When I first began to contemplate undergoing an abdominoplasty, I did my homework. I chose who I believed to be three of the best surgeons in the Charlotte area. I perused the websites of each of the three practices, and I particularly enjoyed “getting to know” Dr. Miles through his bio. I must say, two of the things that first impressed me were his previous military career service and his contributions to the scientific literature in plastic & reconstructive surgery. I was also impressed with his medical missionary work and his work with veterans. Dr. Miles just seemed like the type of person I’d like to get to know, and I thus looked forward to meeting him during my initial visit. When I called to make an appointment, I spoke to Kelley (who has such a sweet and very professional “presence” on the phone ““ love her!) Kelley was incredibly helpful and accommodating to my schedule (it was summertime, my young children were home and I had to coordinate with babysitters), and she was very, VERY kind when I needed to reschedule my first appointment. (Sometimes staff at physicians’ offices seem to get really annoyed by a rescheduling request, but I felt none of that in this case).
I will also add that I was deeply appreciative of the very low cost for the initial consultation. One of the other physicians I considered charges $250 just for an initial consultation! Well, I will say that during my initial visit, I probably SHOULD have paid Dr. Miles WELL IN EXCESS of $250 because he took so much time with me. When I arrived for my first appointment, Marcy was at the front desk, and she was very kind and helpful. One could almost be intimidated by her (she is so beautiful!!), but her kindness to me instantly put me at ease.
During that first appointment with Dr. Miles, I never once felt rushed or felt like I was inconveniencing anyone. It just seemed like a lovely conversation with a very personable and professional physician. I shared my written list of goals with Dr. Miles, and he really took the time to discuss each one of them with me. I appreciated so much the ground we covered that first appointment”¦ the description of the actual procedure, an honest account of the couple of RARE, unexpected things he had seen happen during the procedure, and Dr. Miles’ honest assessment of his “work” (i.e., a perfectionist who sometimes makes belly buttons too small ““ and even that sounded perfect for me!) I was impressed with his credentialing by the American Board of Surgery (can you believe there are medical personnel who perform “tummy tucks” without this credential?!), and even more so, the affiliation that he has with his network of fellow plastic surgeons who often consult with each other as needed. Everything Dr. Miles said that day seemed reassuring, honest, and genuine. Dr. Miles is obviously extremely competent and knowledgeable about, and exceedingly experienced with, the abdominoplasty procedure, and that was instantly evident at my first visit. When it was time for him to view my “problem areas,” he again put me at ease with only positive comments. I loved hearing, “Yep! You would get a great result!”
Well, needless to say, I left the office feeling very positive about everything. In a move that is quite unlike me, I immediately cancelled my appointments with the other two plastic surgeons. Truly, there was no need to look anywhere else because I had found the perfect surgeon for me!
The next visit, I brought my husband with me, something Dr. Miles encourages with his patients. Dr. Miles answered all of my husband’s questions and did so with the same professional and personal demeanor that I noted during my previous visit. And frankly, we couldn’t believe how affordable the procedure would be, especially since it included an overnight stay in the hospital. I was so grateful to have Dr. Miles encourage that overnight stay”†it was perfect for me, and I now can’t imagine how anyone could go straight home after that procedure!
Because I have to research anything I do to the absolute maximum before I do it, I asked Kelley if she could provide me with a couple of names of former patients I could talk to. Even though I had pretty much all the info I needed at that point, it was still so reassuring to talk with a former patient who had previously undergone the same procedure. She was thrilled with her result, and it was a very affirming conversation. Clearly, I had done all my homework and had chosen the perfect surgeon for my procedure!
So, as the time neared for my surgery date, Kelley was again phenomenal in answering all my questions (and I had many!) She prepared me well for absolutely everything that would happen. And when I had some silly questions she couldn’t answer, she had no reservation about having Dr. Miles call me to answer them. Likewise, it was so incredibly terrific to have the phone call from Dr. Miles the evening before my surgery. (Do all surgeons do this? Because it just seemed to me to be such an incredibly thoughtful thing to do!) He completely calmed the few tiny last-minute jitters I had.
The evening before my surgery, I took to heart some great advice from the hospital coordinator who had called me the week before, and I worked diligently to get my system very hydrated. Between my generous hydration the evening before and the scopolamine patch I asked the anesthesiologist for, I experienced absolutely NO nausea or vomiting, which had been my greatest fear.
So, the day of the procedure, everything went perfectly. I loved every one of the pre-op staff I encountered at Presbyterian Hospital-Huntersville, and I was just as impressed with my personable anesthesiologist (whose name I can’t recall). Seeing Dr. Miles for all the measurements and markings before the surgery was again, very reassuring. Apparently, the surgery went very well”†I think Dr. Miles even came to check on me while I was in the Recovery Room. (If I imagined that, it certainly SEEMED like he did since my care was so comprehensive and I felt so positive afterwards!) I continued to be very well-cared-for by the post-operative staff at Presbyterian that afternoon and night. I was only sorry that they had to call Dr. Miles at 3:00 a.m. when my blood pressure was so low! [As a quick aside, I just wanted to mention one more time how grateful I was for that overnight stay. Not only did the i.v. continue to keep me well hydrated to keep the nausea/vomiting at bay, but I can’t tell you how grateful I was to have that foley catheter all the way through until the next morning! Yippee for not having to get out of bed those first 18 hours!!] Dr. Miles came to see me bright and early the next morning and was his usual reassuring, personable self.
And so my recovery progressed, completely without incident. I so appreciated the timely responses to the couple of questions I phoned in (and was especially grateful to be able to send a picture of my incision and have an instant response from Dr. Miles that it was completely fine!) My subsequent office visits were always very pleasant and very reassuring. I loved hearing, “Yep! I knew you were gonna have a great result!” And indeed, I have.
I have been so pleased”†actually thrilled”†with my entire experience. Obviously, you can’t argue with the fact that I have had a very positive result. I can give myself a tiny bit of credit because I wholeheartedly believe in a doctor-patient “partnership” and thus have followed all doctor’s orders, including continuing to do my part with frequent exercise and a healthy diet. But clearly, Dr. Miles is a masterful surgeon who does phenomenal work. The fact that he’s a really nice guy on top of that (just like I believed him to be when I first read his bio) is truly icing on the cake. Thank you Dr. Miles, Kelley, Marcy, and the Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville pre- and post-op staff for such a wonderful experience from start to finish.
– Michelle