The shape of my breasts drastically changed post-pregnancy. Many people suggested me to go for natural breast augmentation but I wasn't really sure about it. That's the reason I visited Dr. Todd Malan twice before I booked my surgery. They were welcoming and actually addressed all of my concerns. I am extremely happy with the procedure and love the way I look now. Highly recommended!
Dr. Todd Malan, you are great at your work! I am very happy with my body sculpting results. I tell everyone about this treatment and its process. Like many people, I was skeptical about this treatment earlier. But Dr. Malan's team is brilliant and they explained to me everything about the process. Like expected, the treatment beautifully worked! Highly recommend for those with fat areas. Thank you, Dr. Malan!
My husband of 26 yeas and I joined a gym 3 months ago. We have a 22 year old and 19 old both of whom were large babies, and while working out with a personal trainer, I found I was making progress everywhere except for my belly. I decided I wanted help there. After doing online research through the various doctors and clinics that offered lipo and smart lipo, I decided to go with smart lipo. I found a doctor that was well trained in the use of the water jet, and who also uses laser assisted to tighten up the skin. My husband and I made an appointment to meet with him, he explained the entire procedure to us, beginning with original lipo and why it wasn't really recommended and then for me personally where I would have been a good candidate for a tummy tuck due to my extra skin (my 2 kids weighted 9 lbs and 9lbs 11 so there was lots of stretching.) He also told me that he could get similar results with the smart lipo since he used both water and laser and I would have minimal scarring with the smart lipo. He recommended upper and lower abs since that was my concern, and flanks to give me a more flattering appearance that way. I was ready to sign up that day. He did indicate that he would recommend twilight sleep in addition to the local anesthesia due to the amount of laser that would be required to tighten my skin. I was fine with that, then we spoke to a counselor who gave us pricing and details and answered even the most ridiculous questions. I was ready to schedule a date at that moment, but was advised to think about it for a few days before scheduling the surgery time as deposits were not refundable. That was on a Friday. On Tuesday I spoke to Mitchell from the doctors office and signed up. We paid cash rather than financing, so we got a 5% discount. After putting down our deposit, I found this site and read lots of positives but also negatives, so was more concerned than I had been previously. My husband and I have a business trip scheduled 4 days after my procedure, so we have it on hold for now to see how I do. Had the procedure yesterday 4/28 and was very surprised when I woke up to have very little discomfort. I have 1 incision that got 1 stitch as it was larger than the others, but that was it. My doctor had given me instructions at the consultation-no aspirin or aspirin containing products for 2 weeks prior, no alcohol for 1 week prior, no birth control pills for 2 weeks prior, and begin taking arnica 1 week in advance. I faithfully followed all of these directions. After I woke up, the nurse and surgical assistant helped me to put on my compression garment. They provided 2 that were included in the price of the surgery with the instructions to wear 24/7 first week 16/7 second week.My husband brought me home and I lounged on the couch for the rest of the day.I found that if I sat up (not a great position for stomach surgery) I had discomfort. If I lounged back to laid down I had no real discomfort. Only time I was uncomfortable was up and down to go to the bathroom-then it was twinges of pain, nothing unbearable. I did take hydrocodone shortly after we got home because I was afraid the twinges would get worse. Later in the evening took another hydrocodon after sitting up to eat dinner. My doctor had prescribed antibiotics,pain pills and a sleep aid prior to the procedure. When I went to bed, I took the sleepaid and a third pain pill. Didn't wake up until 530 am which is normal for me. Getting up this morning was not bad...still have some leaking, but that should resolve at some point today. At this moment, I am Thrilled and looking forward to this afternoon so I can shower and see what I look like now. I will post pictures when I can..so far I see no cons-best advise, choose your doctor carefully , and have someone overprotective of you to take care of you afterwards Updated on 30 Apr 2011: DAY 2-well yesterday afternoon I actually called the doctor to see if the compression garment was supposed to be comfortable. I had to go back in and get a smaller one, seems I haven't had any swelling :). Still leaking slowly from one incision, other than that, things are going well Updated on 1 May 2011: day 3-no appreciable swelling....everything has gone really well. Smaller compression garment at least feels like it is doing something, but still not really uncomfortable.
Doctors are supposed to have compassion and Dr Malan has not a single ounce of compassion for his patients. I had a procedure this year by Dr Malan for smart lipo and fat transfer to breasts. I never heard a word from Dr Malan after my procedure to follow up and see how I was doing. 5 days post procedure his nurse decided to check in. Every check up has been rescheduled 3-5 times or just cancelled. 8 months later I have gone up maybe 1/10 of a cup size and my stomach is lumpy, and skin is discolored where they removed fat from (thighs, flanks). For 11,000 dollars just save your money and find another doctor.
Overall Timeline: June - July 2019: Wanted Lipo / Consult August 2019: Procedure January 2020: Potential Revision (decided against it) If you’re considering Dr. Malan for precise body contouring, read this first, because I was botched. At the time, I was 33, weighed ~123lbs, am 5'5", and went in to have ~13 stubborn areas lightly lipo’d that diet and exercise didn't work on. My main issues are as follows: Online Reviews & Gag Order: I went to him due to 5 star Google reviews, but feel they are misleading. Especially when I was asked to sign a gag order prohibiting me from speaking or writing about my experience/results after he agreed to do a revision on me. I doubt I’m the only patient that’s seen this piece of paper, since it was readily available for me to sign. Results: A few areas came out nicely, but I was left asymmetrical in 3 areas - my outer thighs, sides/flanks, and banana roll area. My entire left flank wasn’t even touched. There was 0 bruising or discomfort. And trust me, after lipo you know exactly where the doc went, because it looks and feels like you were beat with a baseball bat. When he was unable to find the incision point under my left flank, he told me he went from my upper abs, up over my side, and down my back into my flank. I couldn’t feel the cannula path over my rib cage at all. Lastly, when a revision was discussed, he marked up my entire left flank to revise. The right side wasn’t much better. He took a chunk out of the middle of my right flank without blending it in. I'm left with small bulges of fat above and below the line of scar tissue which makes it hard for another doc to revise. Lastly, Dr. Malan destroyed my banana roll area, which has caused hip dips and an elongated buttock. I didn’t have this previously. My gluteal fold needs to be recreated now. Recently, I underwent a revision Lipo + BBL procedure, and some of the transferred fat migrated into what looks like an under butt. Upon researching, I need to have an infragluteal butt tuck/lift done where excess skin/fat is cut and my gluteal fold is recreated via sutures in order to fix it. Not ideal and scary after all I’ve been through. Bedside Manner: One word. Unacceptable. Fortunately, I wasn’t working during this time, but I would’ve been 10x more upset if I called in from work, drove all the way there, and experienced the below. My very first apt, Dr. Malan was unable to attend due to personal reasons. Understandable. Unfortunately, this became a recurring theme. One time, I got there and he was attending a conference. They informed me he decided to stay longer and needed to reschedule after I already arrived. Another time, I waited over an hour to be seen. During my potential revision consult, I was sitting in the lobby for 45 minutes, and was about to walk out until the receptionist grabbed Malan and finally brought me back. Not all were this bad, but majority were. Do your research when considering lipo, consult with multiple docs, go to someone board certified (he isn’t), and spend the money and be willing to wait for the right doc. Research the various lipo techniques and technologies out there. I was super hasty in my decision making, and I’m still paying the price - monetarily, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I’ve spent $20k+, had a revision procedure and am still asymmetrical, and have spent 10 months of my life recovering from this botched procedure. In all honesty, I probably need another 1-2 procedures to get it to where I want to be, but I’ll never be 100%. I just don’t want this to happen to anyone else. I learned way too much after the fact. Dig deeper than Google reviews. Please be careful. It's the worst feeling like you looked better prior to your surgery.
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
Dr Todd Malan performed the WORST smart Lipo on my stomach & thighs. Results on Stomach~lumpy, results on thighs~disfigured!!! His Bedside matters were HORRIFIC once money was collected for the procedure. His “wife” also works with him & could see clearly they are NOT a good fit to work together in the Office. Dr Malan always in a BAD MOOD!!!!
Okay, made it to day seven and I'm still totally bruised and swollen. See pics above. I still look better than before the surgery so I'm still happy but I don't look nearly as good as the morning after. If my body can get back to that I'll be extrememly pleased. Wearing the garment 24/7 is really getting to me but for the next seven days I only need to wear it 18hrs/day :( Updated on 29 Oct 2009: I'm at day nine and I'm doing much better. My stomach/flanks were hugely swollen for the past few days so I called my Dr. and he told me to get a lymphatic drainage massage. I'll called a local massage therapy place and got in last night. The massage was interesting and different from other massages I've had, it wasn't uncomfortable but not as relaxing as other types of massage. My goal was is reduced swelling. About two hours after the massage I was swollen like a big white whale and I thought I'd done something terribly wrong. I applied some more arnica gel to the site and went to bed. The good news was after waking up this morning my swelling was down significantly and I felt good enough to do 3 1/2 miles on an elliptical machine. My massage therapist also mentioned when doing my treatment that she's never felt a post-lipo patient who's treated area was so uniformly flat. She said usually there are lumps/bumps and other areas of left over fat or other issues with lipo patients. I told her I flew to Scottsdale to have Water assisted and Smart Lipo done which isn't really done in this area. I thought it was a good complement to Dr. M. If I'd gone to his massage therapist in Scottsdale and heard that statement, I'd take it with a grain of salt but this came from a independent therapist. I'll shoot more pics next Tues at my 14day mark to show the progress. Overall I'm very happy with my investment and hope this info helps anyone else trying to make a decision or going through recovery. Updated on 4 Nov 2009: I just took my 14 days post surgery pics and I'm very pleased. Last week I was HUGE with swelling and when I touched my stomach and flanks it felt like I had a flak jacket under my skin. I had three lymphonic drainage massages between days 7 and 12 and that seemed to help. I also bought an ultrasonic massager (MendMeShop Ultrasound Pain Therapy System) and started using that three times a days and that is when I saw HUGE improvement. I don't know if my body was just healing naturally or if the stuff I did helped but I do know I was getting bigger before I got the massages and started the ultrasound. As you can see in the pictures I'm looking much better at day 14 than at day 7 but am still swollen and still have a lot of hard spots and lumps. I'm guessing I have one to two inches of swelling in my stomach. I was able to start execersising (low impact, walking, eliptical, stairmaster) on day seven and after my first session (30 minutes) I was really swollen but now at day 14 I'm back to my normal workout schedule (3 days of aroebic, 3 days of weights) I'm still taking it easy on my mid-section but I was able to do a full upper body and arms on Monday and will do a complete lower body today. Updated on 18 Nov 2009: The most recent photos below were shot at day 28 (I'm at day 30 today) but must like my pics at day 14, I'm still pretty swollen in my lower ab area. My flanks never got too bad. However, as you can see from the pictures, my stomach, while smaller, is lumpy and bumpy. I also still have a lot of numbness in my abdomen and flanks and it feels strange when I run or get on a stair master but what can one expect when they remove that much material. As for my weight, I'm down to about 197 lbs, which is about 10 lbs lighter than when I was when I went into the surgery. The reason may be that I'm hitting the gym pretty hard and that my appetite hasn't fully returned. I've got my one month visit to Dr. M next week so it will be interesting to see what he says. Do I look totally lumpy to you all or is it that I've been staring at my stomach too long? Updated on 8 Dec 2009: I just hit my six week mark and am thrilled with the results. I'd say my swelling is down about 80% around my upper/lower abdomen and 90% around my flanks. As you can see from the latest pics, I have a bit of resilient swelling to the left of my naval (which feels like fluid) and at my lower right abdomen, which feels like normal swelling. But they are becoming less and less noticeable so I hope in six months it will be gone. Two weeks ago I met with Dr. M and he mentioned I needed a few more lymphatic massages to help drain those areas so I scheduled three more treatments. Dr. M said I'm at a crucial junction, as now is the time that the skin tightening is happening and collagen is being formed so the less swelling the better. I'm at the gym regularly as I'm training to do the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike in early Feb, so I'm spending about 45 min to an hour on a stair master then doing weights every other day. Prior to my surgery I was probably as active at the gym as I am now, but no matter what I did, I could not get my abdomen and love handles to respond. This surgery has been wonderful in removing the fat that diet and exercise didn’t touch. I’ve been able to get the shape I’ve always wanted and that was otherwise unattainable. So for any of you, who are in the same boat as I was, take the plunge, schedule an appointment with a qualified Dr. who has a ton of SL experience and ask him/her what they can do to help. Now for my Dr. M plug (and no I’m not being compensated for this) Dr. M is a master at this procedure and I would highly recommend him. I think my recovery has been slower than others because he removed so much material (over 3000 ml) but was able to get me the results I wanted. In terms of cost I know there are cheaper options out there but he's been running a ton of pricing promotions so his pricing is probably half what is was prior to the recession and in my opinion very affordable. I'm always shocked to read people who go to surgeons with little or no experience to save a thousand dollars or two. This isn't something that is reversible so it better be done right the first time. Finally, some people have asked my total outlay and all in, including the procedure, all travel, all medicine; all post procedure treatments (massage, ultrasound, etc... I'm at $6,800). Updated on 7 Jan 2010: Time to update again, now at ten weeks post op. To be honest I am suprised by how much my lower abdomen is still swollen. I still can feel at least 1/2 to 1' of swelling. It might be scar tissue at this point but I hope it is just swelling. I'll be seeing Dr. M again in Mid Feb so I'll be intrested to see what he says - assuming i don't die doing the Grand Canyon hike in two weeks :) I'm still very happy with my results and will continue to post photos so that people trying to decide can see what my experience has been. Updated on 9 Jan 2010: I've been researching Smart Lipo for some time and finally got up the courage to do the deed. Being a 34 year old man in decent shape (6'1' 205lbs), I had to convince myself it was acceptable for me to want to look better and to spend this kind of money to do it. I read and researched everything I could about the procedure and doctors. I picked my Dr. because of his experience and expertise. Because I'm not located in AZ, I had a telephone consult with his staff in August where I submitted some pictures and was quoted a price based on my desired areas of improvement (uper and lower abdomen and my HUGE love handles). I must have been slightly crazy because I paid 1/2 my bill (3k) upfront to lock in a date without having spoken to Dr. M. Well that day is tomorrow. I met with Dr. M and his staff this afternoon and I was relieved that he seems every bit as qualified and sincere as what I'd read. He really seems to do the most for his patients and is always considering new ways to make his treatments and procedures better. For example, during my consult, he told me that he now uses water assisted lipo in addition to Smart Lipo because it helps in the healing process and leaves a better finished product. He described the fat cells like grapes on a vine. During Smart Lipo the grapes rupture when the laser hits them, letting the oily fat drain out, which is then removed by the small cannula. He said that 'up until nine months ago that would have been the end of the story.' However, at that time he's started harvesting stem cells for some of his patients and it happens that fat cells are great source for stem cells. In order to harvest stem cells he needed a new machine that he imported from Germany. This machine shoots high pressure water at the cells and allows him to remove not only the oil from the burst cells but also the cell remnants and other waste material. This significantly reduced recovery times and decreased swelling because the body didn't have as much work to do (i.e. not having to break down and absorb all the left over stuff). I thought taht's all great but why does it matter to me? Luckily he explained, and said it is imperative to get the swelling down ASAP as the collagen will start form at about week three. If the body is still swollen at that time, the collagen will form too large and the patient won't see significant tightening. At this point i was convinced he knew what he was talking about. He said he's done over 4,000 procedures and about 40% of his clientele is fixing previous lipo jobs, which again made me feel better. Sorry for the long post but if you're considering a multiple thousand dollar investment, I thought I'd give you my experience. Anyway, I'm all marked up and will be heading in tomorrow at 8 AM. Wish me luck and I'll be posting my pics as soon as I pull them from my iPhone. Updated on 9 Jan 2010: I've updated my photos but it didn't take so i need to write 25 words so taht it will take my post. So here goes... see new pics below. Updated on 27 Jan 2010: I've updated my gallery with a pic i took this morning at 12 weeks. There has been a little bid of reduced swelling but not much. I'll post again at week 16. Updated on 14 Feb 2010: I was organizing my pics earlier tonight and found a few gems that I’d forgotten about. I took this picture back in August of 09 on the day I called Dr. M for a consult. I'm amazed at how HUGE my stomach and love handles were. The pics show the mighty change my surgury has brought about. I can't belive that was me 9 months ago. Whenever, I'm still not satisfied with my progress, all I'll need to do is take a look at the before picture and realize how good things turned out... the change is crazy. The thing that gets me most is that I was as active back when these pics were taken as I am now. I'm only about 5lbs lighter now than i was when the pics were taken so I havn't lost any mucle mass just the two inches of fat covering them. My genetics must be hell bent on keeping me from starving as I could not touch that stomach fat no matter what I did, good for ice age living times not so good for current living. Updated on 24 Feb 2010: Time for me to add my 16 week photo update. I'm shocked by how much better i look that the 3 month prior shot. I knew I was 'big' but I guess I got used to looking at myself. Again, this is the best 6k I've ever spent. Updated on 29 Mar 2010: Just hit five monts post op. Still making some progress on the swelling. Check our the pictures and decide for yourself. Totally worth it, for those of your still on the fence.
So I try to get rid of this little muffin top that I have, but nothing is working. I don't want to diet and lose weight anywhere except in that particular area. I have an injury to my low back, to the point that the disk at L5-S1 has degenerated to nothing at all, so excersizing that area is a lot more difficult for me then most people. I made an appointment to see doctor who was suppose to be a hot shot plastic surgeon in Scottsdale Arizona and he tells me I'm the perfect candidate for a procedure called Smart Lipo. He says its safe because I will be awake during the whole thing, and if something were to go wrong, like he accidentally touched my kidneys with this laser of his, that's suppose to be melting away my fat, I will feel it and will stop him from doing that because it would hurt. He says thousands of people have done it. Its safe. And I'll love the results. So I'm excited. I've tried other beauty procedures in the past, that was suppose to get rid of the signs of aging that didn't quit give me the results I was expecting, but this was going to different. He was going to insert this laser (or what looked like a skibob to me) into my muffintop in several areas, and it was going to heat up and actually melt the fat from my sides right then and there. He would then suck out the liquefied fat. He showed me a video of this laser melting fat and turning it into a liquid, so if this was how it was done, how could it fail? I did my own research on the Internet. I watched some video clips of people actually having the procedure done. One guy was talking on his cell phone, and cracking jokes with his doctor and staff. He said he felt no pain. Got up off the table and walked away after it was all over. That is how I envisioned it would be for me. So for Christmas 2007, I told my husband that this is what I wanted! And Santa baby delivered. It was scheduled for the first week in January. I was excited to have this done and start the new year with my new body. my doc said I'd probably drop 2 pant sizes. I wear a waist size 26 or size 2 pants .Oh the sales after Christmas were so tempting, but I wasn't sure exactly what size I would be wearing, so I had to let them pass by. January 8th I have my 16 year old daughter drop me off at the doctor's office. I told her I'd call her when I was done so she'd could pick me up. I took a volume that was prescribed to me before hand, and eventually I was wheeled down a long hall into a procedure room. I was told to get completely naked and lay under a sheet on a hospital bed that was in the room, so I did. I brought my pocket PC with me so I had something to keep my mind off things during the procedure. I figured I surf the net or something. I sent a text to my daughter letting her know what was going on. She immediately responded with a text back, and then a nurse walked into the room. She had a syringe in her hand, and I figured it was to numb me up. To my surprise, the shot was injected into my arm. I remember asking her what she just did, and said it would relax me. The very next thing I remember is standing in my laundry room. I had just walked into the laundry room from the garage. I looked down and I had been wearing a white long sleeve button up shirt, that was now drenched in blood or what looked like blood to me at the time. My shirt was so wet that it was completely see through and I wasn't wearing my bra. I was still very out of it and very confused. My daughter and husband put some towels down on the spare bed, took off my clothes and put me in some pajamas and I slept for almost two days straight. Of course they would wake me up every few hours try to get me to eat and drink something, but I could only stay awake for about 30 minutes at a time. I remember being extremely emotional and crying a lot. Which is not the kind of person I am. When I finally shook off whatever drug it was that he gave me, I remember feeling intense pain. Before I had the procedure done, Dr. name shown above for registered site users said that I had to contact this lady and buy an after surgery garment from her, to wear after the procedure. The stupid thing cost $300, but I wasn't exactly sure what it was or how to shop for one at a better price, and I wasn't able to see it before the procedure. It was taken to my doctor's office directly and put on me there after it was over. It ended up being this very restricting body suit that went from under my breasts to my knees with the crotch cut out of it. I had given her my measurements, but it was too small for me and was cutting off circulation. I called her crying. I told her it was very painful to wear, especially wear my bra strap would usually be. She came over to my house right away. She was stunned when she looked at where he had inserted his skibob into me. She said that she thought I was just having my flanks done, and had she known he was going to do my upper back too, she would not have ordered the garment that I was wearing. The edge of the garment had a thick elastic band around it and that band was going across a couple of puncture marks on my upper back! Which was nowhere the doctor was suppose to be. She ended up selling me another garment of a different style for an additional $150. They sell the same damn things at the mall for about $40, but I was in no shape to go shopping. For three months following this procedure I was extremely sore, to the point where I would flinch if anyone got too close to me. I had a follow up visit with my doctor two weeks later, and I was going to say something, but he's such an arrogant man, it made it difficult. I brought up the part about him going into my upper back, when he was not suppose to, and he denied that happened and said that I had no marks on my upper back except for what looked like bug bite. With the disadvantage of not being able to see my back to point it out to him, there was really nothing I could say further about it. I was looking forward to seeing him at my three month follow up appointment and I was going to get this all off my chest, but I learned after I arrived for my appointment was not with name shown above for registered site users, it was with his photographer and it was for taking pictures only. I told his nurse, or photographer, or whatever she was, how dissatisfied I was with the outcome. We compared the before pictures with the new pictures, and she agreed that there is no change at all, not even a little bit, in my appearance. I went through all of that, and I paid him $5,000.00, and now I have scars all over my torso, for absolutely nothing! The nurse said that it could take up to six months to see the final results of the procedure. Every time I have an appointment with the doctor, I get a call the day of the appointment from his office, stating that he had an emergency and he had to leave the office unexpectantly. My six month follow up appointment has been rescheduled twice so far. My next appointment is scheduled for Aug. 8th. I'm beginning to think that he had an emergency in the middle of the procedure, and had to leave me or just did it as quickly as possible, so he could go. It was happy hour on a Friday evening. I'd be interested to know if anyone else's experience of smart lipo was similar or completely different.
