Price Too Good to Be True? Great Price, Great Results - Alexandria, VA

Procedure day details! PLEASE NOTE: I am not a medical professional. This is what the procedure FELT LIKE to me and since I couldn't see what was going on, my version of events might not be accurate in the way the procedure was actually conducted.

I arrived 30 minutes early and took was instructed to take 1 valium. I probably should have taken 2. The nurse said that since I was under 180 lbs that 1 would do it, but I didn't feel any more relaxed or less anxious. I was calm about the whole thing in the first place so it wasn't an issue.

We then went into the procedure room - a fairly large room with a table (looks like a massage table) in the middle of the room, and a lot of shelves against the walls that had medical supplies. The room was neat and clean, and they were playing the radio so it took my mind off things. I removed my clothes and put on paper underwear. Next, time for the "before" pictures (gross!). Hopped up on the table and got injections at the incision sites. Then, the most painful part of the procedure: injecting the lidocaine into all the areas where I was getting lipo'd. I'm pretty brave - shots don't phase me, and I've had 2 kids - but the lidocaine was unexpectedly painful. Quite honestly, I didn't know what to expect during the procedure pain-wise, so I was surprised that this hurt. It's not like a shot that is over quickly, it felt like he was taking a rod and shoving it in and out right under my skin, in a fairly large area. Hey, it's a necessary evil of the procedure and I'm much in favor of it over anesthesia, and it was the only part that actually hurt. And we talked about the music and talked about family, kids, etc. so that also helped get my mind off it.

Over the next 90 minutes or so, there would be a little of the lidocaine treatment, and then I think he worked on that area with the laser and extraction, and then moved to another area. It didn't feel like he did the lidocaine all at once because there were breaks in between (thank goodness). The extraction itself was actually not bad, since I was pretty numb and anything in comparison to the lidocaine was a piece of cake. In a few areas - near my hip bone, and right under my belly button - it did hurt since those areas are pretty firm/bony and didn't suck up the lidocaine like the other areas. But that was in small areas and it passed by pretty quickly.

About 70% of the way through, I sat up and Dr. Segev checked out how things looked. Then I laid back down for more extraction. Then sat back up again. More extraction. Then I stood up with the nurse's assistance, Dr. Segev did a 360 view, more extraction, asked the nurse what she thought, a little more extraction, and then we were done. It sounds like a lot of stops and starts toward the end, but that's where the 'art' of liposuction comes in. It's not 'wham bam' hoovering out 4 pockets of fat. Since things lay different from a horizontal vs. a seated or standing position, this part was a better indication of how things were balancing out. Honestly I appreciated the fact that Dr. Segev kept going back and refining because it showed how determined he was in getting the best-looking result.

At the end of the procedure, the nurse put gauze / bandages on my incision areas and squeezed me into a compression garment, plus an extra wide elastic band over that. I was able to put on my own clothes and walk out perfectly fine by myself. My husband was there (you have to have a designated driver) but he didn't need to help me down stairs or anything. I put down a puppy pad on the car seat in case of any leakage, but really it was just my pants that got a bit damp on the 30 minute ride home - not like a river of fluid gushing out.

When I got home, I changed the gauze and put maxi pads (yes!) over the incisions to absorb any fluid that would be leaking out over the next 24 hours, and took a nap. When I woke up, the pads were definitely soaked (and the compression garments were too) but it wasn't really bloody, just clear with a reddish tinge. All told, I changed the maxi pads another 2 times within 18 hours before I was completely leak-free - and then didn't need to put anything on the incisions but Neosporin. I got a prescription for pain medication and took it faithfully so I had no pain whatsoever from the incision areas - it just felt like my abdomen and flanks were bruised all over and my skin was tender to touch. I had to move slow the first 2-3 days. Working out - no way. Lifting - especially my 50 lb son - nada. Fast movements and bending over were just not an option. So if I was lying down on the couch, I felt fine, but when I went to sit up, it was sore. Not crying your eyes out sore, just unpleasant.

Unfortunately, when you're this tender, you have to wear the horrible, awful compression garment. I grew to hate that thing quickly. It is VERY tight - it has to be - but trying to inch it over your sore, puffy skin is no fun. The garment itself is very strange - nude-colored Spanx that go from right under your breasts down to shorts that go about half way down your thighs, and two straps that go over your shoulders. You put it on by putting one pants leg on at a time, and then kind of rolling it up your body until you get to your chest, and then tugging it up tightly so it's not wrinkled (the nurse was adamant that you don't wear it wrinkled. She put the fear of God into me on that point. NO wrinkles!). Oh, and it's nylon / polyester so in the 90 degree weather we've been having in DC ... yuck. Anyway, with the compression garment, you can wear your own bra but it is crotchless so you don't have to remove the whole thing to pee. I'm paranoid that I'm going to accidentally pee on the garment so it's very disconcerting for me to wear it while going to the bathroom. And since it's crotchless, I put on underwear over top (which looks super attractive - LOL). You have to wear the garment ALL day and ALL night, EVERY day, for 2 weeks. The white elastic band is worn on top, but just at night. Then after 2 weeks, just the compression garment at night (not needed during the day). I got the impression that the longer you wear the garment, the better, but I imagine a month of wearing this darn thing is as much as most people can bear. Right now I want to burn it and it's only been a week!

But even with my compression garment nemesis, and the unexpected pain from the lidocaine injections, I would 100% do this all over again in a heartbeat. ABSOLUTELY. I have ZERO REGRETS. It is the best thing I have physically done for myself and even though it's been just a week, my tummy looks SO flat. At my followup appointment yesterday, Dr. Segev said I still have swelling so in a month it will look really good once the swelling subsides more. I think it's such an improvement already and I'm so happy that even better results will be thrilling.

I go back in 4 weeks for another follow up, and asked Dr. Segev if I could get my Before and After pictures then to post here (he knows all about this site and he was cool with it), so stay tuned for my amazing transformation :-)

I was a little nervous getting laser lipo at a place that advertises 50% off. I found this doctor through RealSelf and they had a great result so I figured it was worth a free consultation. The office is right off 395 in a non-descript office park. Not at all a posh building but the actual office was a pretty standard spa-like waiting room. I initially talked to a nurse in an office - not a consultation room - and discussed my medical history, what I wanted done (abs and flanks = 4 areas) and what my expectations were. She asked me if she could examine the areas right then and there. No robe, just drop trou and get on with it ! It was weird to stand in an office with the nurse behind the desk, so if you're modest this will probably put you off. She did offer to put me in a room and robe to see the doctor but at that point, I didn't care.

Dr. Segev came in - he looks much better than his picture. He's got a 90's California Tv doctor vibe. He's not "fresh off the boat" --English isn't his second language or anything like that -- and was professional and friendly. No sketchiness at all. He said that since I had very localized fat that I was a great candidate and might even drop a dress size. I'm at my heaviest weight: 155 at 5'6" and a good weight for me is 130, but even when I'm at my ideal weight I always have what I call my fat Fanny pack: a nasty, bulge under my belly button that no amount of crunches or dieting will get rid of. I asked if I should diet first but because the rest of my body is in proportion, he said I was good to go. I asked a few basic questions and he answered them patiently. He asked what my timeframe was and I told him I had a vacation planned for the end of June so after that-- I didn't want to be in pain during my trip. He assured me that as long as I had the procedure in early June, my recovery would not interfere with my plans.

It was Tuesday and they had an opening on Thursday, or the following Friday. I was pretty psyched so I made the appointment for that Thursday: in 2 days!! I felt that the practice was on the up and up and even though the price seemed too good to be true, I felt confident that I was in good hands with Dr. Segev.

Ill post again kn a few days about the actual procedure, recovery and results. But I wanted to at least put this up here in appreciation of the other patients that led me to Dr. Segev and to help those of you looking for affordable laser lipo with great results.