Grissela Bustamante lights up a room with her confidence, contagious laugh and bubbly demeanor the second she steps through the door.
Confidence is something that Grissela, 50, has in spades – and always has.
Even at her heaviest weight of 340 pounds, the petite Lady’s Island resident said she loved the spotlight and always was very positive.
But now, she can see the light at the end of a decades-long tunnel; she may always have been flirty, fun and confident, but as she prepares for three plastic surgery procedures at Beaufort Memorial, she’s ready for a new chapter in a body that feels more like her.
A long journey to weight loss
Grissela’s transformation journey began in 2000. A mother of three young children at that time, she decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery to lose weight.
“With my pregnancies, I did gain weight,” she recalled. “I mean, I was always chunky in my younger years, but with each pregnancy, I gained lots of weight.”
The number on the scale shrank to 170 after her gastric bypass, and a year later, she underwent a panniculectomy with a surgeon near her then-home in Florida to remove 30 additional pounds of loose, hanging skin on her abdomen. Due to complications in the procedure, she wasn’t able to complete her transformation.
She put her desires on the back burner, focusing on the needs of her family and her three children.
Now her children are grown, she said.
Now, she said, “it’s Mama’s turn.”
Transformation in three parts
After conducting intensive research, in February 2025 Grissela connected with Dr. Heidi Harrington, the board-certified, fellowship-trained plastic surgeon leading Beaufort Memorial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics.
“I get to do a lot of surgeries involving transformation, but procedures like this are a key part of someone finishing their journey,” Dr. Harrington said. “They’ve done a lot of work, they got the weight off, and as a surgeon, you get to bring this to a conclusion, and it’s just such a huge transformation. It’s really exciting and fun to be involved in.”
Grissela’s customized surgical plan involved three procedures spanning several months.
The first procedure in August 2025 was a 360 circumferential body lift, a pubic lift and circumferential liposuction.
The second surgery at the end of October consists of a thighplasty and liposuction, and the third installment will include a torsoplasty, a breast lift and a brachioplasty (arm lift).
“Grissela brings a lot of energy, personality and excitement, and she is also a very informed patient,” Dr. Harrington said. “I could tell she had done research and read about the surgeries and understood the options. Coming in with a knowledge base is helpful, and I could tell she was willing to do what it took to achieve her goal.”
The determined mom has had this transformation in her plans for years now, so she was ready to tackle the procedures head-on.
“My goal is to feel and look like I should have looked a long time ago,” Grissela said. “My end goal is to feel like I belong in my body. It’s a shift into a new me, a new era. It’s time for me.”
What struck Grissela most about Dr. Harrington was her commitment to listening. It’s hard to come by a surgeon or physician that will sit with you and listen to all your needs and your fears, she said.
“She listens and she tells you what needs to be done. She has been there with me all the way through, and I love her to death,” she added. “I had a lot of fears – pain and waking up during surgery are my two fears – and she put me at ease immediately.”
‘Mental work, physical work, financial work’
Physically, Grissela said her weight fluctuated over the last two and a half decades following her gastric bypass and panniculectomy, and GLP1 injections helped her lose the rest of her weight and help her get to where she is now.
Her transformation required more than physical work, however. Mental preparation has been just as important – as was being ready financially.
“I worked by butt off to pay for this surgery,” said Grissela, a Walmart stager, who is taking time off to focus on her journey. “It took me a long time to get here, because it wasn’t cheap. I was working overtime; I was working over 50 hours a week to pay for the surgeries.”
While Grissela said she has always been confident, bubbly and talkative, her transformation has also included significant emotional work, following the ending of a toxic relationship that further reinforced her desire to enter a new chapter of her life.
“It was mental work, it was physical work, and it was financial work,” Grissela said. “There were a lot of stages to get to where I am right now. It has been 25 years in the making and I am just so excited!”
A new chapter in sight
In 1996, Grissela met her now ex-husband and began her motherhood journey – something she said that she never regretted, not for a single moment. Before becoming a mom, Grissela was an actress, attending the Acting School of Columbia College in Chicago and doing lots of background acting, as well as working a few modeling gigs.
Following her upcoming transformation, she hopes to make a return to the limelight and get back into the industry.
“I was doing all of that back before I had my kids, in the 90s,” she said. “Then I got married and had kids, and my life went a different route. I don’t regret having that life, but now that I’ve taken care of my family and their needs, this is a different fork in the road for me. This is my journey.”
Preparation is key
Because of past complications in surgical procedures, Grissela said she took preparation for her first surgery with Dr. Harrington to the next level, doing IV vitamin drips, spa treatments, massages and doing reiki and meditations to prepare not only her body but her mind as well.
Mental preparation is key for anyone undergoing a transformation, she said.
“Do your homework, and just take care of yourself mentally, preparing yourself mentally, and don’t ever let anyone tell you, ‘No, you can’t do this,’” she said. “You are you. You are your own person, and if you want to strike out on your own journey, go forth.”
Grissela’s first procedure took place at the end of August 2025.
