Making Rounds
Surgery puts the finishing touches on the body she imagined
When Jessica Hannah underwent cosmetic surgery last year, she chose some of the most in-demand procedures available: a tummy tuck and a breast lift/augmentation. It was something she’d looked forward to for years, but it wasn’t the first time she had seen her body completely transformed.
“I was always overweight as a child and into my teens,” she said. “But in my early 20s, I lost a whole lot of weight. It totaled over 100 pounds.”
That was more than two decades ago, and while Hannah has always been proud of that achievement, she didn’t love the loose skin and overall appearance it left her with.
“I just have never felt like my body really reflected the hard work I had put in,” she said. “I have been so careful with how I eat, and working out and all of that, but it didn’t completely show in the mirror.”
“Dr. Nordberg said ‘You’re going to be happy with the results. You’re going to be really happy you did it,’ and he was right.” – Jessica Hannah
Now in her 40s, Hannah finally decided last year to do something about it. She had heard rave reviews about
Leif O. Nordberg, MD, who joined Cape Fear Valley in 2021 after 16 years in private practice. Perhaps best known for his reconstructive surgeries on breast cancer patients, Dr. Nordberg offers a wide array of cosmetic procedures. Hannah decided to give his office a call.
“This was about a year before I actually had the surgery,” she said. “I was still just kind of considering the idea, and I was curious about the cost. I wanted to see what kind of payment options there were.”
She was pleased to learn about a credit plan that would allow her to pay in small installments without interest charges.
“That made it feel a lot more doable,” she said. “And from there I started planning when to actually do it.”
Her next step was a consultation with Nordberg himself, which Hannah said helped to confirm that she was on the right track.
“It made me even more excited to get the surgery done,” she said. “It’s kind of an awkward moment because you’re sitting in a little gown and pointing out all your insecurities, but he made me very comfortable. He was just very easy to talk to, and he really took his time explaining what to expect.”
That visit went so well, Hannah said, that within the next day or so she had a surgery date on the calendar. It was one she had chosen very carefully, with her end goal in mind.
“This was in July,” she said, “but I wanted the surgery done in the fall, so I could have all that time until spring or summer to fully heal. So we picked a day in October.”
When the big day came, Hannah said, her excitement started to turn into nervous jitters.
“I told Dr. Nordberg how nervous I was,” she said, “and he said that’s normal. But he said, ‘You’re going to be happy with the results. You’re going to be really happy you did it.’”
And he was right. After a brief recovery period, Hannah began really admiring her reflection for the first time in years.
“Especially in the mornings,” she said, “when I looked down and saw a really flat stomach. I’d never seen myself with a flat stomach and a normal belly button before. So that was really cool.”
With spring and summer on the way, Hannah is looking forward to ditching her sweats and showing off the new body she spent so much time planning for.
“I love going to the beach,” she said, “and I practically live in the pool in the summertime. It’s my favorite time of year, and I always spend it in shorts and tank tops. Those things are going to be so much more fun now.”
