The skin she was in
By Patricia Nugent
For Andrea Vann, the “ah-ha” moment came in 2014 after her husband had passed away. The 39-year-old widow wasn’t sure how much she weighed (she didn’t want to know, so she had thrown out her scale years ago), but knew it must be close to 350 pounds.
“I had been the primary caregiver for my husband who was in a wheelchair for 15 years of our 17-year marriage,” she says. “Without really realizing it, over time I had let food become my comfort. I was so self-conscious about my weight, when passing people on the street I wouldn’t even meet their eye because I felt they were staring at me, or worse, judging me.”
Hitting the Reset Button
Andrea decided that circumstances beyond her control had affected much of the first half of her life, and she was going to take control of her second half. She adopted a strict Paleo diet, forgoing breads, pastas and sugars. She joined a CrossFit gym and worked out five days a week.
The regimen worked. Within 15 months she had lost 140 pounds and was feeling great about herself again. But something wasn’t right. Despite her very significant weight loss, she wasn’t pleased with the rolls of excess, saggy skin.
“At my annual physical I asked my doctor if it would ever go away and she said ‘no chance,’” Andrea recalls. “Despite all the work and sacrifice, I was still self-conscious, especially with people at the gym, only wearing baggy sweatpants to cover my excess skin.”
She started researching plastic surgeons, and one name kept coming up with the highest recommendations: Dr. Paul Vanek.
“The word compassion was associated with each five-star review, and that was important to me,” she says. “Here I was about to be naked in front of a doctor and dreading it. But I had nothing to fear. Dr. Vanek is so kind and sympathetic. He commended me for doing all that I had done to change my body and said he could help complete the changes.”
During a single surgery, Dr. Vanek removed excess skin from Andrea’s abdomen and around her sides and back, as well as performing liposuction on her thighs to remove stubborn fat that had not responded to diet and exercise.
Andrea Before
Andrea After
Bye-Bye Baggy Sweatpants
“The results were life-changing,” she says. “For the first time in decades I actually bought jeans. No more baggy sweatpants. Only curve-hugging skirts and dresses are in my closet now. I love the way I look. I may not be a size two, but I’m embracing my curves, feel beautiful and have a tight, flat stomach and trim silhouette.”
Her second procedure is scheduled for November. Dr. Vanek will finish her transformation by removing excess skin on Andrea’s arms and legs.
“I think there’s a stigma out there about plastic surgery—that it’s an easy fix, or that only shallow or artificial people get work done,” she says. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. Before my surgery, although I was the same person inside, I was very uncomfortable in my own skin. I’m no longer the girl who can’t look at people. I finally feel really good about myself.”
Andrea says Dr. Vanek’s staff was as sincere and caring as he was, noting she sends them annual Christmas cards and occasionally stops in the office with cookies.
“Sitting down with Coordinator Mary Jo in a relaxing living room made me feel comfortable,” she says. “And she and Dr. Vanek listened to my feelings and thoughts first, then made recommendations and discussed options especially for me to explore.”
The Art of Body Contouring
In cases such as Andrea’s and other patients who want to be their best selves, Dr. Vanek is adept at orchestrating whichever procedures will accomplish that, whether it’s liposuction, a tummy tuck, a breast augmentation or lift, or the ever-popular Brazilian butt lift.
“There have been numerous advancements in body contouring, allowing me to naturally enhance the physique,” he says. “And downtime is minimal, fitting conveniently into busy people’s lives.”
In what he calls the “Mommy Makeover,” Dr. Vanek specifically addresses the havoc childbearing can wreak on a woman’s body: sagging breasts, a flaccid tummy, etc., to restore it to pre-baby form.
With the holidays around the corner, along with a slew of parties and family photos finding their way onto social media, why not see what Dr. Vanek can do to restore your best body right now?
Dr. Paul Vanek is double board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Thanks to a patient financing program, people don’t have to wait for their services. His offices are easily accessible from I-90, at 9485 Mentor Avenue, Suite 100, in Mentor. For more information, call 440-205-5750 or visit MentorPlasticSurgery.com. Check out the gallery on his website to see striking before and after photos.