“Photos of Liposuction - Lower Ab, Flanks, Arms, Inner Thighs-- NEVER AGAIN! Exercise is Way Healthier! - Boise”

My physical info: 20 year old female college student height: 5'1 pre-op weight: 115 lbs post-op weight: 110 lbs Waist measurement at thickest part before: 27in after: 24in Day 41 post-op.

Liposuction is my first ever cosmetic surgery and it would be my LAST...Although my liposuction went well but if I can turn back time I would not have done it!!! I DO NOT, DO NOT, RECOMMEND LIPOSUCTION AS A WAY TO GET IN SHAPE.

I hope my review can prevent some unnecessary lipo from happening to someone else that may regret it later like me. First of all I want to clarify that the $2400 is not a typo. I got liposuction on my lower ab, flanks (aka lovehandles), upper arms, and inner thighs plus 2 sets of compression garments for a total of $2400 in Boise, ID.

The procedure is done by my cousin who is a licensed board certified plastic surgeon with her own practice. Shes very kind and offered liposuction for only the cost of anesthesia, hospital stay and operating room fees. We're very close. And after hearing me whine endlessly about my weight gain she decided to give me this procedure as a X-mas/B-Day gift. Anyways, the surgery went well and everything was planned out carefully. I want to make it clear that this "Not Worth It" review has nothing to do with my plastic surgeon. Today I'm 41 days post-op. I REGRET having liposuction and here is the top 5 reasons to summarize for those that do not want to read my long elaboration.

I don't recommend this because it's:

1) PAINFUL, not a bad bruise, feels like Godzilla bit me

2) EMOTIONALLY DRAINING, what the hell did I do to my bod??

3) PHYSICALLY DAMAGING, bruised and stiff muscles everywhere

4) DOWNTIME 3-6 MONTHS, I can't show any skin--blue/UGLY

5) UNHEALTHY, exercise will get better result in 3-6 months

Why I did it: What drove me into the idea of liposuction is seeing my college friends and their tight abs. They work out almost everyday on campus and won't stop urging me to join them. All my life I'm naturally thin and petite with a super short height of 5'1. Throughout high school I was one of the few kids that were happy with my body. I was happy until college started and had a massive weight gain. Since I'm super short, any weight I gained appears in obvious bulks and chunks. I looked like I had a beer belly, bat wings, and thunder thighs. That's when I started expressing my concerns to my cousin. I didn't think twice, didn't research, didn't tell my mom (she still doesn't know). And I jumped at the chance when my cousin offered her service for free.

Why I regret and procedure details: I started realizing my mistake 2 days after my procedure. I went into surgery in the afternoon in a hospital and the whole thing lasted 2 hours. I was awake the whole time and in major pain. PAINFUL EXPERIENCE! Anesthesia was used but parts of body weren't numbed for some reason- my cousin blamed underage drinking?

Anyways, it took 5 people to get me into the compression garment cuz I couldn't move and swollen. Sent to stay in a hospital room overnight with nurse monitoring me.

The first night was horrible...nausea, vomiting, shaking, cold sweats, trouble breathing was all happening at the same time. I felt like I was dying.

Second night I still couldn't move, my thighs were condense like sausages. Discharged from hospital, boyfriend took me back to my apartment. The entire week I questioned myself and my health. I went through hell to have fat sucked out of me for what??? When my cousin told me that it'll take 3-6 months for all the bruising to go away. That's when I realized my stupidity!!! 3-6 months?! I could have exercised 3-6 months and achieve a better HEALTHIER result without all the unnecessary pain and heartache. I can't show any skin. I been wearing long sleeved thick clothing to cover up my bulky garment and the bluish ripples underneath. My skin is itching from the healing and I constantly worry that I might get bad results.

It's been 41 days and I'm still bruised all over, especially my arms. They appear ropey hard and lumpy. I felt depressed for the past month because I didn't think twice. I'm typing this review in hopes that it may help someone make a wise decision. Liposuction is not a healthy way to get in shape. It's very unnatural ,and, somewhat barbaric to have fat sucked out a healthy body through a long steel rod. This whole ordeal could have been replaced with a balanced diet and regular exercise. A healthy diet and exercise regimen can be life changing and provide beautiful results in less time than you think. Liposuction can be life changing too...in a bad way.

There are so many risk factors involved including having a deformed body, loose skin, and infection. Not to mention, after liposuction if you don't exercise/healthy diet your body will develop "NEW" fat. Exercise and a balanced diet is the only permanent solution. Being emotionally and physically healthy is the ultimate goal when it comes to medicine. So why would you opt for a emotional draining, physically damaging procedure that bruise and strain your body. Don't put yourself at risk; when you have a choice--go with exercise. Trust me. I wish I did. Today's day 41 after my liposuction and I included a few photos that I just took with my web-cam. In the picture you can't really see the bruising and scars, but they are very obvious in real life. The bruises are WAY darker in color. They appear yellowish in the photos below but they're actually purple. I will take some more pics and update on my 3 month post-op final results.
 

Updated on Sep 13, 2010:
By the way, excuse my paleness...I'm too embarrassed to get a tan with all my lumpy bruises. Click on the pics to see a bigger image for a clearer view of my bruises and scar tissues.
 

Updated on Sep 13, 2010:
Almost forgot, I massage my treated areas daily to ease the bruising. But massage seems to be ineffective on the lumpy arms. My PS tells me that arm tissues takes more time to heal but I'm scare that the deformed ropey arms may leave it's mark permanently, if it does I might need a arm lift or another procedure... Very, very sad. I really don't want to go through the trauma again. I'm exercising again with light jogs and pilates, whenever I lift my arm it feels tight and sore. I'm approaching the 2 month mark--hopefully my arms will get better.
 

Updated on Sep 13, 2010:
Tips to recovery and Comments are welcome!

Updated on Sep 14, 2010:
A little over 2200cc is removed with wet liposuction.