A Woman’s Perspective
By Sherri Roberts
For those of us who work with cosmetic plastic surgery patients, a new study which reports the combination of tummy tuck surgery and liposuction has a soaring satisfaction rate of more than 99 percent comes as no surprise.
Almost without exception, Dr. Patronella’s patients who undergo this procedure combination express unabashed elation about their new look.Though they expected to feel better about the way they look in and out of clothes, they often are amazed at how far-reaching this positive aesthetic change translates to their self-image and zest for life.
As Gail, age 54, a teacher and mother of two college students noted, “I’ve always been a confident person—I was a ballerina in high school, so I had good posture, a proportionate body, and I carried extra weight well.” But despite working out, she still had loose abdominal skin and a tummy pooch, and she wanted to be “smaller and more lifted.”
After making the decision to have tummy tuck surgery with Dr. Patronella to restore the svelte contour of her abdomen, along with breast surgery and a body lift to obtain a firmer, shapelier appearance in areas that had begun to sag due to the effects of childbirth, aging, and gravity, Gail said, “ I now have a better body than I did before having children!”
The change, she commented, has been life-changing in a lot of subtle ways, “It’s the confidence you have when you walk into a room,” men approaching her to strike up a conversation when she goes out, and the fun of shopping for clothes that you know you’re going to look smashing in. “I have a spectacular, new wardrobe with more fitted and stylish clothes, whereas, before, everything I wore was loose and flowy,” she said.
Like Gail, 86 percent of the 360 patients who took part in the study, which was published in the April 2012 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said they experienced a boost in self-esteem, and 70 percent reported a higher quality of life after surgery. And if they had it to do all over again, would they? A resounding 98 percent responded, “Yes!” And 99 percent would recommend it to others.
Gail agreed, “I had a good life before surgery, but this change just enhanced it and made it even greater.”
