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Liposuction on Abs and Flanks Not As Painful As I Thought

lindsey1
updated 3 years ago

Worth It
Cost: $3,970
Michael Salzhauer, MD (Miami)

I had lipo of the abs and flanks done on the 3rd...

11 Jul 2009

I had lipo of the abs and flanks done on the 3rd of july. I am now 8 days post op. It was not as bad a I thought, I had general anesthesia so I guess that made it more comfortable. The compression garment is the worst part of the experience feels like I am suffocating at times, I had to ask for another garment at my 2 day post op appt, can anyone tell me if they had a feeling of water moving inside the stomach at times, my stomach feels like a water bed to the touch.

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My Doctor: Michael Salzhauer, MD

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Comments (18)

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kathy2178 8 Aug 2009

I just had liposculpture done on wednesday august 5th and so far not alot of pain mine was done manually no laser no machine ,nothing. I cant really tell if it work or not cause I'm still very swollen ,I had my whole stomach,my thights,my whole back and under my butt,hoping for the best cause I wont do it again

Whitney in WV 20 Jul 2009

I am SO relieved to see that the pain isn't that bad! I'm having lipo of the abdomen & flanks done on September 2nd so I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for everything. I've never been so excited and nervous at the same time! :)

darkndreamy 15 Jul 2009

Well i am just 11 hours post procedure and my stomach feels like a water bed, I thought the compression garment had cushion in it at first until i started to feel my stomach and found out I was the cushion..

ann in indy 16 Jul 2009

definitely call your doc better to be safe than sorry

KAYinPA 15 Jul 2009

Could be a seroma! I had lipo done on 6/29 and realized that my little fluid pockets had to be drained!! Check with your doc.

Bugjune 15 Jul 2009

Ann, I am also slated for the "Go home with catheter" after my surgery in August. YUCK. But I will take comfort in your insight - perhaps it'll be a good thing! I'm sure it'll hurt like he!! to sit down for several days. Ah well. Onward and outward.

ann in indy 16 Jul 2009

yeah, i thought yuck too, I wasn't told about it until surgery day. It is not painful, you are under anesthetic when they put it in and is not painful at all when they remove it. I drink so much water that I would have been up all the time.

ann in indy 14 Jul 2009

Yeah, that is a lot I have read and my doctor confirmed he would do no more than 5 liters when doing a lipo and preferred to stay at 3-4. I had 2.9L removed. Anything more than 5 can cause the body to go into a shock mode, it is just too much trauma for the body to handle.

Bugjune 14 Jul 2009

OK, thanks for letting us know Lindsey. Doing my own conversion math, it looks like you had about 17 cups (or just over 1 gallon) of fluid/fat removed! That is A LOT! No wonder you'd have some draining and that "floating" feeling in the abs. Glad you are speeding along in your recovery now.

Bugjune 13 Jul 2009

Hi Lindsey1, Ann in indy has a good point: drink that water! I bet your abs are still floating on the fluid from all the trauma. I'd also be curious to know what kind of lipo you had, cuz I go in for Vaser Hi Def end of August. Hope you continue to heal without any more discomfort! Sounds like you are going to have a great outcome!!

lindsey1 14 Jul 2009

I had regular lipo the nurse showed me the pictures of the containers each held 1 liter he took out enough to fill 4 containers which contained a mixture of the fat and little bit of blood and the liquids he injected.I am feeling much better today is my 11th day post op, good luck on your procedure in August

3tweety1 16 Jun 2011

does regular lipo mean vaaser? do you have before and afters? im considering this dr also...how are you doing?

ann in indy 13 Jul 2009

Which type of lipo did you have? You are still real early in your recovery. the sensation of feeling like a water bed is interesting, call your docs office, but is probably swelling. Drink lots of water to help your body flush the toxins. when you drink sufficient amounts to water, your body has no need to retain water.

lindsey1 13 Jul 2009

Thanks, its hard but I do have to try and drink more liquids, I had lipo in my abdominal area with the flanks as well, wearing the compression garment was painful for the first couple of days so I kinds of eased up on liquids to avoid using the bathroom so often. I went for another follow up today and the nurse told me the liquid was not enough for them to drain it so lets wait another few days and see, it had gone down significantly though and they also said I am healing well

ann in indy 14 Jul 2009

I hae my own water bottle, it is 1L so I know my goal is to fill it up at least 3 times a day preferably 4. This does not include my water intake when I drink protein shakes after my workout. I do not drink soda, coffee, tea on rare occassions, I have some fruit juice. You will get used to the water intake. You will use the bathroom a lot until your bladder muscles are trained to the extra water intake, and I agree, when only a few days post-op, getting up to use the bathroom is not tops on your list. My docs inserted a catheter in me during surgery and sent me home with it. I was not thrilled when they told me they would do this, but am so happy I did not have to get up in that first day after surgery to pee. The catheter was removed day after surgery at my follow up visit.