Shelley, A New Mom With a New Body

Shelley Kocher is a mother of a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. She had a Breast Reduction with the Laserbra and a Tummy Tuck.

When Shelley graduated from high school 9 years ago, her breasts were large and they only got larger. Pregnancy also took a toll, and by the time she had her second child they were enormous. Shelley always wanted to have a breast reduction. She couldn’t even buy her bras in the U.S. she had to have them made by hand in the U.K. “My measurements were unbelievable,” she said, “I had to wear men’s shirts because they were the only shirts long enough.”

As for the Tummy Tuck, she lost weight very rapidly after her pregnancy, which resulted in a lot of excess skin. “The more weight I lost, the worse I looked,” she said, “I always hid by wearing a high waist girdle. I had two Caesarean sections, and I had lost feeling in my stomach. When my jeans would slip, I couldn’t feel it, and my stomach would hang out. Very embarrassing.”

Shelley researched Dr. Stevens for a good 6 months to a year, and she researched the procedures for many years before calling for a consultation. “I had met with other surgeons as moral support for my friends who were having procedures. Dr. Stevens was different than my friends’ surgeons. They treated my friends as an in-and-out kind of thing. [Dr. Stevens’] consultation was thorough. I could ask any question.” She originally chose Dr. Stevens because of his Laserbra technique.

Shelley was very impressed with the service and attention she received, “Right when I walked in the door, [the receptionist] knew my name. Last week I went in, and a person I’d never met knew my name. The women who work there are phenomenal. [They are] extremely professional, sweet and kind. They made me feel at ease and excited.

At the time of the interview, Shelley was in her 6th day of recovery. Other friends have had the procedures, and I thought it wouldn’t be so good. I couldn’t believe the results the next day. Phenomenal. My breasts are like when I was 16.” She had explained how supportive her sisters were of her having the surgery, and that they were size 2 and 3, “My sisters are jealous. I’m ecstatic.”

Shelley said, “My recovery is going great. My husband took off two weeks. I did exactly what I was told. What creams, when to change bandages and drainage. Healing time has been perfect. I stayed at the Serenity care facility. I was nauseated for the first 24 hours. People threw themselves at me when I didn’t feel well. The only person that’s ever treated me like that when I was sick was my mother. The care I received was awesome. I would recommend them to anyone.” She said she hasn’t had much bruising thanks to the prescribed cream and tablets.

Shelley was surprised by how little pain she had. “I thought the pain was going to be a lot worse. I had two C sections and there was a lot of pain. One of the nurses had the procedure and talked to me about it. I was prepared for the pain to be longer, but it really has diminished.”

When asked if she had any advice for other women considering the same surgery, she said, “I would say if you’re seriously unhappy with your body, and it showed, and gave you an unhappy disposition or you were depressed when you went shopping – if it’s all you think about all day – I would say, ‘do it. ‘ Even now I feel great. I can’t believe I went through 2 and 1/2 years looking horrible for a 3 hour surgery. Absolutely. You only have one body, you might as well, if someone can make you look the way you want to.”

Shelley said she had some expectations about how her breasts would look, but she had no idea how her abdomen would look. “It’s phenomenal. I didn’t think he would be able to make me look the way I look. My breasts are a lot better than I thought they would look.”