She flew from Puerto Rico for her surgery. Four months later, she says she would do it 20 times over.

One of my patients, Myra Garcia, flew in from Puerto Rico to have an arm lift, a drainless tummy tuck, and a breast lift. At four months post-op, I sat down with her to talk about her experience — from the moment she found me on TikTok to the day she told me she would fly back twenty times if she had to.

A year of research before making the call

Myra had been thinking about surgery for a long time before she reached out. Like many of my patients, she was motivated by wanting to feel more confident in her own body — to look the way she felt on the inside. She had been living with arm contours that made her self-conscious, breast tissue that had began to sag and was causing back pain, and changes to her abdomen that were not going away no matter what she did.

She found me the way a lot of patients do — on TikTok. She watched my videos for over a year before she picked up the phone.

“One day I was looking through TikTok and I came upon yourself. I have been looking at your page for over a year.”

What finally made her decide was the drainless tummy tuck.

“What drew me to you was the drainless tummy tuck. It was something different than the common.”

She had done her research. She had looked at other surgeons. But the drainless technique was the differentiator that made her make the call.

The hardest part: trusting a surgeon from far away

Traveling for surgery adds a layer of complexity that patients who come locally do not have to think about. For Myra, leaving Puerto Rico and putting her trust in a surgeon she had only seen on a screen was genuinely difficult.

“It was difficult because I have to travel. This is my body. Am I going to be happy with this surgery?”

What gave her the confidence to move forward was everything she had read and seen over that year of research.

“All I read, all I saw was so many positive things about your surgeries and the results. So I called.”

We started with a virtual consultation. She sent photos ahead of time so I could review her anatomy before we met. From there, she worked with my patient coordinator to book her surgery and plan her travel. The process for out-of-town patients is something my team has done many times, and for Myra, it went smoothly.

The consultation changed everything

When Myra came in for her in-person pre-op visit, something shifted for her. She had been carrying anxiety about the surgery and the travel for months. Walking into the office changed that.

“I came here and felt so comfortable. You explained everything so detailed. I left here at peace.”

That is what a consultation is supposed to do. Not just cover the clinical logistics, but give the patient a complete picture of what they are walking into so they can go into surgery with clarity rather than anxiety.

Recovery: exactly what I said it would be

I always tell my patients they will be walking upright the next day. Myra had heard me say it in my videos. She was not entirely sure she believed it — until it happened to her.

“When you say in your videos that the next day your patients are walking upright, he is not lying. The next day I was upright.”

She stayed in Houston for a week. Day by day, her recovery progressed exactly as it was supposed to.

“I stayed here a week. The first day perfect. The next day better. Everything was going as followed.”

For out-of-town patients, that predictable recovery timeline matters enormously. Without drains to manage, without tubes to monitor, Myra was able to focus entirely on resting and healing. She flew home on schedule.

Four months later

When I sat down with Myra four months after her surgery, the thing she talked about most was not the physical result. It was what it felt like to have herself back.

“I feel extremely beautiful and so confident. I feel 10 years younger. My back does not hurt anymore.”

“You have returned something that was missing. I feel me.”

She had one message for anyone who is sitting where she was sitting a year ago — researching, watching videos, wondering if they should make the call.

“Come, call, make a consultation. Ask all the questions you need to ask. Don’t leave here with a doubt.”

And when I asked her whether, knowing everything she knows now, she would do it all again:

“If I have to fly back 20 times again, I will Doctor D. It has been an adventure that has made my life great.”

That is why I do what I do.