Vaser HD in Katowice - Thighs, Flanks, Stomach, Arms - Katowice, Poland

Ok, its the day before my procedure with Dr Mekle and Im super excited and bricking it all at the same time. Im 42, 5' 4 and weigh about 135lbs - the upper end of the healthy BMI range. I gave up smoking recently and this combined with middle age and a lack of exercise in general means that Im rather unhappy with my body at present. I've always had chunky arms and thighs, even when I get skinny. I feel they are disproportianate to my frame, evenmore so as I have gotten older and put on a few pounds. My fat loves going to those places. Having put on a few pounds giving up smoking I have developed love handles that are unsightly. I have put on a few pounds on my tummy too but know that I generally do not have a hard time toning this area. Im hoping this procedure will kick start my commitment to exercise in the future because at my age being slim is not enough, and give me back my confidence. Im sick of hiding my arms and feeling disgusted with myself.

I've chosen to go with Dr Mekle because of his experience and reputation. There is also the addes bonus that I can have all the areas done in one go and its considerabley cheaper in Poland than prices in the UK. Im aware that a number of people have booked the procedure with Dr Mekle through Top Medics. I approached him directly though his website Mekmed.pl. I havent had any difficulties thus far. Dr Mekle's staff booked my hotel and have arranged for all transfers to and from the ariport and clinic. They also arranged for my blood tests to be undertaken here in Poland 24 hours before the procedure.

I anticipate posting before and after pictures, despite my shame and embarrassment because I know how helpful they have been. I will do my best to keep you all updated with my progress.

I arrived at the hotel late last night, Best western premier. I am impressed by my room, an executive suite. It has two areas - one with the bed and a TV and a lounge area with a TV sofa and chair. The TV is in polish but there is sky news. You can control the air conditioning. It took me a while to work out how to open the wardrobes. There is a fridge and a kettle. The bathroom is a good size and has a hairdryer. The only criticism is the wirelss internet they promote but dont actually have, well not in the rooms. If you stand outside your room a metre or in the lobby you will have a strong signal. I was collected at 8 and taken to a hospital to have my blood tests even thugh it was a Sunday. This did not cost anything extra to me and I know it cost 80 PL (under 20 quid). There was no waiting and the tests were done very quickly and efficiently. We could learn a thing or two hear in the UK in this respect.

As it was a weekend the hotel has a late breakfast and I returned back quickly. There was a range of food available - meats, cheeses, breads, eggs, freshly made omlettes, fruit, yoghurts, pastries, fruit juices and teas and coffee. The left over pastries are later available for free at the reception desk as is fruit.

I was in a relaxed mood, mainly because it still didnt seem real to me. I have wanted lipo since my teens for my legs. Even aged 15 you wouldnt catch me in a swim suit or shorts. I blamed the years I practised gymnastics for my chunky "athletic" legs back then. Since I gave up gymnastics my legs stopped looking so athletic, just thick set and chubby. I had a bath, my last for a while and was impressed by all the little extras in the room such as a vanity kit containing, ear buds, cotton wipes and a nail file, shoe buffers, shower caps, gel, shampoo, body lotion, sewing kit. Im not ashamed to say that I pasked many of these items into my bag to take home. I bought mugshots and low calorie hot chocolate which, along with a substantial breakfast, kept me full.

I was collected at 8 and taken to the clinic. It didnt look like a hosptial from the outside, rather a beauty place/spa with adverts for fillers and botox etc on the outside. You would never know that surgeries took place here.

As mad as this sounds I didnt know exactly what was going to be done even on the day. I was a bit confused about the difference between flanks and hips, and hips and outer thighs. I have (or had) fat pads above my buttocks which extend round my sides.These fat pads are actually the widest part of me apart from my shoulders. My shoulders are a UK size 10-12, my waist is an 8-10 my hips are about a size 10. However I have quite a bit of asymmetry around the top of my outer thigh /bottom buttock area (which I would call the hips) One leg/buttock has much more fat and is different in shape, enough for a pair of trousers to be baggy on thigh/buttock and tight on the other. I intially asked for treatment on my flanks because I saw on many sites that this covered the fat pads and waist area. However my invoice says hips but my fat pads have been treated. I think the terms flanks/hips are interchangeable or relate to whether the area is being treated on men or women. I cant believe I underwent a procedure and wasnt clear what was going to be undertaken. Thats my fault for not enquiring more though. A premed was given by the aneasthetist, who handed it to me as she told me she didnt speak english and said its premed. I was left to get changed into paper thong, bra with matching dressing gown and shoes!

I didnt know what its effect would be, but upon reflection it clearly affected my brief conversation with Dr Mekle as he was marking me up as didnt feel foolish in my paper outfit or discuss my expections much and I recall I loudly exclaiming that I liked the smell of the pen he was using : ). I remember making it clear that I did not want a six pack, and he advised only two female patients had ever wanted this. I was suprised when he marked up my arms and lower back. I was to have high def vaser to these areas as well as my stomack. I will not only have smaller arms and no bingo wings, but will have the appearance some muscle definition in my arms and some dimples on my upper hips.

The aneasthetist came back and asked what my weight was. I havent used scales or weighed myself for years. I guessed 59 - 60 kilos because I think that that is around 10 stone which I think I may be. She wrote 59 kilo's.

I dont recall anything after that and my next memory is briefly waking up after the surgery and saying I was hungry, being told I had to wait a couple of hours and falling back to sleep. Upon waking I then recall being given a delicious strawberry yohurt drink. It was so delicious I let out a loud "mmmm!" . I was sad to vomit it back up almost immediately but luckily that didnt hurt as I was still numbish and I still had another half bottle of yohurk drink to consume. I fell asleep immediately afterwards. I later woke up and was given food - some lovely chewy bread, ham and cheese and peppers and tomatoes and chopped banana. This took hours to consume as I would take a bite, chew the mouthful for ages before swallowing as I had a lack of energy and then I would have a nap, before waking up and repeating the whole process again. I was also given fruit tea and water with lemon. I had trouble consuming much of that as I felt so tired and full. I took myself to the toilet which was only a few steps away, firstly with a nurse by my side but then I was trusted to go alone. I laughed at the site of myself - all hunched over in a flesh coloured compression suit and a mass of foam going across my stomach and around my sides from under by breasts to my mons pubis. Bending felt akward and though my thighs felt numb it was when I sat on the toilet seat that I could tell my banana roll had been done also. It was bruised and sore and I ended up semi sqatting over the toilet rather that sitting down on the first day. Several drips were administered for pain and antibiotics. I was more awake in the late evening and after having my dressings changed, which was painful due to the adhesive being so sticky, I could not sleep for hours. I could see that my stomach was flatter and there was little bruising. My arms and thighs had large deep purple bruised areas. However there was very little to no pain in relation to my arms. Even with the foam the compression suit felt comfy even if a little bulky but the rings on my fingers told me I was retaining water and I had a difficult time removing them. I was alone in the little 2 bed ward the first night. I was well cared for and the surgeon on night duty. Dr Andrew spoke very good English and we shared the same dark humour regarding my state.

I was woken as 6 for another dressing change and then had breakfast which was lovely bread ham and cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers chopped banana, nectarine and apple as well as tea and water with lemon. I was administered a drip for pain relief and an injection of antibiotics. My stomach was sore but I could definitely feel my flank area area. It ached and felt just like back ache. Because Dr Mekle only had one booking the next day he planned for me to stay two nights at Mekmed. I am very grateful for this and am not sure how I would have coped alone changing my dressings and whatnot in a hotel room given all the areas I had done. I took myself to the toilet several times still all hunched up and spent most of the day asleep. Another patient came for treatment. . I dont know what she had done as she was polish and spent the day sleeping after surgery. I saw Dr Mekle twice who encouraged me to eat and drink lots and told me that I would have beautiful hips. I did get very hungry and asked for food and was told it would come later, which it did about 1.00pm I think. I had a lovely lunch of boiled potatoes, some sort of meat with gravy, and a gorgeous pile of vegetables (cabbage, onion, gherkin) along with fruit and a tea. Im sure I would have liked Polish food if I had had more time to try it. I then fell asleep for much of the day again, but was awake in the evening. My back pain was distracting and I could feel various fizzes, pops, buzzing under my skin. Occassionally I felt a searing pain that was over in a blink of the eye. I consistenly anticipated more pain than I had when I had to raise myself out of my bed. Sick of walking around all hunched up I made a conscious decision to sleep as flat as I could, and lowered the top of the bed until it was parallel with the ground. I didnt sleep so well due to having slept so much in the day and feeling like I wanted to stretch and take some deep breaths but being prevented from doing so. I was also frustrated with sleeping on my back which is not usual for me. I shifted my weight from one buttock cheek to the other to help.
Again the staff were very attentive and caring

The plan was for me to have breakfast, have my drains removed and dressings changed before being discharged back to the hotel at 8.00am. Everything was going to plan. I got dressed without help, my stomach didnt hurt much and my back only ached a little. I was standing much straighter. I found 3 of the drains being removed to be painless but two others hurt and the adhesive from the dressings was like super glue and really hurt when they were removed. Some of my skin even came away! About 15 minutes before discharged I had my cannula removed from my hand. The dressing used to secure the cannula, had like the previous dressings, micromeshed itself to me and it really hurt to take it off. Shortly afterwards when I was still being attended to by the nurse, I suddenly felt strange, which quickly turned to nuasea. I all but ran to the toilet dragging the nurse by her hand with me. I was concerned that I was going to be sick on my long hair, and shouted out "my hair, my hair", the nurse had been joined by another nurse at that point, one handed me a pot to vomit in, the other quickly tied my hair up. I then felt really weak and hot and started sweating profusely. I sat down on the toile seat with a small pot and wretched once whilst one nurse held my hand and another blew a cold fan in my face whilst I practised deep breathing like a mother in labour! I was fine 30 seconds later. I was taken back to my bed, my blood pressure was taken and though it was good I was asked to rest on my bed for 10 minutes. Well, two and a half hours later I woke up when Dr Mekle came to check upon the other patient. He asked what happened and prescribed some anti nausea tablets. I was discharged shortly afterwards and given a bundle of plasters and dressings stuff and the gift of a lovely moisturiser, but not before they bought me some bottles of water after I asked if the driver could stop at a shop on the way so that I could by some. I slept for a further three hours upon arrival at my hotel. Later in the evening I got ready to change my dressings again and replace them all with plasters. I was needlessly worried about my ability to climb into the bath so that I could shower and remove the dressings. The body really is an amazing thing. Despite being perforated several times and having 4 litres of fat sucked out of it, it was healing fast. Whilst removing the dressings I thought some sticky dressing had got stuck at the top of my butt crack. After a number of tugs and checking in the mirror I realised it was a stitch!!! Luckily no harm was done. I viewed my new body in a full length mirror and was excited about the change I could already see. The lumps of fat on my flanks and stomach was much smaller, my contours are different. I also had a bowel mowement which thankfully was not rock hard and painfull as it has been for some. I found it hard to sleep at night but I think that again was due to sleeping for most of the day. I lay flat and found it much easier to breathe like this. My compression garment was a little baggy and does not feel at all uncomfortable apart from the foam. It was easy for me to do it all up again with the foam

The journey home yesterday was not as problematic as I worried that it would be. Sitting on hard chairs in the airport was uncomfortable, and I did get knocked a couple of times when the plane landed and everyone scurried for their baggage. I mastered stairs with ease, though I have to take it slow sitting down and getting up and I walked a little more slowly than usual but was not hunched up. I left my hotel at 7.am and got back home about 4. I even managed to do a little food shopping. My dog gave me a very enthusiastic welcome and I was rather grateful for the foam at that point. I slept quite a bit too and was very glad to be home. I showered and now all my dressings are replaced with small plasters. I slept well at home

I havent tried to atax myself too much today. I spent a little time in my compression suit without the padding and liked my shape. With the foam in I caught myself in the mirror a couple of times and had to laugh at how misshapen I look.
I forgot to mention that the compression suit they give you only goes up to just under your breasts. I was slighly startled by this when I first woke up and it was a natural reaction t cover my boobs with my hands when the nurse pulled back the sheets to check for seepage. I leaked quite a bit the first night but by morning there was very little. Updating this blog and writing a couple of emails has tired me out. sitting hurts my bum a little, a 2/10, everything else is fine.
I now await the itchies, rock hard stomach, lumps and tube like swellings with relish!

Obviously I am still swollen, though today I was less swollen than yesterday. I get the idea that swelling is random in the first few weeks and that I shouldnt hope that I will be even less swollen tomorrow. My measurements are still not much different to pre op but if I end up having the same contours as I do in my compression garment I shall be one very happy camper

Im getting bored with the compression garment and foam though. In the day the garment in comfortable and my inner thighs expecially feels far too jiggly and unsafe without it on. At night the arm garment is like a boa constrictor and I wake up because im so hot.

I have twice used my ultrasonice massager that I bought from ebay with bio oil. It might be a coincidence but my outer thighs immediately felt less sore. That area and my banana roll have been quite sore, particularly if I need to go to toilet, which I do a lot due to all the water with lemon that I am drinking.

Im still a little stiff and would hurt if you poked me, but I can get about my life well. I drove a small distance yesterday. I was rather slow moving getting in and out of the car and was surprised by the small twinge I felt when I pressed down on the clutch initially. The day before, I did some cleaning and stepped on to a ledge just about knee hieght. I felt an awful feeling in my stomach, like Id torn some stitching and it hurt for a few moments., but when I checked there was no damage.

I took 7 out of nine of my stitches out today by myself wiht some callous blades Id urchased at Boots. Im booked in to have the other two removed by my GP's practice nurse tomorrow. One is located on my right upper arm where it joins my back. The other is at the very top of my butt crack and after trying out a number of different positions with the blade and mirror in had I realised that where Id tugged at it in the shower believing it to be a bit of sticky dressing, it no longer looked like a stitch but a tight knot with a tail! Im not looking forward to having it removed tomorrow. I can only imagine the position I shall have to assume.

I've purchased another compression garment which is a bit smaller than the one I currently have. You need two really to alternate whilst washing one. My first one is terribly stained from the first night I wore it and all the drainage that came out of me.

Im still a little sore but have no problem getting about daily life. Im just a little stiff for a 30 seconds or so when trying to move after being stationary for a while. My bruising is dispersing. I had my two remaining stitiches removed yesterday and did not receive a telling off for going abroad to have it done. I seem to be deswelling. My waist and hip measurement is smaller, which is funny as I am premenstual and usually balloon everywhere an inch or two. My arms and thighs are not any smaller.

Ive used the ultrasonice massager everyday with bio oil. You can barely feel a slight buzzing from it on the skin in places and the warmth is nice and helps remove the bruising along with the massage. Ive discovered a lump in my right upper arm, smaller than a pea but bigger than a piece of rice. You cant see it and you have to dig a bit to find it. I massage it even though it hurts. I have also dicovered a lump near my groin, right where my upper thigh meets my body. Again you cant really see it, but it can ache a bit. Luckily it responds well to being massaged and quickly deflates. Im going to book My MLD massages today. I can only afford it once every 1-2 weeks really but have learnt a little about how to do it myself.

Having the procedure undertaken seems like a distant memory now. My body is a little different already and I am looking forward to seeing the results over the next few months. Im neither excited nor depressed about how I look. I wish the bruising would go though. Its not a good look. I shall post a picture up to show what I looked like 2 days post op and you can see that my bulging flanks are no longer the widest part of me. Its not a pretty picture because I seem to have a mass of really unsightly cellulite. Id like to think that this is because the lighting was very cruel at the hotel or that it was caused by baggy skin after having litres of fat sucked out! There is no evidence of lots of cellulite on my buttocks today and either the skin is retracting or the lighting is better.

My lower stomach seems the most poochy and some definition is starting to show on my upper abs now. I am not expecting a six pack effect, and personally will be upset if I have one. I want to look soft and feminine. I am happy that there is not a lot of baggy wrinkled skin here. My arms dont look that diffferent. I didnt have huge bingo wings as such, more that my arms were chubby all the way round. I am a little worried that only the under arm was done along with a little shaping on top to define the shoulder muscle. I still have a tiny bit of fat around the armpit area that I'd rather wasnt there, but will try to remove this by exercise. My thighs and hips are still considerably swollen. The bruising does not hurt anywhere near as much when I sit down, though my lower back feels very numb and strange. This feeling reduces every day though. I have some saggy looking skin on my inner thighs though and it is this area that worries me most. I have always had chubby inner thighs since my early teens. I am concerned about how much the skin will retract. I dont think an awful lot was taken from this area though. I need my knees doing really but hope that some exercise will help this area. Im also a little worried that I might end up looking quite straight without much of a distinction between hips and waist. It I had one complaint about the whole process, its that I didnt really make it clear to Mr Mekle what my expectations were. If I knew then what I know now I would ensure that I made explicit, not only the areas I wanted treated, but also what I hoped to achieve. I like to look toned and curvy. Im intrigued to see what the final outcome is and what I will look like in a few months time. Whatever that is, it will probably a lot better than I looked originally.

Just took this picture of me and am so happy!

Sometime last week I think it was tuesday or wednesday I was able to sleep on my side. My outer thighs ached the most and both inner and outer thighs felt too jiggly without my compression garment on. I cant believe my bruises have all but disappeared and the vaser and drain sites look like small red mosquito bites, though they are mainly in places noone is going to see - my elbow crease, butt crack, butt creases, pubic region. For a while my belly button looked like it had moved towards the left but it seems to be more central know. My arms are stating to show some definition. I think the skin needs a lot more time to tighten up. When I raise my arms above my head and bend my elbows, like you do when you have to do up a zip, my arms feel tight and ache as though I have worked out a lot. My stomach, which didnt carry much fat is a bit strange looking. My lower belly has had a bit of a pooch which wasnt there before the procedure. I think this is just where the water and swelling collects. Where my legs meet my body tend to get sore and swollen. I think there are lymph glands there. I use my sonic massager every night on all areas mimicking lymph drainage massage and I feel immediate relief and the swelling there reduces substantially within 30 seconds. I drove a small distance a 12 days after the procedure and found that merely depressing the clutch engaged my lower abs which was a little sore and I couldnt get in and out my car like I would normally do, but like a very old lady with a bad back! This week there were no issues. I've bought a smaller compression suit from VOE after trying out a few others. It was the suit that I was put into by the clinic I went to and I find it very comfy except for the arm compression sleeves which are a right pain still as my arms dont appear to have lost any inches. I have a few tender areas but otherwise its easy to forget that I had lipo, apart from my hips, which no longer have huge lumps of fat on them.

Sorry for the delay in updating but the changes have been slow. I lost most of my swelling by weeks 4-5 but Im still swollen now. Not that you would know it when Im clothed. I returned to work 14 days after my procedure and a male colleague said straight away that I'd lost weight.
I've developed a seroma, possibly 3, which my GP said would go on its own. It hasnt yet and is a bit uncomfortable and sticky outy so I will insist its aspirated when I have time to get to my Gp next week.
Im so happy with my hips still! They are still a little tender and I would yelp if someone sqeezed me there. My stomach is getting more definition and the skin is tightening up and this can be observed on a daily basis. My skin is a little puckered looking still but its early days still and I should wait at least 6 months to see the result. The Seromas ruin the look somwhat! My arms are showing more and more definition as the days go by and the definition starting show on my upper arms. After the majority ofswelling subsided, near my elbows seemed really small and the pain was concentrated around my upper elbow. I dont feel any pain or tenderness anymore. My inner thighs have shrunk (2 inches right at the top) and the skin is tightening but could look better. During the first 0-6 weeks the crease at the top of my thigh would get uncomfortable and swollen. Massage always releived this feeling. I have a more defined bottom which I like very much but my right buttock, which was rather assymetrical and had more fat, has sagged and touches my thigh which is a very strange feeling. Im not sure if I prefer having no definition between my bottock and thigh to having a crease which you can see from the side. Id like to hear people thoughts. I think its slightly better than having no definition but wonder if having a little fat grafted back to that area might improve it? Overall Im really happy and feel much more confident apart from the right buttock crease.