POSTED UNDER Smart Lipo REVIEWS
SmartLipo Procedure on 36 Year Old Mom of 1- Previous Lipo Correction
ORIGINAL POST
I am a 36 year old mom of a 7-year old son. I had...
aprilrngaMarch 23, 2018
$6,500
I am a 36 year old mom of a 7-year old son. I had previous traditional liposuction in 2011 and that procedure left me with uneven, lumpy areas on my abdomen. Due to the asymmetry this made me very self-conscious about my stomach. I started researching Cool-sculpting when I stumbled on SmartLipo. After researching further I decided to go with a surgeon in my area that trained under the plastic surgeon that developed the SmartLipo technique. I was very excited that SmartLipo is minimally invasive and has a much quicker recovery time than traditional liposuction. Also, b/c it is laser assisted Lipo the surgeon is able to reach more fat pockets and offer a much smoother contour.
I met with the provider and decided to get upper abdomen, lower abdomen and the pubic area done. Each area is about $1,500 depending on your BMI. The surgeon assured me that there would be about 70% improvement in my areas of concern. I was also very concerned with being awake during the procedure and the nurse assured me that almost all patients fall asleep and wake-up when the procedure is complete. Being reassured this was the best decision for me, I went ahead and scheduled my procedure from March 20th.
On the morning of my procedure I arrived at the surgeon's office and the nurse immediately gave me an Ativan 1mg for anxiety and a Phenergan for nausea. I take Klonopin 1mg for anxiety on a regular basis so this Ativan didn't do much for my anxiety since I obviously have a high tolerance for these medications. The nurse took my vitals and then took me into the "operating room" and the surgeon (Dr. Louis Cole) came in and gave me an injection of Demorol in one leg and a injection of Versed in the other leg. He told me these would make me very drowsy and relaxed. The injections did make me sleepy but when the procedure started I never nodded-off or fell asleep at any time. I was wide awake during the entire procedure and remember wincing in pain quite frequently. Luckily, it seemed like the procedure was over pretty quickly. He did have to be a little bit more vigorous in my procedure due to stubborn scar tissue from my previous liposuction surgery and this could have been the reason for increased pain in my case. In total, the surgeon removed almost 600 cc's of fat.
When the procedure was complete, the nurse helped me put my compression garments on and she packed my incision sites (which are the size of a grain of rice) with maxi-pads and surgical tape and told me that these would drain a lot over the next 48-hours. However, I had NO idea how much drainage would actually occur. I left the surgeons office and had about 1.5 hour drive home and by the time I got home those maxi-pads were already soaked with bloody drainage and had also soaked through my garments and clothing as well. I was not prepared for this amount of drainage at all so it was quite worrisome. When I got home I packed on more maxi-pads and went to sleep and didn't wake up until 12-hours later in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. Unfortunately, I was alone since I am a single mom and I didn't prepare for someone to stay overnight with me that night so I had to get up and tend to the drainage and re-dressing myself, which was quite painful. I took some of the Norco pain medication they gave me as well as another Phenergan and thankfully went back to sleep and slept another 10-hours. When I woke up the next morning I got a warm shower, washed my garments and just rested the rest of Day #2. I was uncomfortable but not in pain like I was on Day 1. On Day #3, I was 85% back to normal and returned to work and normal daily activities with little limitation.
Today is Day #4 and I am back to my normal routine. The drainage has finally ceased but I am still very swollen. I can definitely tell my stomach is much flatter than before but it is hard to tell because of all of the swelling. I also didn't take my own before pictures so I will be excited to see the before/after pictures the surgeon's office took when I go for my post-op appt. next Friday, March 30th. I will update more pics as I get them since I know this is what most people are looking for on these reviews.
I met with the provider and decided to get upper abdomen, lower abdomen and the pubic area done. Each area is about $1,500 depending on your BMI. The surgeon assured me that there would be about 70% improvement in my areas of concern. I was also very concerned with being awake during the procedure and the nurse assured me that almost all patients fall asleep and wake-up when the procedure is complete. Being reassured this was the best decision for me, I went ahead and scheduled my procedure from March 20th.
On the morning of my procedure I arrived at the surgeon's office and the nurse immediately gave me an Ativan 1mg for anxiety and a Phenergan for nausea. I take Klonopin 1mg for anxiety on a regular basis so this Ativan didn't do much for my anxiety since I obviously have a high tolerance for these medications. The nurse took my vitals and then took me into the "operating room" and the surgeon (Dr. Louis Cole) came in and gave me an injection of Demorol in one leg and a injection of Versed in the other leg. He told me these would make me very drowsy and relaxed. The injections did make me sleepy but when the procedure started I never nodded-off or fell asleep at any time. I was wide awake during the entire procedure and remember wincing in pain quite frequently. Luckily, it seemed like the procedure was over pretty quickly. He did have to be a little bit more vigorous in my procedure due to stubborn scar tissue from my previous liposuction surgery and this could have been the reason for increased pain in my case. In total, the surgeon removed almost 600 cc's of fat.
When the procedure was complete, the nurse helped me put my compression garments on and she packed my incision sites (which are the size of a grain of rice) with maxi-pads and surgical tape and told me that these would drain a lot over the next 48-hours. However, I had NO idea how much drainage would actually occur. I left the surgeons office and had about 1.5 hour drive home and by the time I got home those maxi-pads were already soaked with bloody drainage and had also soaked through my garments and clothing as well. I was not prepared for this amount of drainage at all so it was quite worrisome. When I got home I packed on more maxi-pads and went to sleep and didn't wake up until 12-hours later in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. Unfortunately, I was alone since I am a single mom and I didn't prepare for someone to stay overnight with me that night so I had to get up and tend to the drainage and re-dressing myself, which was quite painful. I took some of the Norco pain medication they gave me as well as another Phenergan and thankfully went back to sleep and slept another 10-hours. When I woke up the next morning I got a warm shower, washed my garments and just rested the rest of Day #2. I was uncomfortable but not in pain like I was on Day 1. On Day #3, I was 85% back to normal and returned to work and normal daily activities with little limitation.
Today is Day #4 and I am back to my normal routine. The drainage has finally ceased but I am still very swollen. I can definitely tell my stomach is much flatter than before but it is hard to tell because of all of the swelling. I also didn't take my own before pictures so I will be excited to see the before/after pictures the surgeon's office took when I go for my post-op appt. next Friday, March 30th. I will update more pics as I get them since I know this is what most people are looking for on these reviews.
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