My meeting with Dr. DiMaggio...
After we settled in to our area and apartment, we were contacted by DiMaggio's lovely assistant Ximena. She spoke fluent English and made sure we had all our paperwork ready for him, including questions.
We took a Taxi there and made friends with the driver who ended up giving us his private number so that we could use him again. He told us that UBER was a failure down here. I could care less about that, since my head was somewhere else. Either way, it was nice of him.
On the way there, we got a mini sight seeing tour from the driver. He said Buenos Aires was generally safe but that it was a big city and just to be aware of your surroundings.
When we informed him of the Hospital we were going to, he said it was one of the best in South America! So that's a good thing.
We finally got the to Hospital. It was very secure with guards everywhere and had metal detectors at all entrance/exit points.
We were greeted by Ximena. Apparently, everyone kisses on the cheeks here...even if you don't know them. ESPECIALLY women. So, I did one of those awkward do-I-kiss-you-now moves. After we giggled a bit, she asked how our trip went, and if we liked what we saw do far of Argentina. So far, so good I told her. I know this sounds silly but I never expected the Hospital to be so modern and stylish. It was really nice.
We got to the waiting area and she sat down with us, making sure I wasn't too nervous ( I wasn't). They called us in (my wife was with me), and Dr. DiMaggio opened the door. He was a little on the serious side at first, but the thing that made me skip a beat was that he was just STARING at me for awhile. Which made me wonder what was going through his mind. He shook my hand and just stared. LOL
So DiMaggio says, "I'm glad you came in today. I can see that we may not need to do certain things."
Me: Huh? What does that mean?
Dr. M: Well, you looked older in your pics and already as I've been analyzing your face, I can see that it doesn't need some of the work we talked about via Skype."
Me: I guess that is good?
Dr. M: Yes, good for your pocket.
We all laughed. And I felt a little better after that initial staring session.
Me: So what do I need?
Dr M: Well, I can see your concern regarding your brow and your nose. But the other things like the chin and even your adams apple, I wouldn't worry about. That would be optional. I would lipo under your chin though and maybe a little lift after that procedure so you wouldn't have any excess skin after the lipo but, it's not going to be that hard getting you where you want.
I have to admit, I was expecting him to up sell me, as I have heard that many of these FFS doctors do. I remember going to see Dr. Ousterhout, one of the pros in the business and he seemed like he was always up selling me. He was my number one surgeon but I couldn't afford him. What got me interested in Dr. DiMaggio was the fact that Dr. Ousterhout had mentioned only a few had his style of doing FFS and DiMaggio was one of them. I have a type III brow and I needed someone that could deal with that. That's when I kept an eye out for DiMaggio's work.
So, now I'm actually saving some money! He told me that estrogen had been good to me (I've been in fem for 5 years). He said he liked it when women gave the Estrogen a chance to do it's work. I told him that it was due to finances more than anything else. I couldn't afford it before. If not, I would have wanted to get it YESTERDAY. Lol
Then we went on to look at my boobies. And again, I was surprised by his comments. He said, that my boobs were fine, and that taking my estrogen for so long was a good thing because my boobs were of reasonable size. He did say that (and this is common) my areola was positioned a little lower than most cis gender women. He said he could reposition them and maybe add a cup size but that it really wasn't needed. Truthfully, I'm not sure I want anything touching my boobies because I like that they are sensitive and since I already have a wife that loves me with or without boobs, I decided NOT to get implants. Okay, so I'm saving more money every minute I chat with this Doctor!
Then came the DANGERS of Surgery...
Well, you can just imagine, all the things that could go wrong. I'm not going to put it on here, I'll let all of you check those things out for yourselves. But yeah, it's scary what can go wrong.
Then came EXPECTATIONS...
*Don't expect to "see" your final results in a day, week, month, months, or even year!
*Your face will change as it heals.
*Everyone heals different
*To get a glimpse of your true face you should give you face time to heal, and that would mean almost a year! (I know this seems like a long time but I know what he means. I have a friend who had FFS and her face has changed in the 5 years I've known her...all for the better of course.)
So, all-in-all, I was happy with the consult before we go in for surgery. And admittedly, very surprised by his honesty regarding what I needed and what I really didn't need. I never expected to actually save money on this trip, since I came with a little extra in case I decided to get more done.
Some of you has asked me why Dr. DiMaggio? Well, I think I've posted this before, but I think it's because he is so aggressive with Type III foreheads mostly. I don't think he's the ONLY one out there. But for me, it's what I felt was needed. Now, that I've met him in person, I feel even more confident with my choice!
And for those of you that wanted me to post pics....well, I'm still on the fence with that, BUT I understand that it's important to a lot of you out there who want to know more about the process and for those sitting on the fence with who you should go with. Like I've said before, there are a lot of great FFS doctors out there and it's really up to you to decide.
I'm not necessarily recommending Dr. DiMaggio here. I'm just letting you know how things have been, and will be, concerning my OWN case.
In general Buenos Aires is a very European flavored city. It reminds me a lot of Spain and certain areas of Lima Peru as well. The exchange rate is in our favor (for USA peeps).
I have a couple of weeks before my surgery and we've booked some tours of the city. Maybe I'll post some of those pics as well.
So far so good.
If any of you need more info, feel free to post here or send a message. However, if you feel your question will benefit the Forum readers please post here.
Cheers!
