This is part 1 of My Bariatric Life plastic surgery with Dr. Joseph F. Capella, Capella Plastic Surgery, Ramsey NJ.
Choosing Dr. Joseph F. Capella
I had been contemplating body contouring plastic surgery with Dr. Joseph F. Capella since losing more than 100 pounds from gastric bypass surgery in 2003. I’d expected my flesh would shrink with the weight loss as it had done in the past. However after massive weight loss, my loose skin, excessive fat, and relaxed muscles did not respond well to diet and exercise and hung on me like an ill-fitted suit.
I still recall the photo that I fell in love with all those years ago. I thought, if Dr. Capella could do that for her, imagine what he could do for me! I’d met with several plastic surgeons but Dr. Capella stood head and shoulders above the rest.
I met with Joseph F. Capella MD (Capella Plastic Surgery), a specialist in bariatric plastic surgery, in 2006 — although his reputation preceded him. He had the surgical skills and expertise to produce optimal results on massive weight loss patients, as evidenced by his extensive online gallery of before and after photos. I still recall the photo that I fell in love with all those years ago. I thought, if Dr. Capella could do that for her, imagine what he could do for me! I’d met with several plastic surgeons but Dr. Capella stood head and shoulders above the rest. And from our initial meeting I knew he was the one whom I wanted to perform my plastic surgery.
There also was something special in that Dr. Capella seemed excited to take care of me and I felt immediately comfortable talking to him. That’s not only nice, but also it’s important that I be able to talk to him about my concerns, like I would a friend, and not hold anything back. Little did I know how vital a role that would come to play in our relationship.
Tummy Tuck Plastic Surgery Before and After
But I am getting ahead of myself. The one thing that I remember from our conversation during that long ago consultation is this: I told him about the body I wanted to achieve with plastic surgery but said I knew I’d never get be able to wear a bikini. And he giggled and asked me “why not?” That must have been meaningful to me because I distinctly remember the details of the encounter to this day.
Years after that fateful encounter, I finally had a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) and mons lift with Dr. Joseph F. Capella on April 18, 2013. And that summer I did, in fact, wear a bikini at the beach! I had been about twenty years old that last time I wore a bikini. Truly, my tummy looked like it was that of a twenty-year-old woman. I went from a size 14 jeans being tight to a perfect size 8 jeans fitting like a glove. It was wonderful! And it was worth every penny of the $7,000.00 I’d spent.
Total Body Contouring Plastic Surgery
I was delighted with my tummy tuck results from Dr. Capella. But I noticed my body was mismatched. My tummy looked great. However when I turned around my back looked like the back of a forty-nine year old woman who was once morbidly obese. As did my thighs, my buttocks, my arms, and my breasts. And, to be brutally honest, so did my once pretty face!
I dreamed how nice it would be if my thighs did not rub together when I walked, not to get a wedgie when I wore shorts. I thought how wonderful it would be to wear sleeveless tops and shorter dresses. And I fantasized about looking good in a bikini from the front and the back.
So thrilled was I with the tummy tuck results that Dr. Capella had given me that I moved forward with my long-held dream to do a total body transformation. This decision was made at a time in my life when I’d come to the keenly painful awareness that life is short and precious. And since we never know when our last day on Earth will be, I had better stop procrastinating and do the things that my heart truly desired. On October 10, 2013, I underwent another plastic surgery with Dr. Capella that combined an arm lift, breast lift, lower body lift, and medial thigh lift.
Plastic Surgery after Weight Loss Cost
It was not on a whim that I committed to spend an additional $18,000.00 to have my body incised in multiple places and leave permanent scars around my torso and on each and every appendage. To arrive at this decision took me through a rollercoaster of emotions that I rode from mid-Summer when I did my first consult up until the night before my second stage plastic surgery.
Continue to part 2 Emotions Run Wild at Capella Plastic Surgery
Living larger than ever,
My Bariatric Life