And the anxiety has begun

My BBL story (this 1st entry is kind of long, sorry)

I'm 5'4" and weigh around 147lbs (when I started writing this on 9/12/13). Im 37 years old. Workout 6 days a week. Three of those days are full body strength training (push-ups/biceps & triceps curls/rowing machine/one leg squats with weight/walking lunges/adduction & abduction/abdominal roller). The other three days are running (cardio) 2-3 miles at about 9-10 minute mile pace.

I love to eat. Healthy food most of the time. Some fried or dairy laden food on occasion. Small to moderate portions. I drink water 95% of the time. The rest of the time is juice, tea or wine. And I do enjoy sweets, cake/cookies/ice cream. But cholesterol, thyroid, etc. are all good.

After a year and a half of my 6 day workout routine I saw a difference. My derrière became more defined and overall I slimmed down; I was around 160lbs when I started strength training. I basically went from a medium to small, more muscle and less fat. But I plateaued and could not come down anymore without (1) going to a vegetarian diet and (2) loosing any feminine softness I had left. I'm a woman and having a muscular fatless build is not my ideal. So 1 & 2 weren't going to happen. I know I'm an attractive woman but I didn't feel sexy when I looked at my body. I felt healthy & strong but not sexy. I felt like lipo sculpting and BBL would give me the sexy body I desired. Plus I did suffer the usual cruel comments of noassatall, you don't have a butt you have a behind or you're really pretty too bad you don't have a fatty. As well, having a full chest did not compliment my petite derrière.

My manicurist went to her homeland DR and got liposuction on her back/flank/abdomen & fat injections in her derriere. She came back looking pretty good for someone who didn't workout nor eat right for the several years that I've known her. I was inspired. I didn't want to go to DR. I wanted to be close to home just in case of emergency medical needs. I know it's cheaper in DR and many women have had great experiences but I need an American board certified plastic surgeon and US hospitals.

I started my research. How the procedure works, as much technical information about the removal, preparatory treatment of fat, re-injection techniques, before/after pictures, compression garments, etc. Then I went looking for candid doctor reviews. That's when I found realself and it was just what I needed.

I decided to see at least three doctors, I chose the doctors by the most qualitative reviews by patients and patient selfies. I gathered up like 30 questions so I could do my due diligence when I spoke to the doctors and my wish pictures.

I took some pre-op selfies. And set out to see each doc w/questions & wish pics. I want to get a heart shaped ass with plenty of projection, have my tummy flattened out from lipo, the backs of my arms showing the definition hiding under the fat, and back/flank fat significantly minimized.

9/11/13:
Met Dr Schulman. Came across as down to earth, confident in his work & realistic. After looking at my wish pics, he told me two things I couldn't achieve (a lot of lipo on the abdomen & still have good contour/wish pic where skin was really taught) and cautioned me against too much lipo on the inner thigh (b/c the skin is thin there & he was concerned about sagging). He basically wanted to know what shape I wanted & how big I wanted my derrière. He wouldn't get into cc's & inches after surgery because its unpredictable. Also told me I didn't have enough for a shelf and/or a really big derrière (good, didn't want one. Want scoop & crescent. Not a bullet butt). He also told me that if I gained 5-8lbs that wouldn't be bad. I had about 30 questions, mostly technical and he answered them all. When I was done he joked he needed a drink. And asked if he passed. (He did pass with flying colors). The staff was professional & the entire experience went smoothly. I forgot to remind the staff that I wanted to see pictures & compression garment when I was done with the dr. It would have been great if the assistant in the room during the consultation would have told the other assistant who goes over dates, pricing, etc to show me those things. Overall a very good 1st time experience.

After seeing Schulman I knew I wanted him to do my surgery. But in all fairness to myself (and to keep my mom happy) I knew I had to continue with the two additional consultations. Also, I wanted to let enough time pass to see results of some of Schulman's patients who were having surgery between October 2013 and January 2014. And I also needed to gain weight (go figure, I spend 21 months adjusting my eating habits & incorporating exercise into my life to have to undo a lot of that work). I also spoke to an acquaintance of mine who has the gift of sight & she told me to gain 10-15lbs if I wanted Schulman to really deliver the results I envisioned. So I removed cardio altogether and put potatoes/bread/baked Mac & cheese/all juices/gravy and boost plus (it's like ensure) on the menu and got rid of all nonfat foods. I was determined to gain the weight in a healthy manner. It's working (at the time of this post I'm weighing 150lbs - up 3lbs from consult w/Schulman)

10/11/13: consultation with Ayman Shanine's office (I saw shahine b/c a friend of a friend (whose cousins works for Shahine) recommended him and boasted that he did Kimbella's derrière. She appeared on love & hip and is Juelz Santana's baby mama. Her derrière looked pretty good from what I remembered so why not?)

I want to start off with a disclaimer....if there are any patients of Shahine reading this entry what follows is my opinion based on my experience. Nothing more & nothing less. Absolutely no offense is intended just speaking my truth.
I arrived about 30 mins early to Shahine's office. It was VERY crowded, not well ventilated and the "practitioner" (I use this word to differentiate him from a plastic surgeon which he is NOT and cosmetic surgeons are NOT board certified) had not arrived yet, which was fine. I filled out the standard paperwork. The office assistant (Nadia) was polite and courteous. She took my paperwork and let me know I would be seen shortly. As we waited (my mom came with me) I reviewed the "certifications" on the wall and noticed something quite peculiar. Amongst the many acknowledgements (from cosmetic not plastic surgery institutions) there was one that appeared in two different places on the wall. It literally had the same date and signatories. My mom and I both thought that was very irregular. I know I've NEVER seen that before in any medical providers office.
A short while after Nadia took my paperwork we were directed to an office where Nadia went over the procedure. Now in my head I'm thinking this woman has not demonstrated she is a nurse and she definitely isn't a doctor, so why on God's green earth is she talking to us?! But I listened for kicks & giggles. She asked to see the areas I wanted the fat removed from. I showed her my stomach, back, flanks & arms (but unlike my consult w/Schulman she did not touch the fatty areas to examine their suitableness). She told me I had plenty of fat (Schulman wanted me to gain 5 more pounds from where I was on 10/11/13 for a total of 8lbs) and she said I didn't have fat on the back of my arms (which Schulman said at first glance that I didn't when he touched my arms he changed that statement).
Then Nadia wrote out the pricing ($16k total). Thereafter she had us watch a video and review pictures. During the video a young woman is talking while Shahine is performing her BBL. Freaky!!! But what is going through my mind as this patient is explaining how being awake helps her help Shahine b/c she can turn & move so Shahine can sculpt the curves she wants is that she isn't a certified medical expert and why should I take her words as anything other than commentary. And I don't want commentary for a surgery of this magnitude and for 5 figures that I'd have to drop!!!! Then came the best picture of all, at least for me. Nadia shows me a picture of the fat extracted from a patient. The fat is laden with blood (and probably saline b/c that's what Shahine uses to help extract the fat - research on the government websites {nlm.nih.gov OR ncbi.nih.gov} for medicine & biotechnology discuss everything about fat grafting, from extraction to preparation to injection, etc) and using saline is a HUGE no-no to get the best fat for grafting. That was the kicker for me. As well the fat that is being reinjected should not be full of blood if it separated properly (the beauty of research on government and the American board of plastic surgery websites, amongst others). Nadia talked about how general anesthesia is bad/dangerous (my mom & I know that's BS - we know someone who underwent 12 hours of general anesthesia for mastectomy & reconstructive surgeries in one day - she was just fine during & afterwards). After the video and pictures Nadia reworked the numbers after we discussed paying in cash and got down to $14K and said I could probably negotiate further w/Shahine. These quotes are still more than Schulman yet there is no true surgical facility, there is another room where he does the procedure & no anesthesiologist to pay for, garment isn't included...hmmmm?!
I was able to speak with two patients. One who was all done - bless her heart, she looked like Betty Boop (tiny waist w/large breasts & derrière) and the other looked like much had not been done but let me qualify that with I never saw her before pictures & just went off of her description. No offense to either of them but I was not impressed. My mom had already returned to the waiting area and I joined her. As we waited another 30 mins (from my appt time of 6:30 to 7) we talked and observed. Seems some women were waiting to have a procedure done (I don't know any facility that schedules procedures so late in the day - this gave the whole thing a 1950's abortion chop shop feel to it from my perspective); we're listening to women reiterate this falsehood about general anesthesia being "bad and dangerous". As my mom quoted, they drank the kool-aid (meaning they just believed what they were told without doing research to qualify what they were told).
By this time it's apparent that Shahine isn't keen on punctuality (and only God knew when he'd arrive and how much longer I'd have to wait to see him), he does NOT ensure he does the consultation and the whole operation was more of an assembly line than medical office to receive qualitative service. Needless to say I was done. I didn't wait to see Shahine I left. I've added the link to the video for Shahine in action....

This now leaves me with my last consult. I'm scheduled to see Dr. Hughes in California next month (visiting family and thought I'd stop by to see what he has to say since he is close to LAX). Will be back to post after seeing him.

One last thing. I want to say a HUGE thank you to every woman on RS for sharing your experiences and pictures. For me you are God's angels delivering words of wisdom, caution and support. It's making my eyes misty at how generous everyone is on this site. You all have been an amazing source for me, thank you!!!! So I want to do some shout outs to Schulman patients (who have done their BBL) b/c you all inspired me: booty4real (thank you for guiding me to others), bbldollie, highhopes1, dede123, anuhio, eilson, jblnyc, tadabam. And to 86baby & lemi720 - I pray for your successful surgeries; looking forward to seeing you as the next Schulman masterpieces.

I love information. Knowledge IS power. And a recent encounter inspired me to do more research on how valuable board certification and using a licensed operating facility are when receiving cosmetic plastic surgery. In my opinion, cosmetic plastic surgery is a speciality that requires a verified skill set & expertise subject to review & examination. The facilities used when performing surgery are just as critical as the surgeon him/herself - a licensed facility has demonstrated to the board of health that it is capable of not only treating patients but caring for a patient in case of complications in affiliation with a hospital as necessary. I wanted to share the resources I came across with women who are considering doing bbl, just as food for thought....

Definition of board certification from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
being a physician who has graduated from medical school, completed residency, trained under supervision in a specialty, and passed a qualifying exam given by a medical specialty board

Definition (or rather lack thereof) cosmetic surgeon from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary. Click on a spelling suggestion below or try again using the search bar above.

Definition of plastic surgeon from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
a doctor who performs plastic surgery

Found it quite interesting that one of the most respected dictionaries did not have an entry for cosmetic surgeon so I felt compelled to share all the definitions to highlight this.

Despite the dictionary's lack of recognition there is a board for certification in cosmetic surgery. Here's the link
http://www.americanboardcosmeticsurgery.org/our-purpose.html

The above site, similar to the American Board of Plastic Surgery (link: https://www.abplsurg.org), allows patients to search for a doctor who has taken the time to earn the respective board certification in a speciality in order to demonstrate the requisites as described, for example, in the definition by Merriam-Webster dictionary for board certification.


Licensed surgical facilities (NY link: http://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/office-based_surgery/obs_faq.htm)
This NYS government site describes what surgical procedures require a licensed office and what surgical procedures don't as well as why. Being licensed ensures regulation by the NYS department of health.

Board certification for an anesthesiologist can be verified as well (link: http://www.theaba.org). Local anesthesia does not required board certification to administer hence a cosmetic surgeon (who has NOT taken the CS board certification exam) can offer this service.

The US national library of medicine article on general anesthesia, this link (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007410.htm) also has a sublink to conscious anesthesia aka local anesthesia. I appreciated how the risks for both are outlined. Demonstrating that ANY anesthesia can have complications with the severity dependent on administration, dosage, etc.


By no means does board certification and a licensed operating facility 100% ensure the very best doctor/service in the world. IMO it is a very good starting point since ALL anesthesia and surgical procedures involve risks and the possibility of complications. IMO the BBL procedure is worth the medically regulated route via a board certified plastic surgeon, licensed facility, etc. As patients I believe we are worth the extra steps on the doctor's part (getting certified in the cosmetic or plastic speciality, using a licensed facility, etc.) and our part (doing comprehensive research on the doctor's credentials/patient reviews for consistency and to seek out unbiased medical information on how the procedure works from libraries & the internet). Yes, patients should be able to implicitly trust their medical providers but we all know the world isn't that safe a place where every practitioner is impartial and candid as they provide counsel to their patients.


God's speed to us all in the decision to make a change that affects the rest of our lives. Wishing you all a happy, safe, successful BBL as you continue your journey!

Hey Ladies. Just sharing some pics I compiled. Figured it's time to get on board. Lol

Hey ladies! Happy early gobble gobble first off and to all those shopping for "Black Friday" good luck with the crowds over the next few days. You're brave souls. Lol.

As promised, I wanted to post about my consult w/Dr. Hughes. I really liked his energy. He reminded me of Schulman. Down to earth, listens, candid, etc. He went over my basic information and he asked me what I was looking for. I told him arms, inner thigh, abdomen, back & flanks for liposculpting. And that I wanted the lateral depressions filled so the illusion of hips is more prominent. (I'm not hipless just hip-challenged IMO). And that I NEED PROJECTION. He did the "touch" test to see if the areas were suitable. And as usual my arms seem to be a "sticking point". Dr. H didn't think it was necessary but said it could be done. I guess I have more tricep muscle than fat - I tell ya it doesn't look that way to me. Lol. He said he could probably get about 1000cc into each cheek (same estimate as Dr. S). But what I found interesting and different is that he tells his patients that they should anticipate loosing 50% of what he puts in. YIKES!!!! He said that he over estimates so that if it's less loss the patient is pleasantly surprised (he explained that some patients have come to him post op displeased about the size, they had unrealistic expectations. I get that since booty greed is real). That would make me want to put 2000cc in each cheek. Lol. He did mention he's done that much but of course my chunks aren't enough for that. I told him that I gained weight for this surgery and he told me not to gain anymore. That made me feel better b/c I'm feeling like a freakin stuffed sausage in my clothes these days. I can't even zip up, let alone button, most of my work clothes. I'm hiding in dark colors hoping to hide the bulges. He also described how he goes in layers in the muscle & above/below to get the projection right. I asked him about platelet rich plasma and stem cell use in the fat. He replied that platelet rich doesn't have much scientific proof so he doesn't bother. And there isn't enough evidence for him to go gung-ho with the stem cell stimulation. He doesn't use drains, he just leaves the incision open since he creates 3 altogether if there is no lipo to arms & thighs (he uses the same incisions to remove and inject the fat). Nor does he support lymphatic massages as a result of the lack of scientific proof it actually helps. He said the most important component (because I asked about compression garments, ab boards, etc) was that the abdomens and lower back areas have sufficient compression since he does aggressive lipo there and does not want fluid build up (seroma). He agreed with using arnica post op. And said his patients could wear spankx as a stage 2 garment since after about 7-10 days he would be able to make a good assessment about the progress and efficiency of healing. That was useful. Plan to ask Dr. S if that is feasible for me too. So overall it was a really good consult. His office is running a special right now so the price for everything I wanted would be 11K. Kinda glad he's not in NYC or I'd be really torn between him & Dr. S. His staff was very professional & accommodating. So overall an excellent experience. I did do my background check on him and he is board certified with the American board of plastic surgery. No outstanding negative reports or complaints. I would highly recommend anyone who is on the west coast to at least do a consult with him. He's physically very big (which could be intimidating) but he's got this teddy bear kind of aura and I only got positive energy from him.

Hope this will be helpful to the community. As always ladies, very best wishes on your BBL journey.

Hey there my BBL sistas! So as my title says ....anxiety has officially started. Actually started a couple of weeks ago but I was determined to keep my big girl panties on and remain strong. Yeah that's not really going down. So I hope you all don't mind me whining on RS b/c I feel like you all are the only ones who will truly understand.

Since august 2013 I've buried my head in research about this whole BBL process. I'm very analytical by nature. When I was seeing a therapist (nothing crazy, I just believe that my mind needs a check every so often, same way I get an annual visit to the dentist, gyn., etc) she said that I process things cognitively and I need to embrace my emotions. Well once again I didn't "feel" much about this surgery except that I wanted it. Now that there isn't much more research to do and I'm going to give my deposit to Dr. Schulman sometime this month my emotions set in.


Sometimes I'm really happy excited. Sometimes I'm scared shitless and want to cry. I started to process that once I give the deposit I'm committed and for me that means no turning back. I refuse to leave a deposit and then change my mind, that money isn't refundable. I'm getting scared about the looks/questions from the women of color in my office - I work in a firm where the minorities (everyone that is not Caucasian) make up about 15% of the entire workforce. My boss won't say anything even if he noticed. I decided that I would just tell my boss that I'm having an outpatient procedure relating to a female issue (that usually scares men off). But I do catch him checking me out from time to time and I really don't want him to notice the new derrière. I know, wishful thinking on my part. I have not told a single coworker and won't. I don't like people at work in my personal life - I don't want to hear their opinions. And moreover I don't give a shit about what they think. But still wishing that everyone just acts like nothing has changed.


I'm just all over the place emotionally now. When I had my breast reduction (almost 2 decades ago) I wasn't feeling as emotional as I am about this. A good friend of mine who is a psychologist, just not mine, says it's b/c this is elective whereas my reduction was medical. Makes sense but that isn't helping to soothe my erratic emotions.

So ladies if you have any words of wisdom to help me calm myself down I'm all ears. I really want to get my feelings under control. I'm picking a surgery date in early April 2014 (that's my bday month and this is a present to myself). And I need to calm down given I have like 4 months to go. I'm trying not be a nervous wreck but it's getting increasingly difficult.

So this nervous nelly is welcoming all positive feedback. Thanks in advance ;-)