Smart Lipo: Stories

Pros: reduced love handles
Cons: painful experience

I had this procedure because the fat on my back was getting out of control. I am a mother of four children and my body is beyond what exercise and dieting can repair.

I plan to have a tummy tuck but I feared that upper back fat roll I often see in after pictures. I decided to "test the waters" by having my back done first. I researched a lot and smartlipo sounded like it would be a piece of cake. I was surprized at how painful the anesthesia was. I felt like I was being jabbed in my back and this seemed to go on forever. I was jumping in response to it. Once that was done however, the procedure was pain free. The surgeon explained to me that I have fibrous fat which made it more difficult. I would need to be asleep or atleast in twilight to ever do this again.

I am writing this five days after the procedure. I am very swollen and moderately uncomfortable but I would definitely say this procedure was worth it. I have little to no bruising. I have been taking bromelian with quercetin and arnica montana orally and I believe they have helped. I expect to be back to normal activities within a week. As of now, I am consistent with my pain killer but I still feel like someone has been raking inside of my back.

My upper back looks great but I dont see much difference to my flanks. I will patiently wait for the swelling to subside and my final results to show through. I am already satisfied and I expect things to get better.

Let me add that the compression garment is very uncomfortable but I plan to wear it for one month.

It has been just over three weeks since my surgery and I have healed well. I do not feel like I had surgery at all. I have returned to all normal activities. I am happy with my upper back but not with my flanks. I will discuss this with my surgeon at my post op appointment. I am happy with the way she countoured my back and where she placed the incisions. I still feel that I have great improvement and therefore I am glad I did this for myself. I wonder, will my flanks will continue to improve over the next few months? Once I stopped wearing my compression garment for a day or so I noticed that my flanks are still bulky. I look forward to my follow up so that I can hear her professional oppinion on my results. I did not go into this expecting perfection, just progress!  I am grateful.

      I am very unhappy and confused about my smartlipo results. Please see the photos of me at 2 months post op. Is it my imagination or does my back look worse then before the procedure? I did lose approximately one inch around my upper back. I did not measure any difference around my flank area. I have not gained or lost any weight since the procedure. I recently went to my follow up with the surgeon and asked her oppinion on my results. She said something about not having a good skin tightening result. She agreed to go around my flanks during my tummy tuck at no extra charge. I will be having that procedure in December or January. I still like the surgeon and I am hoping for better results. I do not understand how my back looked so much better right after the procedure but so dramatically different now.  Once I removed the compression garment my true results began to show. I am definitely disappointed.

It has been nearly three months and I definitely feel that my procedure was a total waste of time and money. I will post pictures after my redo. All I can do is hope for the best.  

I have gone back to the surgeon again and discussed my disappointment. She even said that my back looks worse than it did before the surgery. She explained that my skin is draping on my upper back. She says my skin did not shrink down after the fat was removed and that there is nothing that can be done about this. I can feel that there is a lot more fat inside of my upper back as well as my lower back/flank area. As for my lower back, she is willing to redo it for free. I have decided not to move forward with my tummy tuck without seeing a better result on my back. I have a consult with a new surgeon next month. This whole experience has been very disappointing!

I had a consult with a new surgeon today and I now have a better understanding of why this happened to my back. Due to my skin collagen I am not an ideal patient for liposuction. Smartlipo did not tighten my skin like it claimed to do. Basically, once the fat is removed my skin does not tighten to the new shape. I wish my the surgeon who performed my smartlipo had recognized this before my procedure. My final decision is that even though I was offered the opportunity to have a revision to my flank area for free, I will not. I do not want this surgeon to work on me again. I like her but not her work. Smartlipo to my upper back and flank area has left me looking worse then I did preop. I am going to accept my back the way it is and now move forward with my tummy tuck January 15th with the new surgeon. I had vagina rejuvination a week ago and I am just going to focus on recovering. I am sad that this did not work out for me but my result is not typical. I have lose skin and bad elasticity.  I wish all of you the best!  

After a lot of thought and prayer I chose to go ahead with a revision to my flank area. The procedure was earlier today and this one was much easier than the last. I am already up moving around and feeling well. I will keep posting pictures as I heal. Once again, I am hopeful! I must add that todays revision was almost painless. The Dr did not use the laser. She lipo'd the flank and hip area. The procedure was at no charge to me. I am thankful and I hope to see better results.

I am writing over a year and a half after the origional procedure. I have gained atleast 20lbs since my smartlipo. I am now very grateful that I went forward with my decision to have smartlipo. I have had my ups and downs with the outcome. I looked great immediately after and then even after a revision, I looked worse. My weight flutuates so I am not freaking out about the weight I have gained since this all began. However, my shape has slightly changed. I had the lipo with the goal of losing the roll I was getting in my upper back. I have always been able to notice myself gaining weight by watching that roll. It's gone, even with my weight gain. Typically, at this weight my roll would be at its worst. I like my back now, even at this weight. My skin has tightened and I have great improvement. For a long time I just didnt know what to think. My advice to the ladies stressing out right after surgery is to just to hang in there because it takes a long time to see a final result. If you asked me at 3 months post op if I though this was worth it, I would say no. It took time for my body to show the true result. My fat roll has never returned. After all of my hard feelings I now feel like the surgeon did a good job at the revision. I am thankful. I wish you all the best of luck!