3 Months After Smart Lipo

Update:  So, 4 months after having my abs done,I went back and had them "redone".  At the 3 months point, my doctor and I agreed that I still had a sizeable amount of fat in the ab area and the reults could have been better.  So my doctor graciously offered to redo the abs.  Though I wasnt eager to have the surgery again, it was important for me to walk away from this expereience with the most optimal result.  I had the abs redone on July 9th and I feel and look great.  This time it was less traumatic to my body as they didnt have to do as much.  I can tell you however, that I was more uncomfortable the second time.  The reason being that I already developed scar tissue from the first surgery - which is a good thing.  The scar tissue forms as a result of the skin tightening and reforming.  These are the hard spots that many people reference.  Im not the least bothered by the hardness because it means there is not fat there and for the first time in many years, I can feel my ab muscles. However, the doctor had a bit of a hard time breaking through the scar tissue to get the lidocane in so there were times that I could feel some real pinching and moderate pain, whereas I felt nothing during the first surgery. So, the pain with this one was a little more extensive.  I will say, though, that the recovery was also a lot less prominent.  I recovered alot faster, even swimming three weeks later.  I still feel a little pulling every once in a while but I almost forget I had the surgery.  Of course, now Im in the itching phase.  YOU WILL ITCH!!!  It is indicative of your healing.  I also wear my compression garment and waist cincher faithfully.  The best part - the doctor got an additional liter of fat from my stomach!  The first surgery yielded 2.5 liters.  So, he got almost 50% more from the second surgery.  Now, I look fantastic.  Im not totally flat like you would expect on a 20 year old, as I have somefat BEHIND my abdomen that no lipo is going to take care of.  This still gives me a bit of protrusion.  But, no love handles, great curvature at the waist and I look great in tight dresses.  Im not disappointed at all. I will upload pics of the final results soon.

3 months later.......well, I have mixed feelings.  I had my upper and lower abs, flanks, and arms done.  I should clarify, that I mean the meat that shakes underneath my arms when I raise them and shake.  I did not have circumferential arms done, which some doctors do.  As you can see form the pics, I had alot of fat in my ab area. 

My measurements before the surgery were, waist 37.75", right under the breast was 34" and my arms were 13" around.  I weighed 160lbs.  Im 40 years old and have never had children.  So, the day of the surgery, I was relaxed and excited.  They gave me a Sedative called Adavan (love it) and a small shot of Adavan about 3 hours into the surgery when i started to become more alert. I didnt feel anything.  I listened to my ipod and cracked jokes with the doctor. 

We started at about 11 and we were done by 4.  I did not have the arms done that day, only the abs and love handles because there is a very finite amount of lidocain that the body can take and the doctor will not exceed that amount.  SO, he told me I would have to come back for the arms because he was using all of the Lidocaine that was appropriate for my body, during that surgery. 

At one point, I got up and we all ate a light lunch.  This was during the middle of my surgery.  I felt no pain and was comfortable enough to have lunch right there in the doctor's office! Towards the end of the surgery, the doctor sat me up on the table and acessed what additional areas needed to be addressed so he could have a better view.  When I was done, I felt great.  They put on the compression garment and the waist cincher and I was on my way.  I was still very swollen with fluid and still quite fat. Now, here is the tricky part. 

Many doctors opt to leave your incisions open to allow for ample drainage.  My doctors noticed that my incisions were fanning open during my surgery so they decided to give me one stitch at each of the 6 incision points on my stomach, but leave the two incision points in my lower back (flor the love handles) open to allow for draininage.  They told me later that it was the first time they did that, but they didn not want me to scar so I appreciated that they considered the scarring factor.  However, what they didnt know was that I sleep on my stomach. SO, the fluid could not drain from the incisions in my back. 

The next morning, I got up to go to the bathroom and discovered that my Vaginas was about 4 times the normal size.  Apparently, the tumescent fluid had settled below the incisions and pooled in my vaginal area.  I looked like I had a cows udder between my legs.  Fortuantely, I didnt panic and suspected that is was just fluid.  I called the doctor and went in and he had to smile and say that he never though he would see this happen.  However, he solved the problem quickly and easily by prescribing me a strong dieuretic.  I was good as new in about 48 hours. I went back 12 days later and had the arms done.  There was not as much fat there so the area was a little more tender and I felt a few small pinches during the surgery. 

Since then, I have worn my arm garment, compression garment and waist cincher 23 hours a day for 3 months with the excpetion of two days in Vegas that I just had to free myself of those garments for.  I had a sieable amount of itching for the first two months.  My doc said that was a part of the healing.  I too had the hard lumps but most of those have evened out and I have very little lumping.  SOme hard spots, but not many.  I also put Mederma on my incisions everyday for two months to help with any possible scarring. 

The incisons that had the stitches are barely noticable but the two on my back with the stitches are still dark and fairly prominent. So, now Im at the three month point and while I feel they removed a susbtantial amount of fat - I think 2200 cc, I still have a sizeable amount of fat in my ab area as you can see.  My measurements 1 week after the surgery showed that I was 6 pounds lighter even with a little fluid left.

Today, I am still 154 and my ab measures 35".  Roughly 3 inch loss in the abs.  I do not have anymore love handles.  However, when I look at how extended my stomach still is, I cant help but feel a bit disappointed.  While I looke substantially different with a marked improvement, the truth is, I still look fat.  Just not AS fat.  SO, Im going to see the doctor for the 3 month visit next week and see what he thinks............stay tuned. I have about 60 pics if you need to see more, email me