Have you been thinking about having plastic surgery, but worried you might have a painful recovery? Relax. Now there's On-Q®, a post-operative pain relief system that makes surgical recovery a breeze.

What is On-Q?

“On-Q is a simple system for delivering local anesthetic in the first few days after your surgery,” Dr. Parungao explains. “It's designed to give you a more comfortable recovery—without narcotic side-effects such as breathing difficulties, nausea, constipation and that groggy, ‘knocked-out’ feeling.”

How does On-Q work?

“As I'm finishing your surgery, I will put the On-Q device in place at the incision site,” says Dr. Parungao. “On-Q is a small, high-tech balloon that automatically delivers a local anesthetic slowly and continuously to keep the surgical site numb.”

Mommy Makeover patient loves On-Q

“Tasha,” a 35-year-old registered nurse and mother of four, had wanted a Mommy Makeover for a long time, but was concerned about a painful recovery. “I was a bit apprehensive,” she admits. “But during my consultation, Dr. P explained how the On-Q pain pump works, and he put my mind at ease.”

Tasha's Mommy Makeover included silicone gel breast implants, a tummy tuck, and liposuction on her abs and love handles.

“At the end of my surgery, I had plastic On-Q catheters put in my breasts,” she recalls. “I woke up with them already in place. Dr. P said the On-Q pain pump would decrease my pain—but it actually took all of my breast pain away!

“My friends who have had breast augmentation said they'd had painful throbbing, but I had no pain in my breasts,” she says. “I had 420cc silicone gel implants placed under the chest muscle—which I'm sure would have been very painful if I hadn't had On-Q.”

‘On-Q was a life-saver!’

“Every few minutes, the On-Q released the anesthetic medication,” Tasha recalls. “I had my surgery on a Wednesday, and the pain pump was removed on Friday.”

Comparing plastic surgeons

Tasha went for consultations with three plastic surgeons before choosing Dr. Parungao. “I'd never heard anyone talk about On-Q,” she admits. “The way the other doctors described it, it sounded like patient-controlled anesthetic. And of course, there were additional fees. Dr. P had no extra charge for On-Q.

“Dr. P seemed to me to be the most professional, patient-oriented surgeon,” Tasha adds. “He came in, shook my hand, sat down and talked to my husband and me at eye level. He was very approachable.

“I had my list of questions,” Tasha recalls. “Dr. P didn't talk around things—he was head-on with his conversation. He let us control the consultation. Dr. P answered our questions very thoroughly. He set my mind at ease—from our first meeting, I felt I could trust him.

“My husband is a physician, and he was totally comfortable with Dr. P,” she adds.

‘My belt is in 2 notches—I never thought I'd say that’

Tasha is delighted with the results of her Mommy Makeover. “My body had not been mine for quite some time,” she recalls. “I wanted to get it back.

“Now my body looks totally different,” says Tasha. “Before my Mommy Makeover, I wore size 8-10 jeans—now I'm wearing a size 6! I used to have a lot of loose, empty skin on my breasts. I've gone from a 36C to a full 36D.”

Diet and exercise will do only so much

Before considering plastic surgery, Tasha made very attempt to improve her shape. “You don't want to run out and have plastic surgery without doing the work first,” she says. “I've been going to a personal trainer for two years. But even with all the exercises he came up with, we could not get rid of my belly. We tried everything—and I was dedicated!

“You could see on the sides of my abs, I had a little bit of muscle, but I had that ‘pooch’ in front of it,” Tasha explains. “And with the ab muscle separation from having kids, the more crunches and sit-ups I'd do, the bigger my stomach would look—because the muscle was developing behind the ‘pooch.’ Nothing I tried got rid of it.”

‘I feel good!’

“Now, my husband says I look like I did when I was 18,” says Tasha. “When I look at myself in the mirror, I like what I see. That was my whole goal.

“My 18-year-old daughter asked, ‘Oh, are you going to wear a bikini now?’ and I said, ‘Well, you wear bikinis—why can't I wear one?’” Tasha laughs. “She's funny.

“I try to do everything for my kids and take care of my patients at work,” she explains. “A Mommy Makeover is something I did for me.”

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