I am 35 years old, I have had 3 babies and sometimes feel like I still look slightly pregnant. I went in yesterday morning for SmartLipo combined with Power-Assisted Liposuction of the upper and lower abs, waist, flanks, and blending into my hips. The surgery was less painful than I expected and I am recovering well on day 2 with minimal pain killers. I am no longer draining fluids and I took my first shower which felt great although I was actually very ready to get back into the compression garment afterwards as it holds everything in nicely. I just had company over and I don't think anybody noticed my compression garment under my clothes or me taking a little longer to stand up from sitting.
I am very pleased with the facility, the doctor, the nurses and staff, and the overall experience. My concern is that 400cc does not sound like a lot of fat. I am not huge (5'6" and about 145 pounds) but I did feel like I had a lot of excess fat in that area and when looking at pictures online of people with similar body types it seems like a lot of them had over 1,000cc taken out. Now the waiting begins, to see whether it will be noticeable or not. I only did it for myself as this is an area that I have always been self-conscious about, so I don't expect anyone else to notice but I would love to feel like I don't have to hide my tummy under baggy clothes anymore.
I will post "before" and "day after" pictures after I censor them!!
Updated on 21 Nov 2018:
Here are the pictures from before, during, and 2 days after. It has been about 56 hours since the procedure and I could probably go without pain killers but I am taking Tylenol for comfort. It is starting to itch so I may take some Benadryl. I am starting to feel the post-surgery depression that everyone on here warns about since I spent so much money and am worried that there will not be a change that makes me feel better about my stomach. I know that this is normal and I just need to be patient but it's hard. I will add some side view photos later.
Updated on 21 Nov 2018:
Here are some pictures from the side. I think it looks pretty similar and I don't have the flat tummy that I was hoping for yet, so I just hope I am very swollen! I know the swelling will get worse before it gets better. I have to add a few more characters to this update so I will just say that I felt a little light headed after standing and having my husband put the Hydro Seal bandaids on, it actually made me look forward to getting the compression garment back on!
Updated on 25 Nov 2018:
I haven't taken pain killers in a couple of days now and the bruising is getting better. I still have the Hydro Seal bandaids all over and I'm not sure how the wounds look underneath.
I am finally fitting in my pre-op pants again since the swelling is slowly going down. I still weigh about 4 pounds more than I did on the morning of my surgery. I doubt I will be a size smaller but hopefully I won't have love handles that spill over my pants anymore.
Tomorrow I have my first lymphatic drainage massage and Tuesday is my one week (ish) followup. I am not sure what the red lines are at the bottom of my lower abdomen - burns from the laser?
Updated on 26 Nov 2018:
Had my first lymphatic massage which felt great! I am not sure what the small collection of blood below my belly button is. If there was an incision there I guess I didn't cover it with a band-aid and I wonder if it got infected. It doesn't look like an incision though so I'm not sure! I'm still 4 pounds up from my prep weight. Postop appointment is tomorrow!
Updated on 26 Nov 2018:
Day 7 side view, I forgot to add this photo earlier. I'm still swollen but I think looking flatter overall. This review is too short so I apparently have to add some more characters. Pain level is basically zero at this point but I still feel sore if I press on my skin.
Updated on 28 Nov 2018:
Bruising is almost gone, and I now have some firm lumps under the skin that I need to massage, but since I am still sore I haven't done much of that. The doctor said to wear the outer elastic wrap compression garment 12 hours a day but still the under part 24/7. I am supposed to replace the Hydro Seal bandaids soon with new ones so they don't dry out. I am starting to feel more positive about the procedure but I am still the same waist measurement and about 3 pounds up from my pre-surgery weight.
Updated on 26 Dec 2018:
It's been about six weeks and I still don't see a change and I am not any smaller in the waist. All of my pants fit the same and without my Spanx on I still have a muffin top. I do look smoother with the Spanx but that probably would have been true before, too. Hopefully I am still just very swollen. It is very discouraging but I have no choice but to trust everyone who says it takes 3-6 months to see results.