Rating from 103 Reviews World-class services in a safe and healthy environmentMatthew, India, 11 Aug 17I made the difficult decision to do plastic surgery like many others. After years of fretting over a particular part of my body and doing everything I could to fix it myself. For me, as a 33-year-old male, it was my midsection, including my love handles, lower back, and lower abdomen in the front. I had spent thousands on gym memberships, personal trainers, and supplements. I had spent countless hours in the gym. All to no avail. Finally, one day while on an extended work trip in India, I decided that I’d get a little outside assistance i.e., consult with a plastic surgeon about the pros/cons of liposuction. It was this interest in lipo that took me to Dr. Rajat Gupta at Skinnovation Clinic. I had met a few other surgeons but, after meeting Dr. Gupta, my gut said to myself “geez, Matthew, you really dodged a bullet with those other dodgy surgeons.” The first thing I noticed when entering Dr. Gupta’s clinic was that it was all white with black trim, and spotlessly clean. All of the lights worked, and all of the chords: TV, computer, or otherwise – were properly tucked away. I noticed that there were floor mats outside of treatment rooms, and places to put foot wear, as it was evident they weren’t allowed in the treatment rooms. Seems silly, you may think, for these to be the first things to strike me. Actually, it’s quite relevant, as this all spoke to the tight ship that Dr. Gupta runs, the protocols he enforces, and his focus on providing world-class services in a safe and healthy environment. None of the other clinics I visited had such apparent focus on maintaining a medical setting that would pass for Western standards.
Then I met Dr. Gupta himself. He has a straight-to-the-point, matter-of-fact way about him. As he talked me through what he could and couldn’t do with liposuction for me, I felt that he was giving me the truth, not some sales pitch that would get me to sign up. That was refreshing. He talked about what I could expect by way of results, which would ultimately include some natural imperfections. For example, my abdomen, before surgery, did not have much symmetry; apparently most people don’t have perfect balance and, if they did, it would look weird and unnatural anyway. He pointed this out to me. Further, Dr. Gupta has this precision about the way he discussed the procedure, talking me through it step by step, giving the pros and the cons along the way. Again, it wasn’t a sales pitch. Implicit in the way he approached our consultation was this mindset: “I’m good at what I do, and I can help you and believe you’ll be happy with the results, but I want to be clear to you upfront about all aspects of this.” Within about 10 minutes of talking with him, I knew that he was the one I wanted to go with, and I told him that.
An interesting note about Dr. Gupta. We had this conversation around my body in his office, with him talking about what could and couldn’t be done, the risks, the recovery period, the costs, logistics, etc. It was one part beauty consultation, another part business; all the while, his wife was anxiously waiting for him to join a family function for which he was late. Once the chat was through, and I had decided to go with him, he had to draw my blood for the pre-operative tests. It was in that moment that I realized how good of a surgeon he would be. The rush of getting to his wife seemed to vanish, and time stood still as he put his hand on my arm, slowly found the vein, gently drew the blood, and told me to relax, reassuring me that this is going to go well and that he’s confident I’ll be happy with the results. I wish I could describe it better. The bottom line: I just knew in my gut that I was in good hands.
The surgery took place at Fortis La Femme, which is one of the top hospitals in Delhi, mostly focused on women and children. I was struck by their warmth and efficiency. Gosh, if only US hospitals were run like this. I was prepped for surgery by a thoughtful nurse; before going up, Dr. Gupta came into my room and made the markings on where he’d be making incisions and the areas on which he would focus. He left me with a calm and confident feeling about what I was about to go through.
The operating room was just as you’d expect in any hospital in America. Very serious and sterile. I had no second thoughts as they administered the anesthesia. When I awoke, Dr. Gupta greeted me warmly, as was consistent with his demeanor. He told me that he was aggressive – btw, exactly what I wanted to hear! – in removing 3 liters of fat from the marked areas. He asked that I stay overnight in the hospital so I could be monitored instead of going back to my hotel alone; and he offered to make those arrangements gratis.
The next day, which was a Sunday, I saw him in his office in Modeltown in Delhi. He and his staff were there conducting a training via webcast on another procedure they offer. It’s always nice to see medical staff so invested in continued education and helping others upskill. He peeled away the surgical wrappings, almost proud to show me the results. Frankly, I didn’t see them. All I saw was bruising and swelling and the incision marks. Nonetheless, he helped me into my compression garments, which he helped to coordinate to be custom made for me (highly recommend the tailor, too, by the way!), and asked me to stay in touch via WhatsApp.
The next day I flew from Delhi to Mumbai for work and did four days straight of teaching workshops. I had like four or five medicines he wanted me to take. Sure, I was sore and had a limited range of motion; and by the end of the days, I was ready to lie down for a bit and rest. But I was able to manage. It wasn’t until later that week that I realized that the “pain killer” he had me on was Ibuprofen and not the goodies that most Americans would expect (i.e., narcotics). I flew home to the US about 6 days after surgery with absolutely no problem (in business class, not sure if I could’ve done it in economy).
At about 3.5 weeks post surgery, I was feeling nervous, and found myself spending hours online reading testimonies about liposuction and the Q&A threads on RealSelf.com driving myself absolutely nuts wondering whether I was proceeding normally. Dr. Gupta was always available via WhatsApp and happily answered questions and continued to reassure me. But I just had to see someone in person, so by dint of circumstances, I had the occasion to consult with a plastic surgeon from Georgetown, one of the ritziest neighborhoods in D.C. After examining me, he said: your surgeon did a spectacular job, I think you’re going to be really pleased with the results!
Now, as I write this, I’m coming up on two months since the surgery. Those spectacular results are starting to become clear. I’m still not there yet, as some swelling and puffiness remains, but I can see what Dr. Gupta was pointing out that first day and I’m really excited to see how this shakes out over the next few months. As almost any plastic surgeon will tell you, it takes several months, perhaps up to six months, to see 80 percent of the results, and the rest will come within a year.
Look, I’m a realist. Plastic surgery is an art. Sometimes you don’t get it right on the first round or you simply need to make some touch ups. If that’s the case for me, I will fly to Delhi and work with Dr. Gupta, not because it’s cheaper than the U.S. (travel costs would make it comparable anyway), but because I trust him, I like him, and I do think he has an artistic eye for helping me to achieve the look that I’ve always yearned for – and worked so hard for – over the years. I wholeheartedly recommend him without any reservations at all, and would be happy to talk to any of his prospective clients about my satisfactory experience with Dr. Gupta and Skinnovation Clinic.
