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3 weeks post-op: Recovery journey and pics
I'm just over three weeks post-op and am SO HAPPY with my results! I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.
I am so, so, so happy I chose Dr. Lin as my surgeon. He and his staff are the best! Even though I know that my body will continue to change over the coming weeks and months, I am so happy with the progress I'm seeing. Dr. Lin gave me exactly what I wanted-- a proportionate, natural-looking butt and silhouette. I didn't want anything too big, but just a lil' somethin' somethin' extra than what I had. As you can see in my before pictures I had a VERY flat butt, so there was nowhere to go but up! I am also incredibly pleased with how SNATCHED my waist is. To be honest, I was so focused on my butt that I hadn't spent much time on how my abdomen would look after the procedure. When I looked in the mirror I couldn't believe what I saw. I'm seriously almost more excited about my snatched waist than my butt, and that's saying a lot because I LOVE how my butt is shaping out!
My overall experience with Dr. Lin has been great. His staff was able to schedule my appointments with no problem. He also took care to answer all of my questions and make sure that I felt comfortable every step of the way. I developed a stubborn fluid bubble after my surgery (not uncommon after lipo) and he took a lot of care to monitor and drain it after it hadn't budged for a week. He also was very thorough in prepping me for my aftercare once I returned home.
Recovery:
I'll be honest, the first few days post-op are uncomfortable, but not unbearable. I ended up just using extra strength tylenol, the anti-nausea medicine, and antibiotics to deal with pain and side effects. I would liken the pain to being in a car accident: you feel banged up, but are still able to function. Everyday I noticed considerable improvement in my pain and mobility levels and made it a point to walk as much as I could tolerate. I recommend using Tylenol PM to help with sleeping for the first week or so as it helped me sleep more hours and also reduced my neck and back pain from sleeping on my stomach.
Draining sucks, but is the worst the first 72 hours. As luck would have it, my body took longer to drain than most (most ppl stop at around 4-5 days) but all drainage stopped by day 8 post-op. Plan on packing lots of gauze, puppy pads, and loose fitting sweat pants. You are going to need them that first week!
Bruising/ Swelling
I bruise very easily, but most of my bruising was gone by the second week. AT this point I just have a little residual bruising around my rib cage where much of the lipo was performed. I am still swollen around my abdomen and little in my lower back, but all other swelling has seemed to subside. I am noticing my skin beginning to soften and feel like normal on my stomach which is really encouraging. I strongly recommend taking arnica pills, rubbing arnica gel several times a day on your body, and using Mederma or scar cream on your incisions once they've healed to help hasten healing. As I mentioned, I developed a small fluid bubble that has been a bit stubborn, but is slowly going down. Dr. Lin partially drained it for me and I will be returning in a month for another draining if it hasn't dissipated on its own by then.
I have been getting 2 lymphatic massages weekly to help with swelling and believe that they have been very helpful in speeding things along. The day after each session I notice a clear difference in the softness of my skin and inflammation levels. My insurance covered most of the massages that were performed through my chiropractor. I plan on continuing the massages until week 6 or until I feel the swelling is mostly gone. I also strongly recommend following Dr. Lin's advise to wear your faja 24/ 7 and using the lipo foam boards. It really does make a difference. I used an additional ab board for a few days but didn't really see any added benefit so I stopped using it.
Flying home:
I flew in from California for the procedure and stayed with family and friends in Chicago to recoup. I flew back exactly three weeks post-op and would recommend not flying any sooner than that if you can help it. I've seen on here that some patients fly just a few days post-op and I have no idea how they did it! I felt like crap those first few days post and couldn't imagine hopping on a plane! Dr. Lin recommended waiting 3 weeks before sitting but said that I would be fine for flying home, but to try to refrain from sitting until four weeks post-op. So that's what I'm doing!
I'll post another update in a few weeks with more pics
I am so, so, so happy I chose Dr. Lin as my surgeon. He and his staff are the best! Even though I know that my body will continue to change over the coming weeks and months, I am so happy with the progress I'm seeing. Dr. Lin gave me exactly what I wanted-- a proportionate, natural-looking butt and silhouette. I didn't want anything too big, but just a lil' somethin' somethin' extra than what I had. As you can see in my before pictures I had a VERY flat butt, so there was nowhere to go but up! I am also incredibly pleased with how SNATCHED my waist is. To be honest, I was so focused on my butt that I hadn't spent much time on how my abdomen would look after the procedure. When I looked in the mirror I couldn't believe what I saw. I'm seriously almost more excited about my snatched waist than my butt, and that's saying a lot because I LOVE how my butt is shaping out!
My overall experience with Dr. Lin has been great. His staff was able to schedule my appointments with no problem. He also took care to answer all of my questions and make sure that I felt comfortable every step of the way. I developed a stubborn fluid bubble after my surgery (not uncommon after lipo) and he took a lot of care to monitor and drain it after it hadn't budged for a week. He also was very thorough in prepping me for my aftercare once I returned home.
Recovery:
I'll be honest, the first few days post-op are uncomfortable, but not unbearable. I ended up just using extra strength tylenol, the anti-nausea medicine, and antibiotics to deal with pain and side effects. I would liken the pain to being in a car accident: you feel banged up, but are still able to function. Everyday I noticed considerable improvement in my pain and mobility levels and made it a point to walk as much as I could tolerate. I recommend using Tylenol PM to help with sleeping for the first week or so as it helped me sleep more hours and also reduced my neck and back pain from sleeping on my stomach.
Draining sucks, but is the worst the first 72 hours. As luck would have it, my body took longer to drain than most (most ppl stop at around 4-5 days) but all drainage stopped by day 8 post-op. Plan on packing lots of gauze, puppy pads, and loose fitting sweat pants. You are going to need them that first week!
Bruising/ Swelling
I bruise very easily, but most of my bruising was gone by the second week. AT this point I just have a little residual bruising around my rib cage where much of the lipo was performed. I am still swollen around my abdomen and little in my lower back, but all other swelling has seemed to subside. I am noticing my skin beginning to soften and feel like normal on my stomach which is really encouraging. I strongly recommend taking arnica pills, rubbing arnica gel several times a day on your body, and using Mederma or scar cream on your incisions once they've healed to help hasten healing. As I mentioned, I developed a small fluid bubble that has been a bit stubborn, but is slowly going down. Dr. Lin partially drained it for me and I will be returning in a month for another draining if it hasn't dissipated on its own by then.
I have been getting 2 lymphatic massages weekly to help with swelling and believe that they have been very helpful in speeding things along. The day after each session I notice a clear difference in the softness of my skin and inflammation levels. My insurance covered most of the massages that were performed through my chiropractor. I plan on continuing the massages until week 6 or until I feel the swelling is mostly gone. I also strongly recommend following Dr. Lin's advise to wear your faja 24/ 7 and using the lipo foam boards. It really does make a difference. I used an additional ab board for a few days but didn't really see any added benefit so I stopped using it.
Flying home:
I flew in from California for the procedure and stayed with family and friends in Chicago to recoup. I flew back exactly three weeks post-op and would recommend not flying any sooner than that if you can help it. I've seen on here that some patients fly just a few days post-op and I have no idea how they did it! I felt like crap those first few days post and couldn't imagine hopping on a plane! Dr. Lin recommended waiting 3 weeks before sitting but said that I would be fine for flying home, but to try to refrain from sitting until four weeks post-op. So that's what I'm doing!
I'll post another update in a few weeks with more pics
Bbl Scheduled for Next Week! 5'3 160 Lbs
I'm so excited to have my BBL performed next week! I've wanted this procedure for years and finally decided to just do it. Dr. Lin and his stress have been awesome. I knew from the virtual consultation that he'd be a good fit for me.
Dr. Lin and staff have been very patient with all my questions and flexible with scheduling (I'm traveling from out of state for the procedure), are super responsive, and have excellent bedside manner. I feel like I'm in great hands! I'll update next week with before and after pics!
Dr. Lin and staff have been very patient with all my questions and flexible with scheduling (I'm traveling from out of state for the procedure), are super responsive, and have excellent bedside manner. I feel like I'm in great hands! I'll update next week with before and after pics!
Provider Review
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
310 W Superior St., Chicago, Illinois