I choose to have my Smart Lipo done at Body Wise Specialists. Initially, what attracted me to their office was a write up in a magazine that promotes local businesses as I stated in the Why did I do it? portion of the blog. I had scheduled my consultation for right after work. Well, wouldn't you know it, I got stuck at work for 5-10 minutes. I called the office to let them know I wasn't going to be making my 5:15pm appointment but I could be there around 5:30pm. They said absolutely, not a problem at all. I walked in and Christine, the office manager, greeted me with such a big, welcoming smile. She took me right back for my consultation. The doctor came in and I apologized for holding her up. She was so nice about it. Now I don't know about you but I've had interactions with doctors before who felt that their time was much more important than mine and would have been less than understanding.
I unbuttoned my jeans and showed the doctor the area that I was most concerned about. I was expecting her to tell me that doing the procedure could help, but that the only real way to get rid of the kangaroo pouch I had was to have a tummy tuck, like 3 other doctors had told me - including my family practitioner. I don't hold it against him though, it's not really his field of expertise so I don't expect him to stay up on the new technologies that are coming out. Sorry, I keep diverting from the topic at hand.
Dr. Kaufmann was very optimistic that she would be able to get the skin to retract almost completely. Of course, there are never any guarantees and I knew that going into it. If she had told me there were, I probably would have been a little more cautious. Just saying. Dr. Kaufmann did warn me that this procedure would not get rid of my stretch marks the way a tummy tuck would and that my stretchmarks could potentially crinkle due to the skin tightening. Given the location of my stretchmarks - half above the belly button and half below - even a tummy tuck would not have gotten rid of them completely and I would have been left with another scar. A much bigger scar - in thickness and in length.
I'm not going to lie. I was so excited. The idea of not having to get skin cut off my body, not having to take up to 4 weeks of work off, and most importantly - not having an inch thick scar from hip to hip. Something else that Dr. Kaufmann pointed out to me, as did the plastic surgeon that I had gone to for the tummy tuck consult, is that when you get a tummy tuck done, they don't do anything about the fat that you have on your hips/sides/back. If you want that removed, you have to come back and get liposuction done.
After the consultation with Dr. Kaufmann, her assistant Kathy came in and reviewed their collection of before and after pictures with me. Kathy made sure that I had no false expectations about what they could do on my arms. As I said earlier in the blog, I work out at least 5 times a week, so I had a good amount of muscle in my arms. She had me hold my arms out to the sides and turn my palms up to see what was actually fat/skin that could be removed and what was muscle. It wasn't a lot, but I still wanted it gone.
Kathy went over the pricing with me. The plastic surgeon wanted $8,000 just to do the tummy tuck. At Body Wise Specialists, I was able to get my arms and back done for $3,800 and my abdomen and hips done for $4,200. Practically my entire upper body for the same amount as just the tummy tuck. Worth it? Hell Yes!
Now, keep in mind that pricing is based on the individual. The extent of the amount of work that needs to be done, the amount of time it will take, etc. But even if it cost you an extra $1,000-2,000 for all of that - wouldn't you still think it was worth it. I had actually decided prior to the consult that if I could get my back and arms done along with my abdomen for $10,000 or less, I would do it. I have worked very hard to lose this weight and even harder to keep it off. I am worth the $8,000 investment.
The staff alone at Body Wise Specialists will make you want to get your services done in their office. I went from just going for the Laser Lipo, to getting Botox, Laser Hair Removal and the VI Peel - and I'm not done yet!
Botox party :] Dr. Kaufmann told me I could do it at her office. Which, by the way, they just opened their new location at 201 Fourth Avenue, Indialantic Beach, Florida. It's absolutely beautiful.
I highly recommend Body Wise Specialists to anyone who is looking to get Laser Lipo, Laser Hair Removal, Peels, Fillers, Botox, and other such products. They have a list of all their services on their website. I also happen to know that they're going to be broadening their services in the near future, which I also find very exciting!!!!
I unbuttoned my jeans and showed the doctor the area that I was most concerned about. I was expecting her to tell me that doing the procedure could help, but that the only real way to get rid of the kangaroo pouch I had was to have a tummy tuck, like 3 other doctors had told me - including my family practitioner. I don't hold it against him though, it's not really his field of expertise so I don't expect him to stay up on the new technologies that are coming out. Sorry, I keep diverting from the topic at hand.
Dr. Kaufmann was very optimistic that she would be able to get the skin to retract almost completely. Of course, there are never any guarantees and I knew that going into it. If she had told me there were, I probably would have been a little more cautious. Just saying. Dr. Kaufmann did warn me that this procedure would not get rid of my stretch marks the way a tummy tuck would and that my stretchmarks could potentially crinkle due to the skin tightening. Given the location of my stretchmarks - half above the belly button and half below - even a tummy tuck would not have gotten rid of them completely and I would have been left with another scar. A much bigger scar - in thickness and in length.
I'm not going to lie. I was so excited. The idea of not having to get skin cut off my body, not having to take up to 4 weeks of work off, and most importantly - not having an inch thick scar from hip to hip. Something else that Dr. Kaufmann pointed out to me, as did the plastic surgeon that I had gone to for the tummy tuck consult, is that when you get a tummy tuck done, they don't do anything about the fat that you have on your hips/sides/back. If you want that removed, you have to come back and get liposuction done.
After the consultation with Dr. Kaufmann, her assistant Kathy came in and reviewed their collection of before and after pictures with me. Kathy made sure that I had no false expectations about what they could do on my arms. As I said earlier in the blog, I work out at least 5 times a week, so I had a good amount of muscle in my arms. She had me hold my arms out to the sides and turn my palms up to see what was actually fat/skin that could be removed and what was muscle. It wasn't a lot, but I still wanted it gone.
Kathy went over the pricing with me. The plastic surgeon wanted $8,000 just to do the tummy tuck. At Body Wise Specialists, I was able to get my arms and back done for $3,800 and my abdomen and hips done for $4,200. Practically my entire upper body for the same amount as just the tummy tuck. Worth it? Hell Yes!
Now, keep in mind that pricing is based on the individual. The extent of the amount of work that needs to be done, the amount of time it will take, etc. But even if it cost you an extra $1,000-2,000 for all of that - wouldn't you still think it was worth it. I had actually decided prior to the consult that if I could get my back and arms done along with my abdomen for $10,000 or less, I would do it. I have worked very hard to lose this weight and even harder to keep it off. I am worth the $8,000 investment.
The staff alone at Body Wise Specialists will make you want to get your services done in their office. I went from just going for the Laser Lipo, to getting Botox, Laser Hair Removal and the VI Peel - and I'm not done yet!
Botox party :] Dr. Kaufmann told me I could do it at her office. Which, by the way, they just opened their new location at 201 Fourth Avenue, Indialantic Beach, Florida. It's absolutely beautiful.
I highly recommend Body Wise Specialists to anyone who is looking to get Laser Lipo, Laser Hair Removal, Peels, Fillers, Botox, and other such products. They have a list of all their services on their website. I also happen to know that they're going to be broadening their services in the near future, which I also find very exciting!!!!