Grand Rapids, MI plastic surgeon Dr. David R. Alfonso has performed thousands of body transformations, and according to the surgeon, today’s body-contouring procedures are much easier to undergo, many of his patients are up the next day performing many basic activities.
For Dr. Alfonso and his team, they not only have body transforming surgeries like Mommy Makeovers, tummy tucks and liposuction down to a science, but they have also perfected the art of pre- and post-operative care—to the point that their patients are healing and resuming their active lifestyles much faster than they ever have in the past.
“In addition to having a 360-degree approach when I am sculpting and reshaping the body, we’ve also made huge progress in accelerating the healing and recovery process, which translates to less downtime,” says the surgeon.
Fast-Trak Breast Augmentations
At Dr. Alfonso’s practice, breast surgeries come with a specialized approach both before, during and after surgery to get patients back to doing the things they love the most. “We perform Fast-Trak breast augmentations, which is a way of minimizing tissue trauma during implant placement and provide post-care techniques that help patients get back to feeling normal, faster,” he explains. Most of his breast augmentation patients take only a day’s worth or less of prescription pain medicine
A 360-Approach
For those who have multiple areas to treat, Dr. Alfonso positions patients to not only perform liposuction in the front, but also along the sides and the back of the body. This ensures he’s addressing all their concerns in one surgery and eliminating the need for multiple procedures. “Many surgeons will try to do everything with the patient laying on their back. I will reposition the patient in a way that allows me to get all the way in the back, address the bra role and waist line to reshape that area. It does take more time, but the results are far more impressive, and you don’t need to have two separate procedures. It’s a good time saver and you’re not having to be under anesthesia more than once.”
Sophisticated Pain Management
Dr. Alfonso also employs the latest ultrasound technology and TAP block anesthesia to control postoperative pain. “Many of my patients can get through recovery without any narcotics, which is an amazing advancement,” he says.
“Our high-resolution ultrasound allows our anesthesiologists to visualize the core muscle layer and find exactly where the pain fibers are located, so they’re able to inject a long-acting anesthetic to help with pain control which lasts about two and a half days,” notes Dr. Alfonso. “This has been a game changer for recovery, my patients are up and moving immediately after surgery, they’re feeling less pain and we’re really getting to the point of eliminating the need for heavy prescription medications.”
