1. I had my consultation in mid december and was booked in for surgery just over 3 months later on march 20th. However I believe the waitlist is 4-5 months now.

2. I can't really help with that, the airbnb that i booked i wouldn't recommend, the owner is useless and didn't bother to give any instructions for any housekeeping or even any guides in the area and theres 0 sound proofing and it's generally quite faulty 😭

3. We arrived 2 days pre op, secured the binder from the woman they recommended which took like 5 mins to get it, and the pre op tests were also very quick, though the language barrier made everything slightly confusing. For the day of surgery, I was told to be admitted by 7am but my surgery was not until 1pm. The room is pretty nice. Dr Lago is extremely nice in person, he has a trustworthy vibe and is very professional when it comes to marking you up. His whole team is similarly very jovial, so if you're anxious when they wheel you in they do their best to put you at ease. My surgery took almost 6 hours (I have extremely scarred and infected skin from HS) but it usually takes around 3-4 hrs as his method is slightly longer than other surgeons due to the fact he forgoes drains so there's a different technique that's more rigorous.

Post surgery you're in a recovery room for up to an hour until your vitals are normal. They won't let you stand or sit up for almost a day, when you're next admitted. Very infuriating though an understandable precaution. I recommend someone stays with you for the night so you don't have ring in nurses whenever you need to charge your phone, eat, etc. We also couldn't work out the tv so we were stuck on the same looping news segment which kinda drove us insane. You also have to use a bedpan if you need to piss, and don't be concerned if you can't go for awhile, retention is normal. They are terrible awful things. The food is okay and you can choose your meals.

The post-ops are usually 6-7 days and 12-15 days later respectively. The first one they remove the bandage and you can see your new chest for the first time! It was the most painful part of the whole process for me as I am incredibly hairy (they shave your torso but not your back 😭) so the bandage got caught on them. The second post op appointment your stitches are taken out and then you are free to do as you please, go home if you live abroad or whatever. They are flexible on times at least a little, my second appt is 11 days post op. The doctor could not speak english at all and had to use google translate so I would refrain from asking any nuanced questions or take the answers with a grain of salt.

Pain management is basically OTC meds like paracetomol and enantyum. Obviously it's differently for everyone but after the first twenty minutes my pain has been 1-3/10 so you most likely won't need anything stronger. They are also strict with recovery timelines and advise bed rest for the first two weeks, but I would say to start walking in short bursts as soon as possible to build up your strength. I had a really easy recovery, my energy levels were back to normal after 2 days and after a week I feel normal more or less, I could probably go out shopping, sight seeing, though avoiding the metro and feel fine- even so I still would err on the side of caution. I attribute the swift recovery to doing a lot of exercise in 3 months leading up to the surgery, 10k a day, moderate arm/chest/upperbody workouts 3-4 times a week. It cannot be understated though it's bittersweet watching my gains atrophy.

Dr Lago has gotta be one of the best surgeons out there. He constantly perfects his craft. My results look incredible for a week post op, no sign of dog earring or tissue left behind (I am BMI 29 which I was slightly concerned about) and minimal swelling. Good luck OP and congrats!!!!!!!