Revision Liposuction & Tummy Tuck To Fix Botched Liposuction - Beverly Hills, CA

Hi Everyone,
I really wanted to share my story with you today because I feel like its so important to emphasize the importance of doing your research of picking a plastic surgeon and the results of what happens if you don’t do it right the first time.
It all started for me about 12 years ago. I was 22 years old and had lost approximately 30 lbs. As a result of that, I felt great but I had a small pouch of fat in my lower and upper abdomen that I just could not get rid of. It was so uncomfortable for me to have that, especially how tiny I was, so I decided I wanted to get rid of it with liposuction.
Although the internet existed at the time, social media was not as prominent, so I did not have the tools that we do now with Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. I know social media can be portrayed in a negative light at times, but I really feel like its such a powerful tool now for doing research on who it is that will ultimately be operating on your body. Not only can you do research in general about the background of the surgeon, you can actually watch them operate live. So I unfortunately did not have this, nor did I take the time to do my research, I was young and eager. As a result, I went with someone that was recommended to me by word of mouth. She was not a board certified plastic surgeon, she was a gynocologist. She was also very affordable, which of course may sound so glamorous at the time, thinking to yourself you can get so much for your buck. Unfortunately what I didn’t know then is the money I’d be spending later on in life to fix the damage she had done to me.
I had my surgery with her and when I saw it post-op, I remember thinking, wow my body looks very lumpy. I even brought it up to her at one point and all she said was to just wait it out, it would settle. Unfortunately, it never settled. I was young at the time and never really turned back to her to fix it. I just accepted that thats how my body was, and thats how I would have to learn to live with it. I would never wear a 2 piece swimsuit, I would never let anyone look at my stomach. I myself I wouldn’t even look at my stomach when coming out of the shower, I would just lower the lights to avoid seeing all the lumps.
I spent about 10 years living this way. I remember one day when I read Tara Reid’s story about how she was botched, and I saw her stomach and saw that I could relate to it, I had never seen anyone else with the problem I had and it was so nice to know I wasn’t alone. I also finally came to the realization, I was botched. I did my research when her story came out, but still did not feel like I was at a place to pursue repairing it.
Finally a couple of years ago, I decided I was ready. I began to do my research, and there like a bright light at the end of a very dark tunnel, I came across the amazing Dr. Cat Begovic. I have to admit I was a bit intimidated that she was in Beverly Hills, but the minute I called her office, my mind was at ease. They were so incredibly kind, it just made me that much more excited to meet her.
The day of my consultation was one of the best days of my life. I went in to her office and her staff was so incredibly welcoming and sweet. When Dr. Cat walked in, it felt like I’d known her forever. She was SO sweet, intelligent, educated, understanding, and really took her time with me. She gave me something I had not had in 12 years…hope. I looked at her previous work and I knew that was it, she was my doctor. We decided to go with revision liposuction / fat grafting. I did not want to do anything too invasive yet, I wanted to give the fat grafting a try. She was VERY clear at the type of results I should expect and we set realistic expectations. I knew it would not be 100%, and that was okay. If I could even see 50% improvement, that would be night and day for me.
The surgery went smoothly and I was walking around that night. Dr. Cat called me that night to check on me and I had a follow up with her the next day. She said she could tell how aggressive the previous surgeon had been with me when she went in to operate. She said there was so much scar tissue and I’m lucky the previous surgeon didn’t harm me. It’s so scary to think that with my previous surgery, I was under the hands of someone that had no idea what she was doing and I put myself at risk like that.
I can’t believe how little I bruised with Dr. Cat’s brilliant work. The overall recovery was so smooth. When I saw the results I was in pure shock, I could not believe the improvement I saw. I cried so much. Dr. Cat is a miracle worker.
Before I go on, I just want to emphasize that I was THRILLED with the results. My decision to have an additional procedure had nothing to do with the work she did on the revision liposuction. It was purely my decision as wanting to take a step even further in my journey. She had done such a great job that I wanted to go the next step.
My weight has been a bit of a roller coaster throughout the years, so even though the fat grafting was absolutely amazing, I still had some loose skin. This year, I was ready to take the next step in my journey and do a tummy tuck to remove the loose skin. I was quite nervous about this procedure but Dr. Cat of course put my mind at ease. I opted not to do muscle repair since I do not have any kids and I workout frequently. This was not needed in my scenario.
On June 5th I underwent my tummy tuck and it went wonderfully! Dr. Cat asked that I spend one night at a recovery center, Serenity, and it truly worked out wonderfully because they are SO amazing and take such good are of you. They took such good care of me that I decided to spoil myself and spend an additional night there ;) it was so well worth it. I was so shocked at the minimal level of pain I had. I was walking the same day, and the next. Dr. Cat ended up removing about 4 inches of skin off of my stomach. I do have both a horizontal incision and a very small vertical incision but I was just fine with that. She did inform me in advance that this would likely be the case. The scar though looks so thin already! When I saw my results, I truly cannot express how happy I was.
Dr. Cat fixed me. She rid me of any reminders I had of my past surgery. She gave me hope for the future and confidence in myself again. As I sit here today, 8 days post op, I feel amazing and I’m ready to go back to work tomorrow. She is SO incredibly gentle and takes her time, it makes all the difference in the world in the recovery process. If you watch her surgeries on her snapchat you will see just that, she is a true perfectionist.
I’m sorry this has gone on so long but I wanted to make sure and share all my details with you, as I wish someone had with me when I first decided to do surgery. My advice would be this…PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, do your research. Do not settle for someone based on the rate they give you. This is your body and you only get one of them. Make sure the surgeon is board certified, make sure its someone you are 100% comfortable with. Check their website, social media, snapchat if they have, check it all. Real Self is also such an amazing tool where people can share their stories. I get so angry at myself for not getting it right the first time and for putting myself through this, but I know its all a lesson learned and if my story can help others and can educate through my mistakes, then I know its well worth the journey.
To my dear amazing Dr. Cat and her incredible staff…words cannot express how thankful I am to you for giving me my body back. I finally feel like I can go out there with confidence and I don’t have to hide my stomach anymore. Thank you for fixing me and for always being so kind, thoughtful, honest, loving, and caring. I love you all so much and I will be internally grateful to you.
As I mentioned earlier, I am currently 8 days post-op but I will continue to post photos as I recover. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thanks and good luck to anyone considering surgery!

These are additional photos of the liposuction Dr. Cat performed on my back. She used the fat from my back for the grafting to my upper and lower abdomen.

Here is a photo about 6 weeks post op. I can finally see my abs again! I am currently wearing embrace scar therapy strips on my scar which is why I haven't pictured but I will provide an update with that one once I am done with the treatments.