Case Study: Jason

A look at one man’s procedures from two perspectives 
By Michael W. Sasser

New England resident Jason does a lot right when it comes to taking care of his health and appearance. He works out regularly at the gym and pays attention to his overall health and fitness. But there were some things about his physique that he felt he could not make much progress with. So, while on vacation in Miami with his partner, a doctor who had undergone cosmetic procedures earlier, Jason conducted some research that led him to Dr. Leonard Tachmes, M.D./P.A. and Tachmes’ respected Miami Beach Plastic Surgery Center and Medspa.

“I’m from New England where [cosmetic surgery] is not as common and actually had a consultation in Boston, but it was much more expensive there,” Jason said.

So Jason met with Tachmes, and it was a different experience than the one he had in Boston.

“I met with Dr. Tachmes and toured the facilities and I was very comfortable with him and his staff, and it was about half the price I’d been quoted in Boston. That’s when I knew I would have the work done.”

From Dr. Tachmes’ perspective, Jason appeared to be a good candidate. “He’s a healthy young guy who was very motivated, worked out regularly, and I think he was just not happy with the results of exercise and diet,” said Tachmes, who is also Chief of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Larkin Community Hospital in South Miami. “He was healthy but was focused on his appearance. Some people have this baby fat that just won’t go away. He was in his thirties but still had fat on his flanks and his belly that wouldn’t go away. Also he wasn’t getting the type of results he wanted on his pectorals. He is a nice guy who just wasn’t getting the results he wanted.”

Initially, Jason was interested in liposuction procedures to remove the excess fat, but he then reviewed the available services at Tachmes’ practice.

“When I first met with Dr. Tachmes that summer, I had planned on having lipo and then having some of that tissue used to fill out my chest,” Jason said. “Then I saw that he did pectoral implants and looked at some photos and ended up having another consult on that.”

Tachmes doesn’t rush into procedures like pec implants. “I tend to be more conservative with implants,” he said. “The more you try to stretch an area for an implant the greater the chance for trauma and complications. The whole thing with aesthetic surgery is that you have to hear what a patient wants and balance that with what’s safe and best. There are so many outside influences on people when it comes to aesthetics, but we have to consider what’s safe and best.”

Interestingly, Tachmes said that initially Jason wasn’t happy with the size of his proposed pec implants. “He talked me into just a little larger, and as it turned out, he was right. I’ve been doing this for 20 years but you have to listen to your patients. It turned out to be a great decision.”

Both doctor and patient cite the ease of the consultation process.

“I flew in the week before the procedures for another consult because I had decided on the pec implants,” Jason said. “Everything was explained to me clearly, they answered all my questions and Dr. Tachmes and his staff made me feel very comfortable.”

Jason scheduled his appointment for the procedures in December 2012 for a February 2013 date, although he said it was his choice and that he could have had the procedures done within three months of his initial consultations. Because of the comfort level he had with Dr. Tachmes and staff, it was only the day of the procedures that he had any apprehension.

Jason had two forms of lipo and the pectoral implants. “I had the surgery at 1 p.m. and by that night I was sore, mostly from the implants, but I could move,” he said. “The pectoral implants made it feel like there was an elephant on my chest.”

Dr. Tachmes said that Jason’s procedures went very well. “The lipo went well because the younger the patient the better because the skin is tighter.” He said the surgery took a total of 3-3 1/2 hours, that Jason was in the recovery room for about 90 minutes and then he was picked up by a friend. “We checked up on him that first night,” Dr. Tachmes added.

After surgery on a Tuesday, Jason was back at work the following Monday. “I have a desk job so I don’t have to do any lifting,” he said. He was swollen from the procedures the first month following surgery, but was back at work and the swelling dissipated fairly quickly.

Better yet, Jason said that he is very pleased with the results, that the results met expectation and that the information Dr. Tachmes had given him on recovery was accurate. “I’m very pleased with the results,” he explained. “Looking at me, you would never know I had any surgery. After two months, my life is back to normal, I am back to 100 percent and I am back to my normal gym routine.”

Jason said one small scar in each armpit and the tiny lipo scars are the only residual signs of having had the work done and that none of them are readily apparent.

Dr. Tachmes said that normal procedure for him is to see each patient one or two days after surgery, then again after a week, usually to remove stitches, and then once again in two weeks to a month.

Jason had high praise for Dr. Tachmes’ work and the care he received through the entire process. “The staff did a terrific job checking up on me and were very professional and very nice people. My results exceeded my expectations.”

Even though he lives out of state, Jason has referred a friend to Dr. Tachmes.

While Jason couldn’t be happier with the results he received from procedures completed by a skilled professional with impeccable qualifications, Dr. Tachmes warned that there are risks in the marketplace. “There is no effective regulation and plastic surgery is being done by non-plastic surgeons,” he said. “It’s a battle educating people because there is danger out there.”

For more information on Dr. Tachmes and Miami Beach Plastic Surgery Center and Medspa, visit www.tachmesmd.com.

This article was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue #18, 2013