7 weeks: revision (corrective) Sx update - Dr. Spero Theodorou

Hey ladies! Just wanted to post the pictures from my corrective surgery with Dr. Theodorous on April 14th. Surgery itself was interesting. I opted NOT to go under general anesthesia since the process was nowhere near as invasive as th BBL Sx. So I was under local sedation. The first step was ultrasound to break up/liquefy the scar tissue and fat followed by traditional liposuction to remove the liquified matter. Ultrasound portion was fine but I could really feel the traditional lipo. But given I had enough local anesthetic it was tolerable. I actually dozed off while Dr. T was working on my tummy (he did my back area first). It took about 2 hours. I was given Vicodin, diazepam and an antibiotic post op to manage pain/ensure no infection. I only took the Vicodin for 1.5 days then switched to Tylenol. The following week I was on a plane to Niagara Falls to celebrate my birthday. Dr. T said I could fly for less than 3 hours as long as I stayed hydrated. I was walking around & taking in the sites with ease. Dr. T' nurse took my stitches out on April 25th (they would have come out sooner but I was in Niagara). I resumed light workout (treadmill) on April 28th. As of May 12th I was back to doing my full routine of running & strength training same as pre-op. As of today (June 5th) I'm still "tender" in tummy area much less so on my back. I'm very happy with my results. Dr. T did the best he could to "repair" the unfavorable results from my first surgery and the improvement is huge. So he could not completely rectify my abdomen without a tummy tuck because of my loose skin and I was fully aware of this pre-op.
Happy to answer any questions not addressed in my post(s).

Hello BBLers. So as my headline indicates...I need revision liposuction. I'm not getting this revision to increase the derriere size. I need to do this to correct issues which occurred as a result of how the SAL was performed during my BBL in April 2014 w/Dr.Schulman.

My issues, which were visible post-op and still do exist approximately 2 years after BBL w/Dr. Matthew Schulman:
1. Aggressive SAL (suction assisted liposuction aka regular lipo) on various areas of the abdomen left me with asymmetry and unevenness.
2. Insufficient SAL on various areas of the abdomen and on the UPPER back/bra bulge area left me needing additional liposuction.

What I want to revision LIPO to achieve:
1. Create symmetry and evenness where possible on the abdomen, taking into account the loose skin on the abdomen.
2. Remove subcutaneous fat from upper back/bra bulge area.
3. Effectively remove any fibrous/scar tissue as applicable.

Steps I’ve taken since my 1 year post op mark (Schulman advised that my “final” results would be realized 1 year after surgery date) to address SAL issues noted above:
· 4 consultations starting summer 2015
- 1 consultation w/Schulman (write up already posted on this blog)
- 1 consultation w/Dr. Pierre Saadeh (he reviewed me for breast lift/reduction) – and also referred me to his colleague, Dr. Spero Theodorous
- 2 consultations w/Dr. Theodorous (1st time for CoolSculpt/2nd time for Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction aka UAL)
Consultation Recap:
Dr. Schulman: offered to do additional SAL on the abdomen & back/bra bulge area, waiving his surgical fees. He was clear that he did not believe he could remove a noticeable amount of fat from the bra bulge/back area and would do more SAL on my abdomen to improve the appearance. He did not indicate/acknowledge that he removed too much or too little fat (in the areas I noted were an "issue") when he did my BBL. Let me reiterate once again…I am VERY pleased with the results of my derriere and arms and equally as DISPLEASED with the results of my abdomen & back/bra bulge area
Dr. Saadeh: identified the areas where SAL was not executed accordingly (i.e. over/under liposuction). He was clear that he did not believe additional SAL alone would produce the results I sought for attaining evenness/symmetry/removal of additional fat, where applicable. He suggested fat grafting to the areas that received too much SAL. He also suggested removing a small piece of skin above my belly button to address the "hooding" that I did not like but basically said that a tummy tuck would be the best measure to correct the "hooding" and loose skin from too much SAL. He referred me to one of his colleagues (Dr. Theodorous) who specialized in CoolScuplt to receive an assessment if that liposuction technique would better address the areas that needed revision service. NOTE: the CoolSculpt is not ideal for my specific issues as a "revision" technique. As a result I went ahead and booked Dr. Saadeh (in Jan 2016) b/c I appreciated him being forthright about what he could/could not achieve and also referring me to his colleague for assessment. After another conversation w/Dr. Saadeh a week or so ago (late February 2016) I have changed to Dr. Theodorous for my revision surgery. Specifically, I asked Dr. Saadeh what he thought about UAL (ultrasound assisted liposuction) - he advised he does not offer that technique but Dr. Theodorous does and he set up an appointment for me to speak with Dr. Theodorous again to assess if UAL would suit me better. The conversation w/Dr. Theodorous and backing from Dr. Saadeh is why I switched surgeons.
Dr. Theodorous: agreed that the UAL technique would produce better results than SAL alone. From his experience (he also teaches this technique) using UAL would liquefy the fat so more could be removed and no bruising (given the invasiveness/volume of what my specific revision case will entail), but normal amount of swelling: there would be "some" skin contraction to assist with improving the appearance of areas I need revised. He also pointed out that I do have loose skin and that if the loose skin was present before the BBL then the over liposuction on my abdomen only compounded the matter - he did not want to add fat to those areas, nor do I have enough fat to do so. As a result the only true solution to fix the loose skin on my abdomen & "hooded belly button" would be a tummy tuck (he does not want to do a tummy tuck on me b/c I am too young in his opinion to do that to my body and it's not really necessary since I have not had children yet). He stated that in erring on the side of being conservative he anticipated a 50-60% improvement once I'm healed from the revision surgery. He said if anyone says that I'll get better results than that it is false. He asked me why I was not letting my original surgeon (Schulman) do my revision and in response to my answer he stated that the results of any surgery are the responsibility of the surgeon (he went in - stating that he does not believe compression garments, arnica and all those types of things make results better or worse - these resources act as support/supplements. That he respects if a surgeon wants to use those resources but he has not come across research data which unequivocally proves a better result will be obtained by using those resources....it's all in the skill set of the surgeon. AMEN!!) I asked him why he is not a board certified plastic surgeon (he is a certified MD w/NYS, nothing negative reported about him with NYS department of health, he is registered and in good standing with the AMA (american medical association) a well as other "boards" (too many for me to list) and has been working w/Dr. Saadeh for over a decade) and he replied that he wanted to be able to try new techniques and refine his plastic surgery skill set over the years and that the requirements/time for obtaining board certification as a plastic surgeon would detract from his pursuits. Again, I respected his honesty. He is NOT a cosmetic surgeon and that was important to my decision for a surgeon if I could not work with a board certified plastic surgeon (like Dr. Saadeh). He also answered my 19 questions (and any subset questions) with ease and thoroughness. Dr. Theordorous was also very kind with his fees given the complexity of my revisions.

I've re-attached the pictures specific to the revision with this post. I will provide an update (with pictures) approximately a month to 6 weeks after my surgery in April 2016. Dr. Theodorous stated that I would be swollen for the first 2-3 weeks and by the 6th week the results will show: by 6 months I will have the final results. As always, thank you for taking the time to read. Hope the information can be useful to you. PM any questions and I will respond as soon as I can.

Hey BBLers! Hope everyone is doing well. I wanted to give my final feedback from my last consultation with Dr. Schulman, as promised, in relation to the fat areas on my back between my armpit and where the top of my bra lays as well as my stomach protrusion.

I met with Dr. Schulman on August 7th regarding the areas mentioned above. For my back he said that it was predominantly thick skin but he could perform more liposuction. He said it probably would not make much more of a difference. In regards to my stomach he said that the protrusion is more than likely scar tissue and possibly some fat. He would have to go in to clean out the scar tissue and liposuction fat if possible.

I asked him if there would be enough additional fat to put it in my booty. He said more than likely not because what's in my tummy would be fibrous tissue which is not good for fat transfers like a BBL and overall I wouldn't be able to get enough fat out to warrant putting it in the booty.

So needless to say a little bummed that I couldn't get to plump my rump since I have to go back into surgery. Also I did discuss with him a breast lift to correct the bottoming out that occurred since my reduction 20 years ago. I'll go into that more under my breast lift review (writing that later this year after additional consultations). So price tag for a breast lift from Schulman was $12,500. This price included doing the clean up of my back and stomach for free. Quite pricey but as I continue consults I will find out if this rate is "normal".

This is my last update for this blog. Thank you all for reading, commenting and sharing your thoughts/questions. If anyone has questions that are not addressed in this blog please feel free to PM me. And if you have any interest in my breast lift (with cleanup of stomach & back) I will be journaling within the next month or two under the breast lift forum on realself.

Xoxoxoxo