruction. All of them combined do not add up to the pain/discomfort that you feel after this surgery. Also, recovery was not linear...in that I felt a bit better each day....I would go a few days & feel better & then...WHAM!! be in pain all over again! This is no reflection on Dr. Capella....as healing from surgery is an individual thing....for instance Nikki explains that her surgery pain was about a '3' & was more of a discomfort....mine was at least a 9 & was poppin' Percocets like an addict! With that said, however, I would do this ALL OVER AGAIN if need be, since I found the results amazing & made me feel complete in my journey.

My recovery was hard, but I started feeling 'normal' again in about 6-8 weeks & was pretty much all healed up by then as well. I had a few very small openings...1 in the armpit area & 1 under the breast...about 1/2 inch each...but they healed very nicely. One great thing about the arm lift surgery is that you do not need to shave/wax there anymore & no need for antiperspirant as the sweat glands are removed.

Also...BTW...I also looked into & spoke to Dr. Sauceda in Mexico, which appears to do equally nice work & at a lower price, but I decided to stay closer to home through the healing process & if anything went wrong, at least I had my doctor close & in the states to go to.

I feel like I am babbling now....if you are interested or want to know more....please PM me & will tell you all about it....even if you do not go to him.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Are you happy you did it? I so want to do this.

 

[Karma]

I am extremely happy I had the 'body' makeover. For me, it was the completion of my journey & now when I look at myself in the mirror...I look like I feel...if that makes any sense! It was alot to go through, but when you have a talented surgeon & a great support system (thanks hubby, mom & kids), I got through the rough parts & can feel a bit more confident about myself....and have gained a sense of 'normal'.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Wow, those before and after photos on the surgeon's website are amazing and there are so many. Thank you for sharing

 

[Clematis]

Thanks so much for sharing @Karma And especially about your pain. Egads. Sounds like you had a really rough go. (Nikki is less than half my age so likely healed faster and easier than I would.)

I'm far more freaked about PS than the DS. I can't believe there are docs who do lower body lifts outpatient. This looks way more serious than a drive by surgery. Ideally I could do this in town. I have consultations set up with two local surgeons just to check things out.

I had looked into Capella, and others on the west coast but if I have to travel and pay to take up residence for 2 weeks, I might as well go to Mexico or Costa Rica for less cost. I've spent gobs of time on RealSelf.

Geesh. My head is exploding. I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

 

[galaxygrrl]

@Clematis - PS seems much scarier than the DS, but so many people I talk to about it are happy they did it. I agree with you about Mexico and Costa Rica.

 

[Clematis]

@Karma I just noticed that Nikki did not have her abdominal muscles tightened as in adominoplasty, just a panni with her LBL. (She was young and hadn't had kids as we have to separate the muscles.) I think that's why she didn't have as much pain.

 

[Clematis]

I just want this done and to get on with my life. I'm too old to stew about this too long. My first consultation is in 2 weeks. I'll keep you posted @galaxygrrl But do not expect any photographs -- those photos will go with me to my grave!!!

 

[galaxygrrl]

I just want this done and to get on with my life. I'm too old to stew about this too long. My first consultation is in 2 weeks. I'll keep you posted @galaxygrrl But do not expect any photographs -- those photos will go with me to my grave!!!

Perhaps a bikini photo. Last time I lost 117 pounds I could kind of get away with a bikini as long as it it had boy shorts. This time, I'm not so sure. I have 50 pounds to go. I know I firmed up last time after I stopped losing weight, but I don't remember it being this bad on the way down. Of course, I'm a little more focused on it this time not sure why.

 

[southernlady]

Perhaps a bikini photo. Last time I lost 117 pounds I could kind of get away with a bikini as long as it it had boy shorts. This time, I'm not so sure. I have 50 pounds to go. I know I firmed up last time after I stopped losing weight, but I don't remember it being this bad on the way down. Of course, I'm a little more focused on it this time not sure why.

Maybe cause you've read more or are older...who knows. I look fine in shorts (even at 62) but they have to be mom length shorts, as in almost to my knees!

 

[galaxygrrl]

Maybe cause you've read more or are older...who knows. I look fine in shorts (even at 62) but they have to be mom length shorts, as in almost to my knees!

I'm rejecting the older theory.

 

[DianaCox]

Sorry, I just noticed this thread.

Agha was pretty good - but I didn't give him a chance to finish. My surgery was scheduled to be done in three parts, and I had the money, the time off, had put myself in the best condition possible, and was as ready as I could be in late 2009. I had the first surgery, which was supposed to be just the facelift - but on the day of surgery, he decided to change the plan to including doing my arms, so he could harvest fat to fill in my hollowed-out cheeks, and defer the lower blepheroplasty (eyebags) until one of the later procedures, as my face would be swollen and hard to do the lower eyes properly after doing the fat transplant. I agreed.

I had somehow not considered nor was I ready for how painful plastic surgery is. It was pretty horrible - and I needed to keep the percosets up for weeks after the facelift/brachioplasty. I was supposed to have the main procedure - the circumferential body lift and thighplasty - 4 weeks after my face was done. By 3 weeks, I was not only still in a lot of pain (he had liposuctioned my lower arms in addition to removing skin from my upper arms), but I had developed panic and severe anxiety attacks, and suicidal ideation. As part of his post-op protocol, I was given Reglan (to keep guts moving while taking opioid painkillers). I didn't realize it at the time, but Reglan has a TERRIBLE black box warning about psych side effects, and I had most of them. http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=17854&name=REGLAN

I canceled the rest of my procedures. I really can't say I ever fully recovered from the post-op mess - I ended up with modest aphasia (I can't find my words sometimes), issues with concentration, and the anxiety and depression I had resulted in my being put on antidepressants which caused me to regain 35 lbs - which made doing the surgery pointless anyway.

In the last couple of years, I finally lost the weight I regained. In fact, I'm a few pounds less than when I had my surgery - but a lot of that is due to muscle loss, so I am not only 7+ years older but also in less good shape. I cannot even face the idea of having more surgery, even if I could afford it now.

I should also note that one of the side effects of my partial facelift is that both ears, and the entire area under my neck including my upper chest are still partially numb. This is not a pleasant feeling (doesn't hurt, but I am often aware of it - especially if something brushes the skin like a collar or scarf). I really really wish I'd gotten my lower eyebags done, and now my neck needs a modest redo. My arm scars were supposed to be revised later, but I didn't do that either. But the arm pain went away after a few weeks, just to be clear.

I now have a 3 cm incisional hernia (from a lap port) above and to the left of my navel, and a goose egg sized lipoma (I've had it for many years) on my waistline on my right flank. At some point, I will need the incisional hernia fixed, at which time I will have the lipoma removed, and probably also at least get the excess skin removed if not an abdominoplasty. But I'm not sure I can face fixing my horrible butt and thighs - I'm really afraid of the pain involved.

I have since heard mixed things about Agha. I think he's really good, but he may be somewhat aggressive in how much surgery he does at once. However, he is also understands wanting to have curves, rather than a tight youthful fat-free appearance, which is a good thing. He likes to do fat transplants to give curve to the behind (which is why I am now afraid of that surgery - although I have NO padding on my tailbone, as my formerly steatopygian ass has slid down the back of my thighs, so having some padding restored sounds like a good idea).

You need to talk to some of his more recent patients. I had someone contact me a few years ago with really disturbing stories about cleanliness and hygiene of his equipment - I really didn't know what to think, because that was inconsistent with what I had seen - by my experience is now many years ago. I believe he is a very talented surgeon, but I don't know about his current practice. Read the reviews, e.g., https://www.realself.com/find/California/Orange-County/Plastic-Surgeon/Siamak-Agha-Mohammadi, and talking to patients directly where you can.

 

[galaxygrrl]

I so want plastics! I know I will firm up and I need to give it time. But I just have too many mirrors in my house.