“*NEW PICS POSTED* Positive life-changing experience!! So happy with the new me!”

I had my BBL today and am about 8 hours post op. I couldn't wait to write this review as I spent hours reading helpful reviews of others for months prior to my procedure!! The overall surgical experience was amazing. Dr. K's staff was very kind and comforting.

I was never really nervous about the procedure itself, just about going under general anesthesia. It was the easiest most relaxing thing I've experienced. After arriving and talking to the nurses ( and meeting with members of my team individually) they started an IV for fluids, antibiotics, and nausea medication. The doctor came in and marked me up and then was taken into the OR. I was laid on a nice comfy surgical table with warm air and lots of war blankets while the nurses hooked me up to various monitors. I remember talking about my college major and being told I was being given anti-anxiety drugs. Then the nurse anesthetist told me I was going to be given oxygen. I remember breathing it in for about 3 seconds and the next thing I know I was waking up to the compression garment being put on me. It felt like I shut my eyes for a blink and was awake again!!

When I awoke at first, I had no pain. I was then wheeled back into the recovery room. After becoming more aware, by behind was hurting pretty bad but I couldn't even feel the areas that were liposuctioned. They asked me if I wanted tea and the nurse brought me some hot tea, which was amazing seeing as I was so cold. The nurse gave me some more pain medication in my IV and it helped to make me feel more comfortable. After about 15 mins I wanted to get up and use the bathroom. The easiest way I found to do this was stand facing the toilet, (yes like a guy) and squat a little bit while kind of opening the hole of the garment. After this, I did not want to lay back down because it felt better to be standing up.

The doctor came in and checked the garment and my pads and told me the procedure went great. I then got my IVs out, got dressed and was discharged with a set of detailed aftercare instructions.

I rode home in the car on my side and this was pretty pain free. After I got home I felt good enough to eat some beef broth with white rice and they laid on my stomach on the couch. I drifted off to sleep a little bit still feeling very minimal discomfort. They said that when I got home the lidocaine injected with the tumescent would continue to dull the pain. It's starting to wear off now and the pain is becoming more severe. It's much better to be standing up because it's hard to get into a laying down position when you can't lay on your bum and your abs feel like they are ripped from a very intense workout.

Seeing as I am only about 8 hours post-op, I am very swollen and continuing to become more so. My abdomen and butt are very tight but I can definitely tell that I have a new, curvier shape. (My boyfriend notices it too!). None of this is worrying me or making me disappointed because I did a lot of research so I would know exactly what to expect. You hear about people being upset and discouraged in the time after surgery because of the swelling, and to be honest, I look bigger than I did going in. I know this will all go away.

I had 4500cc's taken out of my upper/lower abdomen, inner thighs, posterior hips, and love handles. They then transferred 300cc's to each buttock cheek. I am so excited to see the final results and take this garment off in 3 days when I can shower.

I am probably missing some of the main answers people are looking for but my mind is a little bit cloudy. If anyone has any questions you are more than welcome to email me. I'll update again in a couple weeks when I have healed a bit :)

Updated on 27 Sep 2011:
Soooo it has been almost 9 months since I had my BBL. Sorry it has taken me so long to update.

It was a long road to being completely healed. Even months after surgery the lipo areas would get swollen in the humidity. The good news is that I am 100% happy that I went through with this surgery. I did not have much fat in terms of cc's injected into my butt, but there is a very noticeable difference in projection (I will post some before and after pictures after I take some today). People who I haven't seen since before surgery just comment of the amount of weight I've lost and how great I'm looking, but have no idea that I've had any "work" done. I do have some darkened hyper-pigmentation areas on the skin on my abdomen but they are not so noticeable to other people, only myself. It doesn't bother me because I feel like a new person and I knew that the results would not be perfect.

Since surgery I have lost about 20 lbs on my own and I am feeling great! I have actually scheduled a touch-up with my surgeon to harvest some more fat and inject a little more into the cheek area of my butt. He got a new state-of-the-art fat harvesting machine and says that the "stick" rate is much better. Hopefully by the time December 15th comes I'll have some fat left!

I wanted to do this review because I totally recommend this surgery to anyone... not just for a butt augmentation but for the contouring you get as a result of the lipo. Like I said, my cheeks themselves are not all that much bigger but the projection in my side profile makes it look like I have a booty. My stomach is flatter and my back has that curve that most of us girls desire! My doctor was honest from pre-op and said that he liked to be conservative in the amount of fat that he was willing to inject because of the risk for fat embolism, but said that 6 mons later we could go back at no charge and add some more. I am perfectly fine with this!

I hope this helps anyone on the fence about this surgery...I feel like it was having a baby... The pain and recovery time at the moment is terrible and you swear off ever doing it again, but the next year you're pushing out the next one. Well look at that, I'm going back for round 2! hehe

Updated on 9 Dec 2011:
So I am getting ready to head in for my touch up this week, and I'm also having a breast lift and augmentation..

As you can probably guess, what is giving me the most anxiety is HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LAY DOWN AFTER SURGERY????!!!!! ..can't lay on my stomach or back for obvious reasons and being suspended in mid-air is not an option, although it would be nice.

So, after thinking and thinking, I came up with a solution that I think may help a lot of ladies going into this...I wish I would have known earlier because I didn't sleep for almost 6 weeks after surgery because I could not lay on my back and my sides were raw.

I went on Amazon and purchased a 6 inch extra firm twin size mattress topper. Its soft but not squishy so I can lay on it comfortably but it doesn't crush down. I laid on it and then cut a nice size hole for my bum to hang through when I lay on my back. It's really comfy and gives my butt 6 inches of free-space to be pressure free. There were thicker pads but I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars, this one was about $75. For you ladies that go really really big and think that your butt would still touch through the hole, I suggest just taking two rolled up towels or pillows and putting one under your thighs and one under your lower back..it'll prop you up more.

Making this makeshift pad has really eased a lot of anxiety for my this time around. I am not stressed about the surgery at all, last time it was a piece of cake, but this whole laying down thing has really been getting to me. I have posted a picture so you can get an idea of what I did...it's not too pretty but it'll work :)

Updated on 14 Dec 2011:
Well tomorrow is the big day..I'll try and update tomorrow night :) Wish me luck!

Updated on 15 Dec 2011:
Well today is the day! I'm so nervous, can't wait to get it all over with :)

Updated on 15 Dec 2011:
Hey girls... I did it.. I'm home. I'm still really foggy but let me Say I am in love. He gave my butt more lateral fullness like I wanted and my boobs are already soft and not sitting too high up! I'll post in more detail tomorrow, I am soooo tired. Also, my homemade "booty bed" is friggin amazing.. This recovery will be a breeze :)

Updated on 16 Dec 2011:
Okay here are some new pics. just had surgery yesterday so I am still really swollen...didn't have much fat to add to my bum.. only another 140ccs each (I think, I was reallyyy out of it when my doc came into talk to me). Let me know what you think...When the swelling goes down I think I will have finally reached my goal :)

Updated on 16 Dec 2011:
oh and for some reason he said I dont need to wear a garment this time...i guess its bc i didn't have much taken out. i don't even feel like I need it, last time everything was all jiggly but not this time :)

Updated on 16 Dec 2011:
So my doc said to be up walking every few hours... So I figured why not join my boyfriend at the gym :) it probably sounds crazy but I'm walking 1.5mph on the treadmill and doing my arm lifts. I heard walking helps rid the edema and swelling after surgery and I am determined not to have a hard recovery like last time. I'll probably regret it tomorrow, lol :)

Updated on 17 Dec 2011:
Well i can shower today. cant wait to see everything after the bandages are off!

Updated on 20 Dec 2011:
Oh one more IMPORTANT thing I forgot to mention... some doctors recommend taking arnica and bromelain pre and post surgery. the first time around I took arnica 10 days prior and really didn't see any results. I had bruising for literally 2 months or more... this time I bought (on Amazon for $42) the arnica/bromelain recovery pack by Vitamedica and have been taking it as directed since surgery...LET ME TELL YOU.....IT WORKS! I had bruising from the lipo on the day of surgery as you can see in my pics from the day of surgery now....I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NONE and almost NO SWELLING. I highly recommend this product, even if your doctor doesn't mention it, overall it has made recovery a lot faster. Maybe that's another reason why my boobs are not as swollen as people's usually are either... just a suggestion!! Hindsight is 20/20..if I had known all these things the first time around....I Wouldn't have lived in hell for two months haha