Fierce650698 on Realself 7 months ago
11/07/2022, 09:20 AM
If You're Thinking About Labiaplasty, Read This!
First off, I want to start by saying that even if it's a small procedure, the decision to get plastic surgery is always a difficult one, so it's very important that you find a physician that will really listen to your concerns and be 100% transparent with you. Dr. Oppenheimer does exactly this. He is soft-spoken, and kind. I never once felt rushed or pressured. He has a way of making you feel like you are in the hands of a good friend.
I found Dr. Oppenheimer on real self when I was 20. I had always been very self-conscious about the asymmetry with my body and as a woman all it takes is a few comments about an insecurity and my self-esteem is badly wounded. I'm sure we can all relate.
Like I said, I knew the doctor Oppenheimer was the physician I wanted when I was 20 years old. It is now 7 years later and I finally had my surgery.
I'm going to do a quick rundown of my experience now so if you were just looking for a general review you can stop reading here. lol
Honestly getting up the nerve to do the consultation in the first place was one of the hardest parts for me. I had only ever seen reviews but I had not met Dr. Oppenheimer in person yet. Andrea was the one that did my photos and the explanation of the procedure. Honestly, as soon as I was in her presence I felt immediately relieved. In the consultation process you put on a gown and sit in a chair to take some pre-op photos. I was so self-conscious about my body and she could tell I was extremely shy especially in front of the camera. Then she said to me the absolute best thing she could have possibly said because it changed my outlook for the entire procedure. She said that she worked as a labor and delivery nurse for many years before switching to plastic surgery. She assured me that there is nothing she hasn't seen and no size or shape of body that wasn't beautiful. I mean, what's a little extra skin or asymmetry compared to what these nurses and doctors have seen in schooling and their years of experience working?? I hadn't considered that at all before and it completely changed my outlook about the nurses that would be helping me.
The morning of my surgery I arrived a bit early. Arissa was the one that actually assisted Dr. Oppenheimer in the surgery. She greeted me and immediately started to converse eight and joke about life before we started to talk about the procedure to call my nerves which, looking back, I really needed because I have extremely high anxiety when it comes to big decision making. I got changed into a gown and was given a private room to watch some Netflix before it was time to go into the operating room. Arissa made sure to go over the procedure, all the steps, and what was to be expected thoroughly before I signed consent. That was a big deal to me because I hate being handed papers to sign without explanation or time for questions. Dr. Oppenheimer then came in the room to greet me before surgery. He has a soft voice and radiates calm energy, so naturally I was more relaxed too.
We walked across the hall to the operating room and I was made comfortable on the table with pillows and heating pads (which makes a huge difference to me because I'm always cold and heat is comforting. It's the small things you know?)
I cannot stress enough how important it was to me that Dr. Oppenheimer explained every single thing that he was doing every minute. " OK, I'm going to numb you a bit now. OK, now you're going to feel some pressure. OK, now I am going to just make some marks before we begin. Now you're going to feel some pressure, and if anything is uncomfortable at all just let me know."
Again, I am the type of person that really benefits from being updated and walked through the steps of a process instead of just wondering where were at, what's going on, and if anything is going wrong.
The entire procedure took about 60 minutes. after the general anesthesia I could not feel a thing. So I spent an hour talking to Dr. Oppenheimer and Arissa about movies and school, and funny videos. Honestly, when Dr. Oppenheimer said that we were finished I could not believe how quick it went by.
Arissa helped me into a pad and some extremely flattering mesh underwear. I was then given an emergency bracelet with a hotline in case anything went wrong and I drove home which was about an hour away.
I started to feel some dull throbbing about 10 minutes from home. As soon as I got home I took more pain medicine. My pain was a seven out of 10 for about an hour until the medicine kicked in then went down to about a four, which was totally manageable. By Day two I didn't need pain medicine anymore. I sat on ice packs, binged watched shows, and waddled around the house for a week. By the second week I was running around bartending and doing 12 hour clinicals in nursing school with no problems.
At weeks post op appointment, Andrea literally shrieked and excitement with my results which made me feel wonderful. I almost cried when I saw the before and after photos. It's amazing how just a little bit of skin is all the difference in your self-confidence.
All in all, I would not change a single thing about the whole experience. The hardest part of the whole thing has been just being patient with recovery. 6-8 weeks without being able to go to the gym, or swim, or have any type of sexual release is a little challenging mentally. But what is a few weeks compared to the rest of your life?
I would do this procedure 100 times over again.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. Oppenheimer and staff for doing such an amazing job with the level of care and physical and mental comfort that you provide patients. You have given me back my self-esteem, confidence, and the feeling of being beautiful. I will 100% be back for anything I could ever need in the future.