Fat Transfer to Hips Only with Dr. Hughes (round 2 bbl).. Beverly Hills, CA

Review for the first round (also with Dr. Hughes) can be found here:
https://www.realself.com/review/culver-city-ca-brazilian-butt-lift-fat-transfer-hips-buttocks-thinner-trans

I was very happy with my results from round one, but wanted to have a little more hip width. The whole reason I took this BBL journey was to balance my lower body with my somewhat masculine upper body (wide shoulders).

Initially with round one, I was happy with the way my hips looked. I was beyond amazed at the way my butt looked as a whole package. But, as the swelling subsided over the next 7 months, it left me wanting a bit more on the hips. I was already expecting to most likely need a round two in the beginning, because a lot of research told me that injection into the hips is more difficult / that the fat survivability is lessened due to less vascularity in that area. I'm not a doctor, but this seemed to make sense to me from the beginning. I think throughout this whole experience I have had very realistic expectations given my relatively low amount of available fat and masculine starting point (see round one before pics). Luckily, round one was able to really take my butt to a whole other level. My hope is that this round two procedure will do the same for the hips!

I scheduled initially back in July or August, I can't really remember. But, it was at Boris cosmetic that I met with Dr. Hughes for a checkup and brought up the possibility of a round two. I had gained about 10lbs since the previous procedure, and he said he could probably get 300-350cc of fat into each hip with lipo of full abdomen (not just lower), full back (not just lower), sides, and inner thighs. Some of my weight gain had found itself back in my abdomen- a little pooch underneath the navel as well as some thickness just below the bra line, and some fat on my mid-back. The procedure was scheduled for September 23rd.

In that time, Dr. Hughes changed offices and began practicing in Beverly Hills. I cancelled my appointment that was set at Boris (they just assumed that I would be okay with using another surgeon there), and rescheduled with Dr. Hughes for October 2nd at his new practice.

Day 0
SURGERY MORNING
I got into the office right on time, at 10:00am on the head to a very happy Dr. Hughes who greeted me with a huge smile and said "See, told you! There she is!". Haha. Apparently the host at the desk thought I might be late, and Dr. Hughes hadn't lost faith yet. He was in great spirits. We joked around for a few before going over surgical details, when I basically told him straight up "I just want to be wider, that's all I care about this time around". He said okay, and he pointed out the specific locations he would inject the fat into. I wanted something slightly different, and he happily compromised with me. He even drew on me where he would inject, which made me feel really good about what was about to happen. All questions answered and full confidence! I love this doctor.

The anesthesiologist, Dr. Freeman? I think.. He was incredibly nice. We had a nice little rapport going on. And, he was amazing. Got the IV in on the first try, and his "special cocktail" worked so incredibly well. I don't even remember falling asleep whatsoever, it was such a graceful slip into dreamland. I just felt really really good, then oof time to wake up...

WAKING UP IN RECOVERY
Uggghhhh. Let's just say this. I was not comfortable. I pretty much immediately asked to lay on my stomach (much to the surprise of the assistant in the room with me). He was like "holy crap, I can't believe you are moving around already!" Then I had him help me up to go pee. I didn't really have to pee, I was just really uncomfortable laying still in that bed. I felt like I was already trying to get the blood flowing to move that anesthesia out of my system. That did help, moving around.

The assistant told me Dr. Hughes did 320cc in each hip.

My ride was a bit late, so I was stuck in the bed in the recovery room. I kept shifting around, laying on my back then getting up on all fours. That seemed to help. Then my ride finally got there and took the ride home.

When I got home, I started to swell rapidly. My thighs were getting soooo big and sore, along with the area underneath my armpits where the compression garment couldn't compress. It was inflating and bulging out like water balloons on each side. PAIN. I wrapped it with an ace bandage and almost immediately the pain subsided as the swelling reduced. Thank god!

After about an hour, I finally found a comfortable position to lay in in my bed. My bad and thighs were very sore. After I got comfortable once, I knew the rest would be easy (as it has been so far).

Day 1 (yesterday)
I slept pretty well the night before, surprisingly, getting about 8-9 hours of sleep. Kept drinking gobs of water and my appetite came back tenfold. Pretty easy day. Besides that, I walked around a whole bunch and watched a bunch of movies. My thighs made it pretty hard to walk, they are still so swollen!

Day 2 (today)
Thighs are less swollen, took some great pictures this morning that made me squeal with happiness!! :D Everything seems to be healing well and I feel great!

I have lost a bit of weight since the procedure, down to 158 from 165. The work Dr. Hughes did to contour my waist further is fantastic, and I am suuuper happy!

Still staying off of my butt per the Dr's instructions, and sleeping flat on my stomach. My neck hurts! I can't wait to sit again!!!