I've always hated my stomach. Even when I was 17 years old, a competitive athlete, and about 98 pounds, I was always hiding it in pictures and wearing one-piece bathing suits. Flash forward 20 years and 3 pregnancies later, and I decided it was finally time to do something to let me love my body. I initially wanted a tummy tuck, but Dr Correia didn't advise this, since he said I didn't have enough skin and would be left with a vertical scar where my belly button was. So he suggested liposuction on my upper and lower abdomen and Renuvion (formerly J-Plasma) to tighten the skin. I didn't think I was a good candidate for liposuction because my skin isn't very taut, but he reassured me that Renuvion often gives great results on body types like mine. My initial consult with Dr Correia felt a little bit rushed, but when I had follow-up questions he answered my email almost immediately (seriously, about 15 minutes after my email). He also called a few days before the procedure and reassured me on a few more points that I was nervous about. Everyone at the clinic was amazing - secretaries, nurses, anesthesiologist - no complaints at all. I had my procedure under 24 hours ago, and though I'm still suffering a bit, I already feel much better than last night. I have three tiny incisions - one low on each hip, one in my belly button - and one of them bled quite a bit last night. The other two are barely seeping. I took the prescription pain killers from the clinic last night and slept fairly well. The main problem yesterday was dizziness / feeling faint. This morning I had a protein shake and I'm feeling much less dizzy. My abs and obliques feel like I did the hardest workout ever, but it's more soreness than pain. I haven't taken off my compression garment yet to see the results. I can see lots of bruising around the edges so I'm not looking forward to seeing how ugly my stomach looks! I think I'll wait as long as I can before looking. I've attached some "before" pictures. I'm 37F, 3 pregnancies, very active (yoga 3x week / weight lifting 3x week / 10K steps every day), but I also love to eat. Updated on 27 Jan 2023: I had a rough evening yesterday with lots of pain. Oddly enough, what hurt the most were my shoulders and upper back. I texted Dr Correia to make sure this was normal, and he said it was due to the position you're in on the operating table. I managed to sleep a few hours and am feeling better today. Two of my incisions are no longer bleeding at all, and the third is barely bleeding. I think I'm swelling up more because my compression garment feels tighter than it did yesterday! Updated on 28 Jan 2023: I am covered in bruising, but I actually feel great! And I know it’s much too soon to tell, but I took my binder off last night to shower and I think that my skin already looks tighter and smoother. (See photo) I still have a tiny bit of soreness, but I feel almost entirely back to normal. I even walked 5km today. My only complaint is that my binder was cutting into my waist quite a bit. I added a square of lipo foam underneath it after my shower and it feels much smoother and more comfortable now. I went back to work (from home) the day after my surgery, which was probably too ambitious. Today I didn’t work and it felt great to be able to nap, relax, and drink lots of herbal tea. While it’s definitely possible to work from home immediately following lipo, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t! Updated on 30 Jan 2023: Still bruised and swollen, but I LOVE my new stomach! I can't wait to see what it looks like in a few weeks / months. I know the results aren't final for 6 months to a year, but I tried to pinch my skin this morning to see if there was much laxity, and I could hardly believe it - I can barely find anything to pinch. I was nervous that the Renuvion wouldn't be effective because it doesn't have a great success rate / approval rating on RealSelf, but it seems to have worked really well on me! Feeling great. No pain from the incisions or in my abdomen. I get a bit light-headed from time to time, but I've probably been too active the past few days (walking at least 10,000 steps and doing quite a bit of housework). Updated on 10 Mar 2023: I'm now 6 weeks out from my abdominal liposuction and Renuvion (J-Plasma), and I could not be happier with my results. I started going back to the gym at 4 weeks post-op, and I feel so much lighter and fitter! It's an absolute joy to do abs now without all that extra weight around my midsection. For the first time in my life, I went to the gym in a bra top and leggings - no more baggy t-shirt! I have a few lumps/divots in my stomach, and my skin isn't perfect (you can still see my post-pregnancy stretch marks, for example), but I am AMAZED at how much my skin tightened up. I initially went to consult with Dr Correia for a tummy tuck and I'm so glad he recommended the liposuction and Renuvion - I've got the stomach I always dreamed of with almost no scar.
