This response was dictated. My apologies for grammatical errors.Five weeks is a bit premature to judge your outcome.I usually tell my patients that they can begin looking at their body at around six weeks, but they still have a ways to go before the results are final.Your results aren’t going to change that much but they are not final at five weeks. Three months as usually when we consider results final.To make quality assessment, we need quality pictures.Avoid taking pictures using a mirror.I suggest you give yourself three months to heal up properly then follow up with your provider and have them A complete set of proper before and after pictures.Once you’ve had enough time to heal and you have proper before and after pictures, you can then more accurately assess the outcome.Pictures taken with different lighting, using different angles and different camera settings are in entirely going to look different. Taking pictures in a mirror will also reverse the imageDelivering consistent quality Liposuction results is more difficult than most people realize.The number of plastic surgeons who have mastered or come close to mastering this procedure is pretty small.Most plastic surgeons think they’re better at Liposuction than they actually are. This is a deceptive procedure.Surgeons are responsible for surgical outcomes and patients are responsible for provider selection.Patient candidacy and the skill of the provider are probably equally important for this kind of work and are the two variables that generally determine the outcome. You were indeed a good candidate for Liposuction. Perhaps you could’ve done a better job selecting providers.The results don’t look atrocious, but they also don’t look great. These type of results are probably not that different than what most people get from average plastic surgeons doing Liposuction. You may benefit from revision work, and you may or may not want to consider having that done by another provider.In the end, it is premature to assess your outcome and equality important a quality assessment requires quality information.For those interested in having Liposuction, I generally recommend patients start the process by making a list of plastic surgeons in their community who seem to have extensive experience with the procedure.Schedule in person consultations exclusively, avoiding virtual consultations with each of the provides on the list. Do not select a pro provider until you’ve finished all scheduled consultations.Prepare yourself for the consultation by bringing pictures taken the same way plastic surgeons take before and after pictures.Have someone else take the picture or use the timer on your camera.Take the picture from about 8 feet away Standing in a neutral position with the picture including your full torso from your neck to your knees, showing the front, side and backside. Use those pictures as reference when reviewing before and after pictures during the consultation.There’s no correct number of consultations needed to find the right provider.The biggest mistake I see patients make is having only one consultation and then scheduling surgery.Having only one consultation, more or less eliminates the ability to choose a better provider. The more consultations you schedule the more likely to find the better provider for your needs.During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you the entire collection of before and after pictures of previous patients who had similar body characteristics to your own.This is where having Taken previous pictures of yourself comes in really handy.Being shown a handful of pre-selected images representing only the best results of a providers career may be insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider.An experience provider should have access to hundreds or preferably thousands of before, and after pictures to choose from.Highly experience provider should have no difficulty showing you the before and after pictures of at least 50 previous patients.You may not need to look at that many pictures but they should give you access to more pictures than you want to look at.If they don’t then simply request that they do.You’re the one hiring somebody to do a service for you so it is your responsibility to vet the provider you’re about to hire.Most people don’t have a lot of experience consulting with plastic surgeons.Plastic surgeons on the other hand have a lot of experience giving consultations.Having multiple consultations will increase yourself confidence give you a better understanding of the procedure and assessing candidacy.Take careful notes during the consultation of what points were covered, and what points were not covered, especially regarding the quantity and quality of the before and after pictures.Did the Dr. talk to you about revision work, revision rates, and revision policy? A good plastic surgeon would.Continue having consultations until you feel pretty comfortable you found the right provider for your needs.Considering how much variation there is in Liposuction skill among plastic surgeons and how difficult it is to truly master this kind of work I think having four or five consultations should probably be a minimum.Finding providers for revision work is more or less the same as it is for primary procedures.Best,Mats Hagstrom MD
