My name's Gail and I'm 41 and this is my first surgery that I've had completed. I actually saw Dr. Fernau TV commercials playing in our local area and decided to call him regarding the aqua lipo, and then after the initial consult, decided to do a few more procedure, the tummy tuck included.
I did this honestly just looking for a second open when I first came to Dr. Fernau, but I decided to go ahead and go through with it after hearing him explain how easy it was, and he, in particular, was able to hide the scar. I was more interested in trying to cover up the scars that can be pretty sizable at times.
It's amazing, it's just amazing. Just little things like walking in the parking lot and the wind blowing on my stomach. Look on my shirt and I'm not worried about trying to suck in my stomach and it's really smooth and tight, and it looks better than it did before I had children. It's gorgeous, and my bellybutton in particular is gorgeous, too. He did a great job.
I personally went on line and researched Dr. Fernau and also a bunch of others. I joined some women's blogs online and he had very positive results, and then along with what I found on my own, that coupled together, I would encourage to be board certified and to then just kind of look into the awards and certificates. Dr. Fernau???????, he can do a lot of intricate work, as well, aside from the regular plastic surgery work that I had done. I find him to be exceptional.
Dr. Fernau???????, in particular, I did meet with a couple of other plastic surgeons. He's not the first one I met with, but I felt a bond with him instantly just because he lets you lead the conversation when you first meet him. He lets you say what you would like and where you're headed and what your priorities are for your body and for where you see yourself. And then afterwards, I noticed he wasn't trying to upsell or trying to suggest new things. He let me say... which I did. I asked him for his opinion, "Well what else should I do? What else should I add?" And his ideas were great and I went through all of them and no regrets.
I like that because I didn't know all the possibilities. I didn't know about fat grafting. I didn't know about the laser scar, so it was kind of exciting to hear his input, as well, once he's asked for it. He didn't overstep or anything, just really engaged in you and what your needs are.
The day of the procedure, I was a little bit nervous, but the staff is just so great with you and it moves very slowly and they explain everything that's going to happen. Honestly, you're out for the procedure, and when you wake up, there was no pain. Just a lot of resting for a few days, so I felt great a few days after, enough to walk around. For me personally, it was a very slow recovery, but worth it. I would definitely do it again.
The day of the procedure, there were not... I would say not much pain. My husband helped me a lot. I had a lot of help at home, which they tell you to do. It's a good thing. And they also give you a little sheet to outline your medications and to stay on track with that, which is very important. I followed that to the T, and I really just didn't have pain I would say the first few days. You're slow moving, of course, just like with any surgery, but in time, things really improved, and I would say within a week... which is what they said... within a week you'll see a big difference. Just get yourself through to the next week, and I saw big improvements week to week. Just enough encouragement to keep you going.
My husband loves the results, of course, and I've only told a close few friends and family. It's not something that you see in particular, clothing, day-to-day things, but it's a big notice in my self-confidence. Everybody can tell that I've done something, but they don't know what it is exactly. I'm happier and feeling more confident in myself and things that I'm doing.
Absolutely would recommend Dr. Fernau??????? and the staff to any and all of my friends and family, and even strangers, women that I've met through this online blog. I'm just raving about it. My results, in particular, are exceptional. I've only seen one other tummy tuck procedure out of hundreds of women across the country, thousands of women probably. Mine, in particular, is I think personally just beautiful. It's perfect, just perfect. Nice smooth tight skin, and the bellybutton placement. You have to redo that when you get the tummy tuck done, and I think it was perfect. I absolutely tell anyone to go see him for any procedure.
With Sheila, in particular, I've had a lot of interaction and we've talked a good bit even on cellphones, on office phones, and I think even through emails. She's always tangible which makes me feel calm that if something were to happen... nothing did, of course... but just little things that come up for you, you need to talk to someone to feel better about an issue that you might be having, and Sheila's always great with that, and it's just even her tone and her voice even, just very mothering and nurturing, and you need that when you're going through surgery.
You just need someone who's going to not rush through with you. She really takes her time and listens to you and responds to your needs. And she's very kind and nurturing which you need after surgery, because you're moving slowly and there are bumps along the way. I had several things happen where I'm whiny and I'm complaining, and she's very comforting and just soothing and it's very reassuring to me that she knows the answer. She doesn't have to think about it. She's just very skilled. You can tell she's been doing it a long time. She works closely with Dr. Fernau??????? and gets back to me if I need to call or have a question.
And then billing and everything with Mary, that was always great. Brittany answers the phone and she's always great at getting back to me and directing me where I need to go. Just everyone here, you can tell they all get along and it's just a nice team. It almost feels like a family to me, a family oriented atmosphere, which is how it is where I work, so I relate to that, watch for that, and you can feel and see that here not long after you're here. Within a day or two you know.
I would like to add that I've had follow-up procedures with Dr. Fernau???????. Recently we did an extra procedure, doing the fat grafting on my breasts. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to do implants. I was kind of thinking about that, and we tried the fat grafting from the abdominal area to the breasts which I had never heard of. It's just adding more fullness, but everything's soft and natural, and it looks like they were always that way. And to me, that makes me... and I'm just thrilled with that, I might not even need to or want to do breast implants now, and just real excited about his new ideas.
You can tell when he's talking to you. He's not just looking at you, listening to you. He's also seeing how the best possible you that you can be and how he feels you could get there. He's exciting to work with. I'm excited to... I'll probably be there forever, hoping he can keep me looking younger longer.
When you walk through the front doors, I feel like it engages all of your senses. Just the water wall decorations and the Luxe furniture. My office where I work is like that, and we try to make sure that it's classy and beautiful and that you feel welcomed as soon as you walk in, and I felt that right when I walked through the door before I even got to meet anyone.
And then afterwards, everything is... you can just tell it's state of the art equipment. In particular, after the surgery, they offer this laser scar therapy and there's nothing like that. I've seen nobody else talk about that. And my scar is almost gone. It's almost like you can't even tell that I had the procedure, which to me is amazing. So pretty excited.
