Patient Stories: Tara

My husband and I went in to see Dr. Engel, and of course I had tons of questions for him, and he just kind of laid it all out: what to expect, what kind of procedure, he showed me a lot of pictures of what he’s done for people – the pre- and how they look after – and there was just no questions at the end of the day of what he was going to do for me. When we talked about the breast, he gives you all different sizes to try on and to really feel how saline versus silicone feels. And there were times that I just got to the point – I was like, “I’ve tried on so many, I don’t even know what I want!” And he said, “Well, I think this looks good.” And there was a nurse there the whole time giving you feedback, as well, so it’s just a – for me it’s like trying on new clothes – it was just fun. And to look at things and say, “Oh my goodness, this is how I’m going to look in a shirt and this is how I’m going to look in a bathing suit,” because of course I brought my bathing suit with me. And I wanted to make sure that everything was going to look, what I wanted to look, which is perfect. So I was just happy. I think the consultation was like over an hour, which you don’t ever get with a doctor. He just took the time and he answered all of my questions.

After having 2 children my abdominis rectus had separated and every time that I sneezed, coughed, or bent over I had this protrusion coming from my abdomen. So I went and saw Dr. Engel and he looked at everything, and of course I came here with my own concept of, “I kind of want you to go through my C-section scar and I don’t really want this and I don’t want that,” and he kind of looked at me and he said, “Well, you know, if I go through just that small scar I’m not going to give you your result. So I really need to go from hip to hip, and this is what I need to do.” And I said, “Oh, OK. I wasn’t really expecting that,” but he says, “Tara, this is what it’s going to look like in the end.” So he then pulled out his computer, started looking at the photos of pre- and post- and I said, “Yeah, that’s what I want to look like,” and I showed him my picture. And he says, “Well, then I need to do from hip to hip.”

So it’s a lot to take in, and I asked him a lot of questions like, when can I go and start working out again, when can I lift my child, and he says, “Well, that’s going to take time, Tara. It’s not going to be something that immediately you’re going to be able to do.” He gave me pictures, he said, “You know, postoperatively you’re going to have tubes and you’re going to have bandages and you’re going to have wraps, and you know basically you’re going to be a little bit swollen. So don’t expect immediate results, but as time goes you’re going to notice a huge result.” And I was like OK, and I just walked out and I remember looking at my husband leaving after my consultation saying, “Wow, you know, this is a great guy. He’s so knowledgeable, he’s perfect. And so without a shadow of a doubt we just went into another room and we signed up for the surgery and the day and the time.

So the day of the surgery, we’re driving in – I’m excited, I’m ecstatic. I go upstairs where they have their surgery center, and I’m greeted by the pre-op nurse. She brings me back, she puts you on the table, does your vital signs – you know, just asks, “How’s things?” And then Dr. Engel walks in, and he’s all ready, happy, smiling and he just takes his purple pen and starts drawing on you, and he basically tells you all over again what he’s going to do, how long the procedures going to last, and he answers again any questions that you have. He then looked at my husband and said, “Are you going to be waiting here for her to finish or are you going to go somewhere?” And my husband says, “No, I’m going somewhere.” So he says, “OK, then give me your cellphone number and I’ll call you throughout the procedure.” And I remember my procedure actually took longer than Dr. Engel expected, and I said to my husband when it was all said and done, “Were you ever scared that it took longer?” And he said, “No, he called me several times throughout and said, ‘You know, this is what’s going on, we just finished this, this is what we’re going to do next.’” And so he just kept my husband up to date through the whole process, which again, I think, is beyond what most people would do. So it was amazing.

So postoperatively – 24 hours because I had 2 surgeries – I had to go to a facility, and then basically right after that you just have to take care of yourself. You take your pain medicine, make sure you stay hydrated, and just follow the rules that were directed. I would say about 6 weeks I was – basically don’t do anything. Don’t push a vacuum cleaner, don’t pick up anything. Just take care of yourself for the first 6 weeks, and then after that you can do as much as your body will allow you – but listen to your body. When it says stop because you feel the pain, then stop. So within 2 months, I felt really back to normal after 2 months. I wasn’t on any more pain medicine. Just that 2 months that my body started transforming to what I really wanted, and I started seeing a big difference around about 2 months.

I can’t say enough. I love everything about what he did, and if I could describe Dr. Engel, I would say he is the perfect artist. He is not only a really good friend now, but he cares about his patients and he just does amazing work. So I’m pleased and a lot of people asked me questions when they want to go into this. They say, so did you feel like this was a selfish thing and I said, “Absolutely not.” It was something that I knew that I wanted to do for myself, and I think going into having any type of surgery – something that’s elective – it is something that you think about, sometimes talk yourself out of it, but for me it was the best thing that I could have done for myself. So I’m pleased, and I hope that you guys get a chance to experience this with Dr. Engel.

So there were many people to choose from when you’re looking at doing plastic surgery, and I can’t say enough about Dr. Engel. He’s not only great with bedside manner, but he’s knowledgeable, he is what I call the perfect artist, and he’s just, at the end, so passionate about his work. He loves his job and you can tell it. He really just becomes a friend after you go through the procedures with him because he cares about you, he follows up with you. You can call him anytime with any questions, and still to this day, 2 years post-surgery, I can still call him up and say, “Hey, I have a question,” and he’s there to answer. He’s a really great guy.