While looking for someone to do breast augmentation I learned about fat transfer as an option and after a couple consultations with different doctors I decided on dr. Malan at innovative cosmetic surgery solutions. It's been about 10 days since my surgery and thus far I am still waiting to see the final results as the swelling is just finally starting to subside.
I'm a bit worried because I gave up on wearing the compression garment altogether about a day ago. It had become increasingly more painful and since I've stopped wearing it some of the swelling has decreased, I definitely dont think it was supposed to cause as much pain as it was.
The fat was taken by water jet assisted lipo from my abs, flanks, sacrum, inner and outer thighs, banana roll, knees, calves and ankles. The fat that wasnt transferred to my breasts was transferred to the following areas of my face- forehead, lips, jawline, cheeks, and, I also had him add some around the alar region of my nose and bottom of my right nostril which was a request I made with the understanding that it would be experimental with no guarantee of a positive outcome.
It was a lot of work in one procedure and it cost almost 19k altogether, which seems like a lot but given all that was done it actually is pretty reasonable. The only constructive criticism I have regarding the facility I chose to go with is that more effort could have gone into measuring for post OP garments, which is something a patient can proactively handle on thier own and I would reccomend doing so because it seems to be stressed by everyone as very important for optimal recovery but can definitely cause problems if not properly fitted or worn.
It probably is partially my own fault as I have been more concerned with preservation of the fat transfer than of the lipo results, and have intentionally maintained a high calorie, high carbohydrate diet in order to completely eliminate any chance of my body going into a ketogenic state which the doctor warned me would primarily target the transported fat while it is still established in it's new area. I've also secluded myself for the past week and remained as recumbent as possible so as to prevent as much force trauma to the fat cells during this critical time period.
It's too early to judge the final outcome of the breast transfer but if it stayed exactly like this without any further loss of volume (very unlikely) it would be an impressive success. Realistically I expect to lose a bit more size but regardless the increase was far beyond what I think is typically expected and he had told me in advance I would achieve better than average size increase due to my previous breast augmentation surgeries, which had made "room" for more fat than I would be able to accommodate otherwise. He also placed the fat very strategically to give my breasts the appearance of being even larger than they are. I'm tremendously happy with his artistic skill in that department and so glad I chose him over dr. Shuel at infini who literally said they typically just do it in one injection slowly drawn through the entire breast... which was the comment that told me infini was not the place to go.
The WAL lipo system dr Malan used is also the best for lipedema patients which he diagnosed me with upon our initial meeting. Recovery from it has not been at all difficult, I never once required the use of any type of pain medication. I did whine like a baby briefly on the operating table when they initially started the iv sedation... I've complained pretty fiercely everytime I have ever been given anesthesia and it must be common for them as they always ignore me and within a second or two I'm out like a light.
The experimental transfer to portions of my nose did not end up in disaster, which was a viable possibility, but they did not really make much of an impact other than the successful elimination of a small pitted scar that I asked him to fill in and is completely gone now. The skin on my entire face looks so completely rejuvenated and although I have been avoiding the shower as much as possible while healing and thus my skin isnt clean enough to really get a full idea of the impact the stem cells have had... I definitely look far younger than I did before the transfer. Still quite swollen but almost ready to be around others. My lips look pretty damn good... he emphasized he would be injecting a seemingly ridiculous amount into them but that it would end up looking perfect. I didnt see them immediately after the surgery but my husband said they were so big that they would have made Angelina Jolie want to kill herself which I assume he meant as they were beyond what would be considered acceptably large. Later the same evening he noted they had decreased significantly already, and if my doctor is correct in stating they've reached their final size I'm super pleased with the results. Its subtle but significantly improved at the same time.
I will post some before and after pics very soon.
Updated on 29 Apr 2019:
So the after pictures here are from 11 days postop. Still too early to expect this to last but am trying hard to maintain.
I apologize for the quality of the pics they arent super straight or professional.
Updated on 30 Apr 2019:
After having gone without any compression garment for over a day my lower body was finally starting to look improved. I decided to stop wearing it because my swelling in one leg was so bad and getting worse that I had to cut the bottom near the ankle because my foot was turning blue. It bunched and creased around my knees leaving horrible painful marks and once it was off for a bit ( with me laying on my back with legs propped vertically for the better part of the entire 24 hours ) my body was looking reasonably improved.
However I kept reading statement after statement about the importance of wearing them and that you should insulate with a pair of biker shorts or foam if need be so o got scared and put it back on with some nylons beneath and a layer of fabric around the areas with the zipper.
After half a day with it on I regret that decision so hard. I now have a lump where the bottom fabric bunched on my previously perfectly flat abdomen. I started swelling back up and have numbness again in the places that creasing is unavoidable. I see my doctor tomorrow... but I really hope he says it’s okay to do without the garment cause despite what unanimous input seems to be about it.., i feel that keeping my legs elevated with no garment is doing a much better job than that torture device is doing to aid in healing.
Updated on 3 May 2019:
I had been concerned that skipping my compression garment was going to be a problem but after seeing the doc he said I made the right decision. Since I had to wait two days longer to see him than I expected, I went out and bought some spanx leggings that have worked really well in place of the garment.
One tip I do have though is to wear them inside out, because then you avoid the seam indentation as they are made to be smooth on the outside.
The doctor was really impressed with how quickly my bruising has faded and said normally there would be more visible bruising but I think normally people have to move around after surgery more than I have had to as most people have responsibilities and lives they have to attend to. I’ve pretty much laid here in bed with my legs up the wall for 2 weeks. Still happy with results. Nice side effect of stem cell enriched fat transfer is how young your skin looks. My husband commented on it and said he calls dibs on the next 20k we spend on cosmetic stuff. (He wouldn’t require anywhere near that much, lucky him)
Updated on 20 May 2019:
I have continued to do without my compression garments and tomorrow I go see the doc about some questionable patches on my stomach, but as far as the fat retention goes, I’ve posted pictures from 2 minutes ago. A lot of volume has decreased but the results are still pretty noticeable. One thing that is a bit disappointing is that he made sure to put more fat in the breast that was smaller to try to make them more symmetrical and it appears as though that breast actually retained less than the one he didn’t put as much fat into, which makes me believe that the theory of underfilling resulting in higher retention rates might be accurate. If I were going to do this again, I would probably choose to do it at a place that harvests the fat once, and freezes some of it so that it can be injected in smaller amounts over several treatments.
However, my face looks amazing. And this doctor did great artistic work...The stem cells really have taken some years off and that effect hasn’t diminished at all, a very nice bonus I wasn’t even trying for, but like very much.
In order to ensure I not lose any fat I kind of overdid it and have gained several pounds, so I’m going to have to start losing some weight and am scared there will be further size reduction. Will continue updating.
Updated on 23 May 2019:
Saw the doc yesterday because a small patch of skin on my stomach felt hard as though it were adhered to my muscle but the doc said it will be fine and advised me to get lymphatic massage. Overall my recovery has appeared to have gone smoother than what they are used to seeing this early.
I am really trying to work up the courage to post before and after pics of the lipo results but I will be honest, I don't know if I am that brave. It hurts me to even look at the before pictures of my legs ...lipedema is a weird scary thing that sneaks up on you and I'm normally a shameless person, but seeing them makes me feel ashamed. The swelling is still very excessive but looking at the before pics the results are drastic. I really hope it results in me being able to finally wear shorts
Updated on 26 May 2019:
I’m grateful for this experience and definitely look much better than before so I can’t say I regret doing it... but I want to make sure I share the parts that have been less than desirable because so far my review appears unilaterally triumphant and today I realized the success isn’t where I intended.
Breasts:
my husband and I initially thought more natural feeling breasts could only be a good thing... and the problem is, naturally large breasts very very rarely look as good as augmented breasts and even those that do look good... well... they usually don’t stay that way very long. What I mean is, I think perkiness is far more important a trait than actual size, and if you want both size and perkiness... then implants are simply the only way to go. I do have larger breasts now than before and they look very natural, but you become accustomed to the massiveness of the initial result, only to see them deflate as they heal which is disappointing and takes away from the satisfaction you can truly feel about the outcome.
However, the additional fat is certainly only helpful and while I do expect at some point in the future I will end up opting for small silicone implants at least they will look and feel better due to the extra fat coverage. I am not disappointed with the outcome, but rather than do an additional transfer to reach the desired size I believe implants are the cheaper more effective way to augment breasts and delivers a perkier result. Please keep in mind that it is not because I don’t think they look fantastic, I do truly and am well aware that the vast majority of people would be thrilled with this result. But the only reason i even wanted to increase the size at all is because I am in love with someone who happens to prefer very large breasts and if he were not in the picture I definitely wouldn’t be wishing they were any bigger than they are now. Since he is in the picture..they’re almost there, but just slightly under what i think he’d like them to be.
Face and lips:
I’d have liked if more fat stayed in my lips but there is clearly an increase that has satisfied any insecurity I had about the thinness of my upper lip. I can’t complain and would say this is 1000% better than getting fillers again and again and again because those were too expensive and none of them lasted long enough to justify the cost. Definitely a success.
The rest of my face... I mean... I can not effectively convey how astonishing the results of stem cell enriched facial fat transfer are in regard to turning back the clock. The two people in my life that see me on a regular basis have both given unsolicited commentary to the effect of I look like I went back in time 10 years. As I’ve said this wasn’t my initial aim, but doing my makeup today I realized that this effect, by itself, is probably worth every penny. I didn’t even realize how much stress those fine lines and initial signs of facial aging were weighing on me emotionally until today when I did my makeup for the first time since the surgery and realized that the flaws I was used to obsessing over are no longer there. Effing amazing side effect. Don’t understand how the same stem cells in the same fat I always had can be this helpful just from relocating them, but am not going to complain.
Lipo:
This is something I shouldn’t evaluate yet as it’s too early but I’m going to admit I really screwed things up and if I could go back I can’t help but think my results would be better. 1) I gained far too much weight trying to retain the fat transfer results. Huge mistake, huge huge terrible bad idea I really should have avoided gaining weight and now will likely destroy the results because I have no choice but to lose weight which is exactly what I wasn’t supposed to do. Super unhappy with myself about that. 2) I really should have made sure I had multiple compression socks, girdles, garments, shaping boards... I didn’t understand how important or intrusive post op care would be, and I had a lot of areas worked on. Assuming the doc would provide what I needed was a mistake. Don’t make that mistake... get your own set in different sizes and configurations especially if having multiple areas worked on, because they can be as problematic as helpful and it’s hard to get the perfect fit from a premade item.
Updated on 12 Jun 2019:
I've never in my life had a sunburn... I have olive skin that tans very well and have never come close to burning even when covered in baby oil and in the sun all day.
However in under an hour, no oil, I learned that tanning after lipo is apparently a different experience than it used to be. Cause I burned the crap out of my skin. I mean... maybe its cause I've never felt it before but I was a huge baby about the pain. I had no idea that was a possibility. So... just thought I'd mention it in case anyone else was planning to tan after getting lipo. Be careful, is all I'm sayin. Apparently melanin making is not on the list of priorities my skin has at the moment.
Updated on 15 Jun 2019:
So, one thing that may be a factor I hadn’t considered was that I had been taking hgh injections on a near daily basis for over a year up to a week before the surgery, and I haven’t taken it at all since. Because edema is a side effect of somatropin I was going to wait until the swelling subsided to continue with the injections, but the last two months without having taking any after getting used to it has left me unable to return to my normal body weight. I was 114 pounds before lipo, and my weight after climbed to 120 pretty quickly, yet the past couple weeks I’ve been trying desperately to lose weight and it isn’t working at all. I’ve drastically reduced my calorie intake to well under my bmr, I’ve cut carbs out of my diet completely, I’m working out every day... but it’s made zero impact.
As a result, my husband feels like the 20k was a complete waste of money, and now says the hgh injections are too expensive and I can’t get them anymore. He said my body looks worse now than it did before and when I went to put my jeans on the other day I realized he is right... they were so tight I couldn’t even wear them anymore. I don’t understand how that’s possible. I mean I could barely get them off because they were so tight around my calves. I’m going to see my doctor this week but I’m afraid he’s just going to tell me to get lymphatic massages again, which I have been doing but not with the person he recommended because they wanted a credit card deposit to schedule me and I don’t have one.
I’m really scared that this is close to what the final result will be for me in which case I’m going to be devastated. I’ll post a pic of my legs so you guys can see what I mean.
Updated on 17 Jun 2019:
I have come to the conclusion that I should never have had that many areas worked on at once.
For one thing, it wasn’t cheaper to add more areas, each area had its own cost and I should have stuck to only a few... because all of them combined resulted in none of the areas being completely addressed. As a matter of fact, I just measured my leg circumferences in the different places I had measured them before the surgery, and every single one of them is the same size or larger than before. At two months post op. I’m sure swelling is part of that but I mean, did I seriously just give a guy 20k to take a little fat from a bunch of places that would make healing and recovery as difficult as possible and make none of the areas look good enough to feel happy about? I really hope not but that’s how it looks at the moment.
Also my abdomen has this weird lump across it that isn’t going away and really has me depressed because my flat tummy was my best feature. Now it’s deformed and lumpy and I am kicking myself for trusting that it would all get done right without trying a smaller area first
Updated on 20 Jun 2019:
Well my doc wasn’t at my appt, but since the woman who took my pictures understood that I wasn’t at all happy with the results she scheduled me another appt next week with him. She refrained from saying anything cause she didn’t know what to say to make me feel better but I don’t know what the doc will say that will do so. I mean, she didn’t even bother to show me a comparison of the before and after pics and I would imagine that’s probably because they wouldn’t make me feel better. So... trying not to be emotional about it but it’s hard cause I feel like a sucker.
Updated on 20 Jun 2019:
The grafted fat has almost completely diminished, which I don’t blame on anyone but myself because I finally had to just make a decision to try and get my weight down at whatever cost. So all the positives have been sacrificed but unfortunately the negatives aren’t seeming to diminish whatsoever.
Updated on 26 Jun 2019:
I finally got them to tell me how much fat was removed. I thought for all the areas treated, for all the money paid, that they would take as close to the maximum 5 liters as possible. I would have been disappointed had they said they did 3. So being told it was 1650 cubic centimeters... 1.65 liters... I’ve been sobbing uncontrollably for hours.
No wonder it looks like they did nothing... 3 pounds is less than I gained on purpose to make sure they’d have plenty of fat to transfer. Im so heartbroken. The ramifications of this financial mistake is ruining my life.
Updated on 10 Jul 2019:
I finally got to see my actual doctor and he said that the person I asked was wrong, 1650 cc was the ultimate amount taken out that wasnt put back in, that 4 liters was taken out. All but 1650 was transferred, which makes more sense. He also said if at 6 months I am not happy he will do a touch up for free which made me feel better. He did say I need to lose 5 pounds which is fair. Putting 5 pounds on wasnt a responsible thing to do and I need to be accountable for that so I will do that before deciding if I'm happy with the result.
Updated on 21 Jul 2019:
Well my doc happens to be a gynecologist as well and he gave me a pregnancy test friday. Turns out the reason I was gaining weight around my waistline was cause I was pregnant... so I owe him an apology. Definitely explains a lot.
Updated on 20 Aug 2019:
The outcome could have been worse, but for the money spent I truly wish I had gone anywhere else. I have had a hard time getting up the nerve to post my leg pictures but I’ll show you guys why I was willing to spend so much more to do a fat transfer than a regular breast augmentation. I’d hoped the improvement in my legs would enable me to wear something other than pants every single day because here in Arizona it’s absolutely awful having to keep my legs covered all the way down to my ankles.
I’ve included a picture of what my lower legs now look like, as you can see the ankles actually protrude outwards which is far worse than before when they were just barely smaller than my calves.
The part that frustrates me is that when I mentioned it to him he said they rarely do the ankles... which is NOT what I was told during the consult otherwise I’d have not picked this place. Instead he convinced me that he was one of the few people who could address the ankles yet it’s clear that he didn’t even bother. Now the area I wanted them smaller than is actually smaller than my ankles which will make fixing it that much harder. I believe this surgery could have been worth it in the right hands... but I’ve learned some important lessons.
1) you don’t necessarily get better results by paying more...
2) for the legs, don’t go with someone using twilight anesthesia. I should have trusted my gut on this and found someone who uses an awake, local only anesthesia.
3) make sure the circles they draw are what you want fixed. I was foolishly assuming they were guides for his incisions because it didn’t occur to me that a doctor would hear me say I want to have slimmer ankles and proceed to mark the mid calves for reduction and leave my ankles out completely.
He’s offered to do a touch up but considering that I just learned it’s an area he rarely does I see no choice but to cut my losses and look for a surgeon who actually does have experience especially now that it’s a revision instead of a primary surgery :(
Updated on 25 Aug 2019:
The results of the facial fat transfer were amazing for a couple months. All hint of it has vanished by now but for a minute it was incredible. But yeah... lipo results are just bad all around. My pics may not reflect it as it should but you have to understand that what I started with might be what some would have aimed for... but honestly I feel my legs were better looking previously as this doctor has no concept of what legs are supposed to look like apparently. He just added a few gaps along the inner silhouette... which is nobody’s goal ever. I look like a claymation character who’s legs were shaped by a child.
But anyway these pics show how obvious these fat stores were and still are and why I wouldn’t go here for lipo on the legs and regret doing so.
Updated on 18 Dec 2019:
Finally losing weight again and i wish i could go back in time and stop myself from trusting this doctor. Heres how my legs look today, i cant believe a doctor would think this is an improvement.
I honestly cant say any part of me isnt as bad or worse than it was. And while he said hed fix any issues for free, when i had a complaint he was quick to retract that. I am shocked removing fat could wind up looking worse.
Updated on 23 Jun 2020:
One year after my disappointment with dr malan I finally have ankles I can show in public and I couldn’t be happier. I went to infini and dr shuell took 350 cc out of each ankle, He also fixed my knees and thighs in areas that dr malan treated but left a mess. I’m one month post op, and haven’t been wearing my compression garments, but even with the swelling they are two inches smaller in circumference