| Plastic
Surgery In The Dominican Republic |
| Inexpensive
And Excellent |
| By JoAnn M. Roselli |
| To the
uninitiated, the idea of having cosmetic surgery in a small Caribbean country
is ‘frightening’ to say the least. Commonly one would envision
a Hollywood “third world” type of scene…of hospitals with narrow,
dimly lit hallways and filth encrusted walls; maybe a chicken pecking around
in the corner here and there. What surprises many and shocks most is
the fact that in my own experience nothing could be further from the
truth. In fact, my discovery of the high-quality, low-priced plastic surgery
available in the Dominican Republic was absolutely life changing!
In 2001, I
came to the Dominican Republic with my fiancé, who was born
in DR but had spent the most recent 22 years of his life in the US.
I had battled with a weight problem for years, and in one of my moments
of diet-induced angst he confided in me that one of his cousins had liposuction
eight years earlier in the Dominican Republic and had never gained back
a pound! I was thrilled at the idea, but what really convinced me
to take a chance was when I found out the price…50-70% less than it would
cost me in the US! |
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| When our schedules
and budgets finally allowed for us to make the 3-hour trip from New York
to Santo Domingo, I was excited at the thought that I might get to meet
with a plastic surgeon who would be able to “squeeze” me in for
at least a little liposuction during my 13-day stay. I spent one
day meeting and socializing with my fiancé’s family and friends
from long ago. The next day, we made the trip from Bonao (his hometown)
to Santo Domingo. There I met with such a happy surprise!
The plastic
surgeon took me in ahead of other waiting patients, examined me and
made his recommendation that I have liposuction and a tummy tuck.
Before I met him, I was nervous about seeing a doctor in the Dominican
Republic, as my Spanish was abysmal. To my delight, the surgeon spoke
English quite well! His office was immaculately clean and very elegantly
decorated, as was the clinic where I would have my surgery and stay for
two days post-operatively. And he had a professional demeanor and
congeniality that I had never encountered among the many American doctors
that I had worked with (as a medical transcriptionist for 7 years).
At first when
he recommended that I have a tummy tuck as well as liposuction, I was afraid
there was no way I could afford to have both surgeries at one time. |
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| After all,
I had a consultation with a cosmetic surgeon in Manhattan who quoted me
a price of $6,000.00 just for liposuction on my thighs…and that was just
his fee! On top of that I would have to pay separate fees for the
anesthesiologist, nursing staff, operating room fee, compression garments,
2-day hospital stay, and the inevitable $25.00 for each Tylenol they gave
me for my pain. That would mean a total of at least $9,000.00 (and
that is probably an extremely conservative estimate).
During my initial
consultation with my surgeon in Santo Domingo, I asked him how much
the total would be for both surgeries. His reply…$2,400.00!
Wow! Was I amazed…and I’m sure that it showed in my facial expression.
My next question was, “How long will it take?” I meant how
long would the surgery take, but the doctor apparently misunderstood my
meaning and replied with, “Okay, I can do it for $1,800.00.” |
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| What?
Did I just unknowingly negotiate a lower price?
Lower than
$2,400.00? Indeed, I had! As is the tradition in most Dominican
business situations, doctors in the Dominican Republic are open to ‘haggling’!
Oh Joy!
My next
question was, “Now is this the REAL total price? What else will I
have to pay for separately?” The answer…I had to pay no extra
fees or costs. Everything was included… supplies, anesthesiologist,
pre-operative bloodwork, nursing care, 2-day hospital stay with all meals,
medication; even follow up visits with the doctor! All included!
I thought I
was dreaming. And what was even more fantastic was the fact that
he scheduled my appointment for the very next morning!
My results
were wonderful, my treatment superb and the entire experience was the
complete opposite of what my ignorant fears had led me to believe cosmetic
surgery in the Dominican Republic would be like! |
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| In fact, I
was so pleased with my results that I went back 6 months later for some
more liposuction of my back, hips and thighs, eyelid lift and upper arm
lift! Total cost of all those surgeries together…a mere $3,300.00!
Even though
both of my trips to the Dominican Republic were spent “going
under the knife”, I fell so in love with this seductively beautiful
country and its friendly, fun-loving inhabitants that in September of 2002
we moved our entire family here!
We now live
at a much higher standard than we ever could have in the States and enjoy
trotting off to a different breath-taking Caribbean beach every few weeks.
I wake up thanking
heavens for my wonderful discovery of this fabulous country that gave me
not only a new figure but a whole new life! |
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