Testimonials - Body

Procedures
Post-bariatric Procedures
Post-partum Rejuvenation
Stomach/Abdomen (Abdominoplasty)

 

Meet Karri.
Post-bariatric Procedures

Karri was always an active person. She played basketball and volleyball throughout high school and college, as well as coaching both sports. Despite the exercise, Karri was
heavy all her life.

“After college ended the problem started getting worse,” she said. Karri worked out. She tried diets like Weight Watchers® and a Redux program through her doctor. Nothing worked.

“I always saw some results, but it was never what I wanted,” she said. At her heaviest, the scale read 346 pounds. She felt weighed-down physically, mentally and emotionally. This wasn’t who she felt like on the inside. She was being defined and limited by her weight.

Karri’s gastric bypass journey.

Karri had had enough. She decided, for her 31st birthday, to give herself a second chance to live her life the way she truly desired. Karri had gastric bypass surgery November 18th, 2003 in a final attempt to achieve a healthy weight.

Physical recovery was only the first challenge. Karri had an emotional battle to win as well. She was forced to drastically change her eating habits, as gastric bypass surgery significantly reduces
the size of your stomach.

But Karri was committed. She set a personal goal — to lose 100 pounds by her six-month check-up. “When I weighed in, I had lost 99 pounds. I hadn’t reached my goal, but I was so close and so excited.” Over the next year Karri shed a total of 200 pounds. Eighteen months after surgery she weighed 155 pounds. “You have to be totally mentally prepared. There were moments of depression and near defeat, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

After enduring these excruciating challenges, Karri was faced with another. Due to the extreme weight loss, she now had excess stretched and sagging skin. “I always knew it would happen, I just didn’t know it would bother me as much as it did,” she recalled. The gym was especially embarrassing. “Being really into exercise, I was regularly at the gym, constantly seeing all these nice bodies, and even after everything I went through, I still had to cover mine up.”

Karri turns to Akron Plastic Surgeons for body contouring.

Once again, Karri had had enough. With her brother’s wedding looming in the near future, Karri decided, “I am not going to stand in this wedding with my arms looking like this.” Karri resolved to get body contouring — plastic surgery that tightens and lifts the loose skin caused by drastic weight loss. She contacted Akron Plastic Surgeons. One of the doctors had attended a meeting of her Bariatric Support Group, and she had been impressed with the way he had emphasized safety.

“I watch all these plastic surgery reality shows doing multiple procedures all at once,” Karri said. “Akron Plastic Surgeons advise against doing too much too fast. They really care more about their patients than their pockets.” Unlike many other surgeons, Akron Plastic Surgeons work with the patient’s original bariatric surgeon in order to obtain a complete understanding of the patient’s history and provide the safest customized service.

Karri had an arm lift (brachioplasty) and proudly stood in her brother’s wedding. She was so happy with the results that she returned to Akron Plastic Surgeons and had a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) and a buttock lift.

Karri today.

“I feel like myself, finally. I have so much energy and self confidence,” Karri said, sitting in a sleeveless shirt. “Look at this,” she said as she gestured to her shirt. ”I wouldn’t have been caught dead in this before.” Karri bought new exercise clothes — ones that aren’t baggy and oversized. She feels lighter and self-assured. A weight has been lifted, in more ways than one.

Karri has become an inspiration to people around her, and uses her story to help others. She organized the bariatric support group team to participate in Akron’s Road Runner Marathon. “It started when I challenged my doctor to half a marathon on my 3rd year checkup,” Karri said. It has grown to three teams of both patients and physicians.

Karri is working for her personal training certificate. She also wants to work with her bariatric surgeon to inspire and educate patients. “I feel like my goal in life is to help people feel good. I was always so uncomfortable because of my weight. Now people ask me for weight-loss advice. I mean, who would have thought?”

 

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Meet Olivia.
Post-partum Rejuvenation

Olivia started a family at a young age. She had her daughter at age 20, followed by twin boys at 22. The physical strains of multiple pregnancies left Olivia with body-altering souvenirs familiar to many mothers. Stretched skin hung loosely from her once flat stomach. She also had a gap down her abdomen from muscles that separated during pregnancy and didn’t return to normal, a condition called Diastasis. This condition can cause women to still look pregnant, years after they’ve lost all the baby weight.

“I was never overweight,” Olivia explained. “I was always conscious about that.” As proud as she was to be a mother, she was ashamed of her post-partum figure. “I felt very old in my looks,” she said. “Being only 22, I wanted to wear the styles of clothes my friends were wearing. But I had all this loose skin and a bulging stomach. And I only gained 22 pounds with my twin boys.”

Additionally, she was having increasing back pains, an occasional result of Diastasis. A strong core is necessary to support posture, and without it the body has to compensate. “I wasn’t happy,” Olivia said. “I wanted to feel like me again.”

Olivia searches out a solution.

Olivia was at a loss. “It was so frustrating. The stretched skin was never going to go away. My stomach would never be flat again without muscle repair, no matter how many crunches I did or Pilates classes I took,” Olivia said. “Believe me, I tried.”

Olivia resolved to go in for post-partum rejuvenation surgery. Even though she lives an hour from the city, she chose to go to Akron Plastic Surgeons. “My doctor at Akron Plastic Surgeons is treating a condition my son has,” she explained. “If I can trust him with my son, I can absolutely trust him with me.”

Olivia’s complete post-partum rejuvenation would include a bilateral breast augmentation to counteract the damage done by pregnancy and breast-feeding, muscle repair on her abdominals, and a full tummy tuck (abdominoplasty).

Olivia was impressed with her experience with Akron Plastic Surgeons. “I felt extremely at ease in their presence. They were professional, patient and answered all of my questions.” She felt completely prepared for what she was about to undergo. “The staff had me watch videos, I received information in the mail — they were very eager and also diligent in ensuring that I had all the knowledge that I needed to feel confident going into surgery.”

Olivia gets Post-partum Rejuvenation.

Olivia’s operation went off without incidence. “This was the first surgery I’ve been through and I was completely calm the whole time,” she recalled. “I wasn’t anxious or nervous in the least.”

She returned to Akron Plastic Surgeons two days after the surgery for a follow up. “They knew exactly what I was going through and took steps to make me as comfortable as possible. I was told to come through the back door so I wouldn’t have to wait in the waiting room. They understand.”

Although abdominal surgery can sometimes warrant a rough recovery, Olivia said Akron Plastic Surgeons made hers easier. “From the beginning, they had a plan regarding pain management and recovery, and everything went exactly as I expected.”

Olivia today.

Olivia’s post-partum rejuvenation is complete and she couldn’t be happier. “I am so pleased. My stomach is flat. The bulge and floppy skin are gone. I look like me again,” she said. “And, my back pain has decreased significantly.” She even returned to Akron Plastic Surgeons for some revisions around the area, free of charge. “When they ensure complete satisfaction, they really mean it,” she said.

Since her surgery, Olivia has sent two friends to Akron Plastic Surgeons. “I recommend them every chance I get.”

These days, Olivia is fulfilling her role of motherhood with confidence. “No matter what your age, you want to put your best foot forward,” she said. “An added boost of self-assurance does so much good. That’s what this surgery did for me.”

“I’ll be out with the family and people can’t believe that I’ve given birth to three kids,” she said with smile. “You should see the look on their faces when they realize two of them are twins.”

 

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Meet Christine.
Stomach/Abdomen (Abdominoplasty)

Two Cesarean sections had left Christine's stomach protruding. "Even though I work out a lot, I cannot get rid of that bulge. Not even a trillion sit-ups help," says Christine.

She thought about having a 'tummy' repair done after the birth of her last child. When she was told that she needed a hysterectomy, it was the perfect opportunity to consult a plastic surgeon at Akron Plastic Surgeons about an abdominoplasty. She says the scar is hardly noticeable, very low on the hipline and only about pencil width.

Christine feels great about her decision. "I'm so happy that I can finally tuck my shirts in again. I feel a lot more confident now," she says. “Of course you don't stop working out or taking care of yourself.”

Christine is grateful to her plastic surgeon at Akron Plastic Surgeons. "He was kind and gave me all of the information I needed to make a good decision." She received positive support from the entire staff before and after her surgery.

 

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