Looking for advice after liposuction on thighs knees, upper back, arm & buttocks 5 months gone wrong (Photos)

Question

Hi, I had lipo about 5 months ago on my inner/outer thighs, knees, upper back arm and buttocks. Surgeon has admitted it was his fault the results are extremely dissatisfying and has offered revision lipo. He said my butt was ‘sagging’ and therefore suggested lipo there. But I was never unhappy with my butt. And if something is ‘sagging’, then removing fat makes it worse no? Anyway, I’d be so appreciate of any feedback to what can be done. Should I do revision lipo with the same surgeon? Thanks!

Camille Cash, MD · Answer

It's difficult to comment on your results without also seeing your preop photos.  If you are unhappy with your results and have confidence in your surgeon then a revision sounds like a good plan for improvement.  Be sure to be specific about your concerns and what you can expect in terms of results from a revision.

Connie Hiers, MD, FACS · Answer

Rarely should fat be removed from the butt because it will just sag. However, EMSculpt treatments to help tone and build muscle can work very well on a sagging butt and has no down time at all. You will need at least 8 treatments. Fat transfers or Sculptra injections can be done to help fill in the small dents in your thighs.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Doing liposuction well on a consistent basis it’s a far more difficult procedure than most people realize. The number of plastic surgeons who can consistently deliver quality results, including the ability to accurately predict each persons candidacy for the procedure is fairly rare. I would say the number of plastic surgeons with mastered this procedure Are in a fairly small minority 
Your plastic surgeon probably feels bad and wants to be helpful. That is very nice but you chose a surgeon who doesn’t know what you’re doing when it comes to Liposuction. These are beginner attempts and your surgeon does not even come close to having the capacity to deliver quality outcomes.
Revision Way is far more difficult than doing primary Liposuction. In other words, if the surgeon can’t do the primary procedure well then it is almost guaranteed they’re not the right surgeon to do revision work revision work can very easily make things worse and if you go back to your original surgeon, that is most likely what’s going to happen.
Let’s start from the beginning.
To make an assessment regarding the outcome of a plastic surgery procedure we always need to see before and after pictures. Seeing what you look like now doesn’t tell us nearly enough of how the procedure was performed. For that reason, you need to always show before and after pictures when getting a second opinion regarding the outcome of a plastic surgery procedure. 
If you don’t have a complete set of before and after pictures and ask your surgeon to forward all the pictures they took. They are part of your medical record and you have a right to Dallas and an entire copy of your medical records. You may as well get a copy of your operative report as well since my recommendation is that you not have your current provider do any more surgery on you. The best thing you can do with your current provider and get that person to refund some of your money. 
Considering how much variation there is a Liposuction skill and you now know this firsthand patients should be highly selective when it comes to finding providers for this procedure. I’ve already told you that most plastic surgeons are not particularly good, and the number of plastic surgeons who are excellent I’m going to be in a small minority I need to be found. Most plastic surgeons will claim they are confident at Liposuction regardless of what the actual skill is. In reality, most plastic surgeons think they’re far better at Liposuction than they actually are and unfortunately just like the public, a lot of plastic surgeons, think Liposuction is a simplistic procedure that does not have a great deal of sophistication and a long steep learning curve. In reality, the opposite is true. 
Defined the word provider I suggest patients schedule multiple in person, consultations with local, board-certified plastic surgeons, who seem to do a lot of liposuction work. During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before, and after pictures of previous patients who had similar body characteristics to your own. an experienced plastic surgeon should have no difficulty showing you the before and after pictures of at least 50 previous patients. An experience plastic surgeon should have hundreds or preferably thousands of before and after pictures to choose from. 
Being shown a handful of preselected images, representing the best results of the providers career is totally insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like or what your results are likely to look like. Do you need to see evidence that the provider can perform quality work consistently over and over again, and again. You may in fact I want to ask providers to show you what evidence of result it didn’t turn out as well as they had hoped for and ask him to talk about why the results are different.
Surgeons may be apprehensive to do this, but I think you’ll find that the most experienced, and the most talented providers will be the ones most open to talking about variation and outcome.
In the end, there are only two variables to determine the outcome of a plastic surgery procedure. The first is the patient’s candidacy for the procedure in the first place, and the second is the skill and experience of the provider.
There are potential minor variables that can also have impact, but generally speaking, if people are happy or unhappy with the outcome of the procedure, it usually comes out to those two variables. Simply having the ability to predict what outcomes are going to look like with certainty is a skill that comes from experience and being a talented provider not only includes the ability to do the procedure well, but also to make accurate assessment, so there should be no guessing game in regards to what your results will look like.
For the abdomen for example, there are four tissue variables that determine what the abdomen looks like. These are skin laxity , excess subcutaneous fat, possible muscle separation from previous pregnancy, and excess intra-abdominal or visceral fat. A talented plastic surgeon should have no difficulty differentiating between the different variables. Understanding how each of these variables helps determine a persons candidate see it for the procedure and what kind of results are possible. They should then be able to go back through their portfolio and find other patients who had similar characteristics and show you with numerous examples what your results will look like. There should be no guessing game. There’s no correct number of consultations needed to find the right provider. The more consultations you have the more likely you are to find the right provider. Personally, I don’t think you can properly vent plastic surgeons through virtual consultations, and the importance of follow up, and the fact that undesirable outcomes happen. Speak for themselves in regards to choosing providers, requiring long distance travel.
Most people will have talent in their community if they’re willing to look hard enough to find it. Some people in rural areas may need to travel some distances, but patients should explore local options before long distance travel.
Considering how much variation there is a Liposuction skill in particular, I suggest patients consider having a minimum of five consultations before choosing a provider for permanent irreversible body contouring procedures.
Improving the outcome of poorly done Liposuction is very difficult and sometimes only minor improvements are possible.
This is especially true when that was removed aggressively from areas where it shouldn’t have been removed. In your case, the defect in your inner thigh is one of those areas. The transition from your buttocks to the back of your thigh also looks abnormal and I wonder if your surgeon inappropriately remove fat from this area as well.
Correct and poorly done Liposuction result is generally done with Revision Liposuction, fat, transfer, a combination of both, and occasionally by converting the procedure to a skin tightening operation like a thigh lift or tummy tuck.
I definitely do not recommend you go back to your current provider, because in my opinion, the likelihood of improving the outcome is low, and it is far more likely that your outcome will simply get worse because your provider is most likely going to remove more fat, which is going to make the outcome worse. Remember, you looked better before the fat was removed. 
Finding providers for revision surgery is more or less the same process as it is for finding providers for Primary procedures. The only difference is one fat transfer is needed. You need to vent providers regarding both fat transfer and Liposuction competence. 
I suggest you take your time and don’t rush into secondary surgery quickly.
Recognize that restoring your body to normal contours may be difficult and not possible. Getting significant improvement may take multiple procedures, and things can easily be made worse if you’re not in the hands of someone who is truly an expert at both Liposuction and fat transfer.
In the end, your surgeon is responsible for your outcome, and you are responsible for choosing that surgeon.
Unfortunately, there is very little information and patience are often made to believe that providers who have all the right certifications should be competent at the various procedures they offer.
This simply isn’t true, and it is ultimately the patients responsibility to ascertain each providers, skill and experience, and overall competence for any one single procedure you are interested in.
I’m sorry you find yourself in this situation. I wish you best of luck in moving forward, and my best recommendation is to be thorough and take your time to find the right provider for any secondary procedures.
Any provider who thinks it’s easy to improve on your outcome or tells you that some certain device or technology can easily fix your problems should probably be avoided.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD

Looking for advice after liposuction on thighs knees, upper back, arm & buttocks 5 months gone wrong (Photos)

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Looking for advice after liposuction on thighs knees, upper back, arm & buttocks 5 months gone wrong (Photos)

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Everything you need to know about Liposuction Revision

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