BBL Journey 5'2" 126 lbs

So far so good. Still have some swelling in stomach, side and back area. Continues to be tender to the touch but slowly improving over time. I unfortunately was unable to return for a one month follow up appointment but I have it had any complications (ie fibrosis formation, uneven lipo area, increased tenderness). I still wear my compression garment but I am trying to transition by utilizing at nights only. I have switched from using foams pads to the 360 lipo foam and low back molder as it is more comfortable and faster to take on and off.
I definitely feel that my measurements have stabilized at this point.
Past measurements: waist 30 inches and hip/buttocks 38 inches.
Current measurements: 28 inches and hip/buttocks 40 inches.
Weight prior to surgery:137-138 lbs
Current weight: 135-137 lbs
My waist still has some swelling so the measurements may change over time. However I am able to finally purchase some new clothes since I had to donate a lot of my pre surgery pants because of the change. I just purchased a stage 2 compression garment to help transition out of the initial post op garment. I haven’t had the chance to wear it yet but I will try to provide an update at the 3-4 month mark once my body really settles down.
I do catch myself wanting my buttocks to be bigger however I am incredibly happy with my current results. In order to maintain my results I have continued to increase my caloric intake post op. I knew my metabolism would increase post surgery so I was concerned that I would lose weight or not be able to provide adequate nutrients in order to ensure the fat grafted would survive. I increased my carb and protein intake focusing excess caloric intake. Also, I am trying to increase healthy oils into diet by including fish, avocados, nuts, olive oils, butters. I actually lost weight after surgery due to the increase in metabolism. But I am working on gaining some weight back through diet.
At 6 weeks have not started going to the gym. As much as I want to, I really want my fat to thrive so I am holding off until 8-10 weeks post op. I still have stiffness to my lipo’d areas particularly to my back and triceps. I intend on slowly getting into the my but starting off with body weight and bands for training. I am getting antsy but I would rather focus on really healing than jumping into my old workout and potentially ruin the results.
My next update will be sometime between the 4-6 month mark once my results have really settled down and I start getting back into an active lifestyle.

RECOVERY STATUS: At rest I continue to have 0/10 pain. I have some physical limitations to triceps, abdomen, neck and low back (areas of lipo) primarily due to stiffness and tightness that has started developing which is expected. Overall swelling has reduced but is managed with the compression garments. I notice that if I remove the compression garments for over an hour I tend to have more swelling. I have had a total of 7 lymphatic massages since surgery. 4 massages at Dr. Campos office and 3 in the Bay Area. FYI- you will not find a massage therapist willing to reopen your sutures as Dr. Campos’s med spa did. What you will receive is a lympatic massage (superficial massage). I have been going twice a week in the Bay Area however; I decided to discontinue paying for lymphatic massages because I am able to do them on myself.
DRAIN REMOVAL AND SEROMAS: I removed my drainage myself 9 days post op. While removing the drainage I encountered some resistance at a certain point possibly due to adhesions that began to form. I stopped pulling on the tube at that point and massaged the areas that I felt the tugging from for a few minutes. Then I was able to successfully remove the drain completely. This is confirmed by double checking the end of the tube to ensure it was intact (ie it didn’t look torn which may indicate a piece broke off). I cleansed the entry point of my drain right above my groin with soap and water and dressed it with medihoney and a gauze pad for 3 days until it healed completely. The next days I developed 2 seromas on my left and right side of abdomen (right greater than left). A seroma is a fluid filled pocket that may develop post op when a drain has been removed. I was able to manage to reduce the seroma significantly after performing self massages to the area. To date I do not feel any knots that have formed to my abdomen.
THINGS TO NOT TO BUY: in a previous post I had provided a list of items I bought for this procedure. Since getting surgery done I do not recommend purchasing the back molder and and ab board. Th back molder does not stay in place and does move toward the upper back over the course of the day. Th ab board I haven’t really used because I feel like the Lipofoams provided by Dr Campos office provide better compression to the area. This may be the case for now during the initial phase of recovery. I may end up using it later but for now I recommend holding off on the ab board. Dr. Campos’s office will provide you with one compression garment and lipofoam for your abs and low back (they cut the lipofoam to create a low back molder)
THINGS YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO BUY FOR SURGERY WITH DR. CAMPOS: all physicians are different so this list is specifically for Campos patients.
- 2nd compression garment (Marena). I am currently wearing a medium. It is starting to loosen up because of how much swelling has gone down
- extra Lipofoams, buy at least 2. Immediately after surgery I soaked through the lipofoam on my abdomen so I had to purchase another through their office for $25 and then after my post op visit with Campos I had to purchase another one for $25 to place on my sides.
- Gogirl, this one is a must. I am still using it to date.
- BBL pillow preferably with a low back attachment. I have tried to use the bbl pillow without the low back support however I find it uncomfortable and so much work to balance on it without putting pressure on my butt.

MASSAGE REVIEW: My package came with 5 post op massages. I started my massages day 3 post op. On a pain scale from 1-10, they were 12. It was the most painful experience I have endured to date. It felt like a shearing, tearing, burning pain every time they touched my abdomen. They call it lymphatic massage but I believe this is inaccurate. A lymphatic massage is suppose to be superficial because lymph nodes are located right beneath the skin. What was performed at Dr. Campos’s med spa should be more accurately termed, manual drainage. They start off laying you on your back and work on your abdomen by applying medium pressure to push fluid towards the drain that has been inserted post op. Then they work on the additional areas of lipo by reopening the closed sutures using hemostat clamps or tweezers to pinch/tear the sutures open. After they open the sutures they massage the area to push fluids out of the opening. I could literally feel the warm fluids flow down my sides. I had this done for my upper arms and my back. The reopening felt like a pinch and it felt relieving afterwards even if it felt the worst 45 mins. Overall, if I could do it over, i should have paid the extra $$ and had the massages performed at the recovery home I was staying at based on the reviews the other women were giving me about her it sounds like their overall experience was less painful and more relaxing.
RETURN TRIP: on my last day, day 6 post op, I was evaluated by Dr Campos who stated that the results look good overall but I had to keep my drain in because I was draining over 25 ml in 24 hrs. After my appt, I went for my last massage which overall started to feel better. Then from there I had arranged for Cocoon recovery to take me to San Diego airport, which I highly highly recommend doing because it is so convenient.
9 DAY POSTOP: Pain is rated 2-3/10 with certain movements but a rest it is 0. The shearing, tearing and burning pain has subsided. It’s primarily soreness to abdomen and buttocks. I love love love my results. I still had swelling primarily to my low back and sides but it will get better overtime.