Almost 3 Months Post Op Reality Check

I am a 25, low BMI patient. Pretty great health and active. I had fat transferred from my abdomen, inner thighs, and armpits to my breasts. Your experience may vary based on where you start.
Let me start by saying that when you call "Elite Body Sculpture" you will hear a recording which touts how easy the recovery is. Everything you see on their website is no pain, so easy, etc. etc. THIS IS A FARCE.
I had surgery in June on a bit of an impulse decision. I had been researching alternatives to breast implants for a few weeks and really a fat transfer was the only other option. When I came across Airsculpt it seemed perfect. I get to trim a few inches, go up a cup size, all while being awake and pain free. Sure, let's do it. Nothing else going on during quarantine.
The woman who I had worked with for on-boarding, Natalie, seemed a little distracted at times, but she was VERY responsive when I said I was ready to give my deposit. That should really have made me think twice before forking over the $1000.
I showed up for surgery and immediately got anxious. My first time meeting Dr. Bhatt was 10 minutes before they brought me back. He answered any questions I had and started marking me up. He was nice and his reviews were good although not many. The nurses back there were nice enough too.
In case anyone was wondering, the reason why you feel no pain is because you are DRUGGED up. They send you into a state of loopiness and start pumping you full of fluid. Don't look down, your body literally inflates to a size you've never seen. All the anxiety meds in me did not wipe that from my memory.
The procedure was "painless" until Dr. Bhatt went to transfer the fat back into my breast. That is when the "popping" started as my skin separated from my chest. I was whimpering on the table when they started giving me what I imagine was some variation of laughing gas. That really sent me into a state of almost black out so I wouldn't feel my body ripping apart. Remember at the beginning how I said the touted "easy" procedure was a farce?
They put you on a round of antibiotics and painkillers immediately after you walk *stumble* out of the office. Again, since they really don't talk about the potential complications of this "simple" surgery, you can get vicious infections which is why you need antibiotics post-op. This is standard for most surgeries but seems less worth it for a fat transfer that might not work.
If you get the Up-A-Cup, your boobs will be giant walking out of there. You will lose most of it. My boobs looked the best IMO about a month post op. They will be hard and they will hurt and you'll basically be braless for a while.
Your body will be swollen and I gained about 6 pounds of fluid immediately after the surgery. And that swelling can linger for up to 6 months later. That is something that they also glance over. Yes, a lot of it will be gone within the first few weeks, but for final results, they don't consider anything before the 6 month mark.
They send you home with maxi pads and the equivalent of human puppy training pads. All the holes they made for entry will ooze and leak for a few days post op. If you were like me, it was literally too painful to move so I spent my first 3 nights on the couch having my fiancé replace the pads so I didn't stain the fabric. The first time I took off the full body compression garment I almost passed out. I laid on the floor until I felt well enough to wedge myself back into it.
You will have to wear that compression garment for 24 hours for the first two weeks. Then 12 hours/day for the next 2 weeks. Plan accordingly.
Now at almost 3 months, my inner thighs are lumpy and honestly ugly. I hate it. I have bumps and lumps on my stomach as well although much smaller. Not sure if it is scar tissue that can soften over time or some other complication of this procedure.
My newest complication is intense swelling and pain in my right breast. It started off as soreness and I thought I had just tweaked something at the gym. Well, here we are a week later and she's huge. I'm wearing sports bras as compression because it hurts otherwise. It has been a PITA trying to get my in-person appointment scheduled but I am planning on going in this upcoming week because I am so concerned.
The times I have reached out asking them what I should do I've gotten a lot of inconclusive answers. Dr. Bhatt's typical answer is "come in so I can examine you". Good luck convincing one of the young ladies working the front desk you need an in-person appointment. The front office staff has been shockingly incompetent throughout the entire process. If you call with a concern they will still try to book you for a virtual appointment which constitutes of emailing pictures of yourself to the office. I have gotten a response maybe 50% of the time after submitting pictures. I have left voicemails and they can't seem to understand that I need a 1 month not a 1 week appointment... honestly I could go on all day by how fraudulent the whole thing seems.
Anyways, I would've expected that at 10/11 weeks post op I wouldn't be having the onset of new side effects, but here we are. I ask that you remember this when they talk about the "48 hour recovery" time.
I still have scars at every incision with the exception of the ones in my armpits. Those healed first. I have spent the past few months trying to hide the rest of them. Did not realize I would have dark purple marks all over my body.
Post-op care at this location is laughable. They do a terrible job of mentally preparing patients for the following recovery. I plan on updating my review later on... once I get confirmation that my current complications aren't life threatening or serious.
I just felt like there was no one talking about the seriousness of this procedure. So, here it is.

Alright everyone, so I called back and spoke with DeeDee. I had never spoken with her before since she only works on certain days. She is by far the best person they have working that front desk. She was honestly the only person who listened to everything I had to say and then addressed it in a meaningful way. She got me scheduled for an IN-PERSON appointment AND gave me a call back. 10/10 would recommend DeeDee. I am literally so thankful she didn't ask me to "send pictures to this email". I might've freaked out if I got that answer again.

Also, I would like to add more clarity to my previous review in case people aren't aware. Elite Body Sculpture is a franchise-like plastic surgery office. My understanding is that all the doctors are temps (I do not know the official term) and have their own or other practices that are their primary focus. This is important as Elite Body Sculpture customer service/experience and Dr. Bhatt's customer service are technically like two different practices. I did meet him via zoom about a week or two before my surgery and we spoke for maybe 10 minutes regarding my goals, etc. First time meeting him in person was day-of. That zoom call was the first and last zoom call I was able to successfully coordinate through Elite Body Sculpture. My subsequent requests were denied for a zoom meeting.

I cannot speak at all to what Dr.Bhatt's personal plastic surgery practice is like. Reviews I have seen are positive. After my procedure he did give me his cell number in case I had concerns. It became clear at about 2 months in he preferred I go through the office...

Elite Body Sculpture has a LONG way to go before I would consider going back there for a secondary procedure. I have spent a lot of time worried, anxious, and disappointed since my procedure. Some of this is typical post-operative but it would be much more reassuring to feel like the people answering your calls have experience, competence, and care. It would also be helpful if they had any sort of self-help resources on their website or were more willing to entertain zoom calls so that patients could actually speak with their doctor rather than a receptionist.

But most importantly of all, and the entire purpose of my review, is to alert you that THIS IS NOT AN EASY OR QUICK PROCEDURE. The marketing of AirSculpt is deceptive in my opinion and I wish someone had talked about the reality of doing something like this. You will need to prepare yourself mentally and physically. You will likely need someone there to care for you for at least the first week and help you get in and out of compression, change out your maxi pads or bandaids, and do simple things like cook and clean.

Anyways, more updates coming soon. I am waiting for things to turn up and I am optimistic that in a few months I will have exceptional results. If I do, I will be sure to post pictures. Maybe this will be worth it when I hit the 6 month mark.