“Power assisted lipo...aka pal so far so good.”

Some background: I am a 39 y.o. mom and chiropractor. I am very active with working out in the gym 6 days a week for the past 20 years, I train martial arts and help teach martial arts to children as well as helping with woman's self defense classes.

I set a goal for my self to have lean abs and thighs by my 40th b-day, but I started to realize that my activities would not get rid of this kind of belly and thigh fat. So I started researching Lipo suction. I have spent the last 10 months researching all the different methods. Initially I was drawn to the Vaser and Smart techniques because of the idea of not going under a general anesthesia. The more I researched these 2 the more concerned I became about it's overall safety. First, the idea of being awake was nerve racking, the big concern was the risk of lidocaine poisoning and getting burned by the laser or ultrasound. I then turned my attention to PAL. I have read that some docs also do this under a local sedation, though my doc does not. I chose PAL and here is why:

I went to a consultation w/ doctor listed above and he and his staff explained to me the benefits of PAL over SMART and Vaser. My Dr indicated that he has serious concern with local sedation w/ use of lidocaine because of the high risk of poisoning. In addition his opinion is that optimum results cannot be achieved if the patient is awake as he is not able to be aggressive with the fat removal. The cannula with the PAL is larger and therefore more effective. Most importantly, the risk of burning skin and muscle tissue is eliminated. My Dr uses general anesthesia.

My procedure: I am having my abs, flanks and thighs treated. I scheduled my procedure, did all the pre-op stuff including taking Arnica Montana about 5 days pre-op. Surgery day: April 29: I was 1st on the schedule so I arrived at the doctors office at 5:30am, got prepped, and again listened to the nurses and surgical staff explain what I should expect. They informed me I would be given a catheter to go home with so I did not have to get up and down to pee. I was told I should feel like I had a nasty road rash all over. Briefly talked with my Dr, and had a consult with the anesthesiologist. It was time, I was taken to the OR where I was gooped up from breast to below the knee with Betadine?? had already been given the IV and a dose of Demerol via the IV. I was asked to get on the table and the next thing I know, I am back in the pre-op area and am finished with the procedure. The nursing staff informed me they removed 3 liters of fat and the abs area gave them a bit of a fight..which is why exercise was never going to get rid of this type of fat. I immediately felt sore and moving was difficult, my husband returned to pick me up and I was taken home to rest. Getting in and out of the car was a challenge for sure. I chose to sleep on a recliner as it was the most comfortable position to get my legs elevated. I was at the doctor's office from 5:30am-1:00pm

That night: Moving was pretty difficult, every time I moved it felt like my skin was detaching from the muscle. I was prescribed Percocet which I gladly took, it mostly helped me sleep and took the edge off. I continued to take the Arnica and also started on some Bromelain enzymes. I woke several times through the night cautiously got up to move around for the circulation but would quickly return to my resting position.

Next day Wednesday: Pretty darn sore. Worst thing is changing positions. Once I am up and moving I feel better. I went to my follow-up apt. and got my first glimpse of my results. Legs are pretty swollen, but I can tell that the abs and flanks have significant improvement. I had almost no drainage. I was quickly put back into the garment, maybe the worst part of the entire procedure. At this point I had only taken 3-4 pain pills. Grateful that this was my day off anyway.

Day 2 Friday: Well I had planned on working this day, but there was no way I could perform to the level I needed to so I took the day off. I rested, got up on occasion to get the blood circulating, even went to get a few groceries. I am taking full advantage of naps. I am very sore and again changing positions is the most difficult part. My son has been so helpful getting me pillows and blankets.

Day 3 Saturday: The soreness has improved significantly, but it's not gone. It is easier to get up and down. I went into work for a few hours and treated a couple of patients. Others at my work did not even notice that I was walking cautiously. I have not told anyone that I had lipo. I went to my sons baseball practice then came home for my first shower...yeah. It was nice to get out of the garment for 15 minutes, but I quickly put it back on. Moving around is becoming easier as the day goes on.

Day 4 Sunday: Had a more restful sleep, getting out of the recliner is becoming easier, walking up and down stairs is much easier. Pain has subsided significantly. I will be returning to work on Monday. Have some events to attend today which I see not problems. The garment is now the worst part of it all, I am itchy and it is just uncomfortable, but a necessity. I will plan on wearing it for the next 3 months.

Conclusion: Overall PAL was the best choice for me. It will be several months before I see the full results. If I progress as quickly as the past few days, then I will be back in the gym in the next 5 days or so and training martial arts too. I am glad I did this for myself. My husband was supportive, but claimed he liked my body the way it was. I am very muscular and was just frustrated with the spare tire and thick thighs. I did this for me. I will eventually reveal to my close friends that I had the procedure. I will post some pics soon. I want to wait until the markings have come off, then I will post pre-op and one week post-ops later this week. I have weekly follow-up appointments with my doc for a while.

Overall: I am very glad I did it, now to get back into training so I can tighten things up and get super lean.

Updated on Jul 22, 2009:

I have added some more pictures at 12 weeks post-op.  I still seek improvement in my figure and will continue putting in my time in the gym.  Whether you choose traditional liposuction with PAL, Vaser, or Smart Lipo, make sure you are choosing a qualified physician.  I am very satisfied with my results, I am certain that i could not have obtained these results by diet and exercise alone.  Good luck to those of you starting your journey here on this site.  It has been a great help to me in researching and choosing my procedure.  I hope you find the information and pictures i have posted helpful.

Updated on Aug 17, 2009:

I was not going to post an update or more pics so soon until I had my husband take pictures to document my results starting in on the P90X workout. When I saw the pics, I did not realize how lean I was already. SO I thought I would post this and talk about what I do as far as exercise and nutrition to lend a helping hand to others. I first started working out about 20- years ago and have a tendency to be muscular especially my upper body which is partly due to my profession. I have NEVER trained to be a competitive body builder, exercise has always been about being healthy and ME liking the way I look. So yes it is all about me in this regard. Keep in mind the reason I had lipo was because I did not like the fat that hung over my jeans, I did not like to see fat when I bent over. I did not think I was a fat person, just that I had areas of fat that I was not comfortable.

Exercise: Many think I am compulsive about exercise, I admit it is likely true. I have been fairly consistent with working out since I joined my first gym at 19 y.o. (21 years ago.) I am the mother of a 6 y.o. son and am a professional person with my own business. Here is my current exercise regimen: Monday and Wednesday I do a morning group fitness class, usually Step or Kick Boxing, in the evenings I do a P90X workout; Tuesday and Thursday are big days for me, in the morning I do some sort of cardio machine, usually the elliptical, then I head to the dojo and train Okinawan Jiu Jitsu, on Tuesday evenings, I do a Body Pump class while on Thursday afternoons, I teach kids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Thursday Evening I teach a group fitness class called Cardio Fight. (h yeah, Thursdays are my day off work); Fridays some sort of cardio machine and P90X workout; Saturday, I teach Cardio Fight in the morning and do P90X in the evening; Sunday P90X. I know this seems like a lot, but if I am tired I take some time off though I rarely take time off from the Martial Arts training or teaching and I really cannot take time off from the Cardio Fight class since I am the instructor. I do not follow the P90X verbatim and take a day off when needed. I should probably take more time off, but I have the drive to get my body to what I have dreamed of...I think I am close, I hope unless my mind tries to fool me.

Nutrition: I will start by saying, I HATE TO COOK!! I rarely cook. My husband prepares most of our meals and they tend to be quite simple. Chicken breasts on the grill or in the crock pot, sometimes pan fried chicken with olive oil, burgers, and some fish. Salads, rice, potatoes. To me food is mostly about fuel, though I do love food and am all for specialty cuisine, we only prepare some gourmet meal when we are really bored with out meals otherwise for me food is about energy. I have very good self control and most junk food does not tempt me. We so have junk in our house I have a 6 y.o. child and he is not deprived of being a child whatsoever. We have cookies, cheese-it, honey buns etc. Good thing is I dislike most of this stuff. So here is an idea of daily meals: Breakfast: Usually a protein drink (this is where I add all kinds of stuff like colostrum for muscle development and immune system, hemp seeds good for Omega FA and fiber, if after a workout, recovery mix) or I may eat some eggs or egg sandwich and some fruit. Lunch: is usually eaten out, examples Subway, I get a 6 inch double turkey loaded with veggies, foot long is too much bread, double meat gives me more protein. I also like to go to the local grocery store where I can get a piece of fish and some rice or a salad at the prepared foods section. Dinner is usually simple such as chicken and rice, salad, again I don't like to waste time preparing food. Extra meals: you know they say eat 6 meals a day this is where I add protein drinks and fruit, fiber one granola bars( the ones with dark chocolate help give you the idea of indulgence). In my house snacks are considered healthy and treats are junk food. I love summer as there is an abundance of melons around that are cut up in the fridge, these are snacks. Treats on occasion are things like ice cream or occasionally a patient brings in a sweet treat (my business is around a lot of Amish and other farmers so I often get offered pies, cakes etc) Again, I am grateful that I have good self control. My favorite splurge foods are still on the healthy side. The splurge that tops my list is my own homemade pico de gallo with blue corn chips, I would eat that over sweets any day.

Supplementation: I have to admit I am not real good about taking my multiple vitamin regularly. I mostly supplement with protein drinks some are straight whey protein while others are more a meal replacement protein such as Muscle Milk. Into my protein I add all kinds of stuff to make them taste good but that is also good for my body, colostrum, recovery mix for post-workout, flax or hemp seeds for the Omega FA, flax oil whatever else I decide to throw in. I also try to do cleanses frequently, especially colon and liver cleanses.

Finally and most important:

Liquid intake: specifically WATER. Water is the most important thing that we can ingest into our bodies. I drink 3-4 liters of straight water every day. Tea, Crystal Light, coffee is not water. This does not include the water that is added to my protein drinks. I rarely consume fruit juice, only when I am taking a cleanse and need to disguise the nasty flavor of the herbs. I only consume alcohol 4-5 times a year anymore. Mainly because my tolerance has declined since having my son and I have no real desire to feel like crap. When I do drink alcohol it is minimal 1-2 drinks and I stick with Rum and Cola (usually Diet Rite as it does not use aspartame.) Otherwise I never drink soda pop. I used to drink beer, my dad worked fro Anheuser Busch so we were beer drinkers, but in my eyes beer is liquid bread and bread is not ideal though I do love a quality fresh baked bread. I also do enjoy having a margarita or glass of wine with a friend, but these drinks are so high in sugar and I tend to feel swollen so I no longer drink them.

I hope this helps others in their quest for a better body, you can see from my pre-op pics to my current pics that lipo is only a tool, it is not the magic wand so when considering lipo, make sure you have all your other practices in place so you do not fail. Good luck

Day Before Surgery

Day Before Surgery

Day Before Surgery

1 Week Post-op

1 Week Post-op

1 Week Post-op

1 Week Post-Op

1 Week Post-op bruising

4 weeks post-op

4 weeks post-op

4 weeks post-op

4 weeks post-op

12 weeks post-op

12 weeks post-op

12wees post-op

17 weeks post-op starting P90X workout

17 weeks post-op starting P90X workout

17 weeks post-op starting on P90X workout