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POSTED UNDER Brazilian Butt Lift Revision REVIEWS

BBL revision, lipo revision & fat transfer to face, hands & calves

ORIGINAL POST

BBL Revision & Revision Lipo

honey74
WORTH IT
Initially, I thought my BBL result was great during the first year after surgery, but then I gained weight and it ruined my shape. The body changes with age and life experiences. This is why it's best to have smaller volume fat injections at different stages to get a better sense of how natural body changes affect your results.
I had BBL revision with Dr. Svehlak in Feb. 2023. He also did lipo revision because the original surgeon in Cali, Colombia left me with contour irregularities in several places from over-aggressive liposuction. I couldn't get the full sense of my contour irregularities until all my swelling went away. That was a full year after surgery. Ladies, I recommend having surgery done in in the USA, and not travel to another country no matter how cheap it is or how much experience the doctor seems to have. It’s too risky, and if there are complications that you discover after your swelling goes away, your foreign doctor most likely won’t take responsibility, won’t be honest to tell you they don’t know how to fix it, and will charge you full price or more than your initial procedure. Also, perceptions of beauty can be different in different countries. In Colombia, I asked for a small hip augmentation and fat injection to my middle and lower buttock. But, that’s not what they gave me. For some reason (I guess due to the Colombian doctor’s perception of beauty bigger is better), the doctor injected way too much fat in my hips, none in the lower buttock, and gave me a shelf booty. She did that after I clearly explained what I wanted, and after I showed her wish pics. There was no misunderstanding due to miscommunication. I was born and raised in Cali, Colombia. I have a house there. I know about all the history of plastic surgery there. I speak perfect Spanish with a Caleno (i.e., Cali) dialect. It was a complete disaster. The other crazy thing is how they perform lymphatic drainage message in Cali, Colombia. The massage therapists there re-open the liposuction incisions and they push all the accumulated lymphatic fluid out of the body through the incisions!!!! That was extremely painful. That’s not how lymphatic drainage massage should be done.
Fast forward from the initial surgery in Feb 2019 to my revision surgery with Dr. Svehlak in Feb 2023 – Amazingly, Dr. Svehlak fixed almost everything, and now I only need a small touch up that he'll do in 2024. He corrected mostly all the contour irregularities by breaking up fibrosis (internal scar tissue), adding fat to dents, and spot lipo to high areas. He made my hips smaller and reshaped my butt. He prefers small volume fat transfer at different stages, and he places more emphasis on improving shape instead of increasing size. I had BBL revision, lipo revision, and fat transfer to face, hands, and calves. Right after surgery, I weighed 165 pounds, now three months later I weigh 158 pounds after weight training and doing just 5 LPG endermologie treatments. My butt hasn't shrunk because I'm doing some major weight lifting for my lower body. In fact, my butt is a little bigger with better projection, and the shape is better too.
For those considering to have a BBL. Pay the money to do it right the first time. In the long run, it can be cheaper and you can be happier sooner. Have your surgery done in the US with a highly experienced plastic surgeon that is board certified.
Don’t be fooled by before and after pics. After pics taken before 1 year after surgery are useless since the final result from the lipo and BBL doesn’t appear until after 12 months. If you want a major augmentation, don’t under-estimate surgeons who prefer smaller volume fat injection, such surgeons can still get you to your goal, but they may prefer 2 to 3 rounds. The body changes with age and life experiences. This is why it's best to have smaller volume fat injections at different stages so you can get a better sense of how natural body changes affect your results. Otherwise, after injection of 1000 to 1200 per each cheek during a single procedure, you may need a revision years later.
Also, in foreign countries where there is a big market for cosmetic surgery and medical tourism, plastic surgeons there are under a lot of pressure to find new patients (especially patients who pay with Dollars or Euros) for the following reason:
In those countries, there can be too many plastic surgeons practicing in any given large city. Cali, Colombia alone has over 300 plastic surgeons, and 30 to 40 surgery centers. Each year, a number of new surgeons enter the field and start practicing. This is one of the reasons why surgery is so cheap. The surgeons have to be cost competitive, so they can’t charge too much. The surgery centers there take advantage of these doctors, and treat them like short-term contractors because surgeons that are permanent staff have to compete with surgeons who just rent the surgery facility. This means permanent staff surgeons have to compete to schedule new surgeries, and the permanent staff surgeons have very little leverage for negotiating initial salaries and pay increases. This all affects the quality of the surgery a patient receives and makes the job less rewarding. It hurts the profession. Over-worked, stressed-out, and financially desperate surgeons racing to find the next patient, for who they schedule too little time to complete the surgery (hence poor results); surgeons who are married couples performing surgery on a single patient at the same time, with both getting paid; financially greedy and desperate surgeons who over-promise and mislead patients (especially those paying with Dollars or Euros) by saying they can competently perform several complex procedures in less than 7 hours without assistance from another surgeon, and the patient can fly home in just 7 to 10 days; either poor or no follow-up/after care (not even a telephone call or email message) with the surgeon; and either insufficient or no documentation of post-op recovery protocol that needs to be followed by patients.
These issues would be all in addition to language barriers between the patient and surgeon, and differences in the day-to-day quality of life experiences (e.g., security, amount of traffic, and levels of amenities) between the US and a foreign country like Colombia or the DR. US tourists might not realize these differences exist before arriving to those countries, and they may become very frustrated.

honey74's provider

Steven Svehlak, MD

Steven Svehlak, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

honey74 rating for Dr. Svehlak:

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Replies (14)

April 6, 2024
Hi there! Any updates? For your revision, did you have a lift? Thank you for sharing all of this very helpful information!
April 6, 2024
It's been a year since my revision surgery with Dr Svehlak. Since then I had a personal trainer for 5 months. I go to the gym 2 to 3 times a week, I watch what I eat, I had 10 sessions of the Aspen After Surgery system, I had 6 sessions of Emsculpt, and 4 sessions of Exilis ultra. All these things improved my results. I'm building muscle and the Emsculpt neo lifted my booty even more. The Exilis ultra is tightening skin on my butt and thighs. I will have my last procedure with Dr Svehlak this summer. Its hard to see I was botched. But, I know the areas that still need improvement. I think I'll eventually achieve my initial goal. Thanks
April 6, 2024
I didn't have a lift during the revision.
September 17, 2024
I’m so glad you were able to find helpful solutions to restore your body. I have a consult with Dr. Svehlak. I am hoping he can help me. Did you find that the ultrasound killed fat at all? I would be interested in looking into that also. Thanks again for your helpful, informative reviews.
September 17, 2024
Hi, the ultrasound that Aspen uses does not create heat. There are two types of ultrasound. One type that does not create heat, and another type that does create heat. If you decide to have the Aspen treatments, I suggest that you do so in their Florida office with the team there, since they have the most experience, they perform all the massages required, and provide tips. You should consider doing at least 10 sessions. I also started Exilis Ultra for skin tightening and cellulite reduction (two sessions a month for three months, then one session every three months), and Emsculpt Neo for my glutes (One session a week for six weeks, and then one session every three months, with no fat reduction settings). Both the Exilis and Emsculpt led to noticeable positive results. The Exilis reduced the appearing of cellulite on my thighs, and Emscrulpt definitely lifted my glutes which made my butt to look a little rounder after my BBL years ago. Emsculpt didn't burn any fat from my BBL.
I'm going to have Emsculpt Neo done on my thighs. I hope it will make my thighs more muscular.
September 17, 2024
Hi I’m so glad you were able to continue to improve things non surgically after your surgical revision. I went to Dr Svehlak too after botched banana roll and outer thigh lipo, I actually went three times to him for fat transfer but my outer thighs got worse (more dents), and the fat transfer to the banana roll improved for sure but I still had loose skin and ripples in that area so in the end I got a butt and outer thigh lift as my last resort. I think mine was badly botched! X
September 18, 2024
I need fat transferred back to the outer thigh and under one butt cheek. Would you say it wasn’t worth it with Svehlak? I don’t have loose skin so I wouldn’t be able to get a lift I don’t think. It’s been a few years and I am really praying and hoping to feel better in my skin. This has caused so much anguish.
September 18, 2024
So my situation was more complex because firstly I had bbl reversal a few years ago which caused my butt to be saggy so I needed a butt lift. Then due to outer thigh lipo during the reversal I had irregularities. At that same time I had banana roll lipo but far too much was removed and the same surgeon tried to correct it once but he added too much fat in one area so I just traded one issue for another. After that I went to Dr Svehlak 3 times where he had to do a mixture of fat transfer and lipo to try smooth the area out but the area was no longer smooth or firm, it was more like ‘mushy’ as opposed to like really loose skin and had lots of irregularities and my butt still looked longer than before all this where I had a really nice round bum that I just wanted smaller. Apparently when you lipo the banana roll you break the gluteal crease and it loosens so I feel like for me, just adding fat didn’t work but the fat he did transfer stayed (I stayed off the area for 3 weeks each time). Also he did cause further dents when he lipoed my outer thigh to try fix the other doctors work and the next time he filled with fat but it just looked worse tbh, hence I got an outer thigh lift. The lift parts I got from a different doctor, I’m only 2 weeks post op so it’s early to say. I think your situation isn’t as bad as mine and just fat transfer could work like it has for others on this site but for me, I needed a more extreme solution after trying everything else first. Hope this makes sense!! X
September 18, 2024
Thanks for the detailed reply. Has anyone suggested renuva at all to you? I wonder if that would be the answer to dents.
September 18, 2024
I did look into it previously all of my dents have now gone since my butt lift and outer thigh and posterior thigh lift. Everything is smooth again. Obviously it’s early days so time will tell if it stays like that but I’m hopeful! X
September 19, 2024
That’s great. I hope you heal beautifully.
April 6, 2024
The Aspen After Surgery system for liposuction recovery actually works to avoid and reduce fibrosis. But, I only recommend having the treatment done in Coral Springs at their offices. They are the creators of the protocol and the experts. Part of the treatment are massage sessions. They even taught me how to massage myself at home. It's helped a lot, and I have significantly less fibrosis now. The fibrosis I still have is hard to see
April 21, 2024
Thank you! I am too decide if I want fat removed from my bbl workout coupling that with a lift.
April 21, 2024
Sorry for typos. That was supposed to say, I am trying to decide if I should have reduction of bbl without having a body lift also. ;-)
UPDATED FROM honey74
3 months post

A good BBL improves shape, not just size...

honey74
I thought my shape right after my initial surgery was sexy. But I had a lot of swelling that hid imperfections from the lipo. The surgeon injected too much fat in my hips and injected fat in my upper buttock. I had a shelf. At first it didn't bother me, but after I gained some weight my upper buttock and hips grew the most. It was crazy. My butt looked apple shaped with the widest part being at the top. The risk for something like this increases when injecting too many CCs during a single procedure.

Replies (4)

May 7, 2023
Hey, following your journey with Dr. Svehlak, I took had botched surgery in Colombia. Since you updated your review for May are you doing to get Dr. Svehlak to fix this top shelf on one side and lipo irregularities that have just appeared? Or will you go to someone else. I need lipo dents filled on my legs/stomach and fat transfer to right glute so it matched my left.

Thank you!
May 7, 2023
Hi. Dr Svehlak did an excellent job for my revision surgery, hands, face, and calves. It was the Colombian surgeon that botched me.
May 7, 2023
I must have read your update wrong, I thought you updated this saying you had more fat in upper glute and it looked better before swelling went down with dr. Svehlak... My bad. Im so happy your revision went well. Are you happy now or would you go do another round to fix things?
May 7, 2023
I hope just one more round with Dr. Svehlak will be enough. He's great.
UPDATED FROM honey74
3 months post

BBL Revision & Lipo Revision with Dr. Svehlak.

honey74
It was the Colombian doctor who botched me at CQB in Cali, Colombia in Feb 2019. The surgeon gave me lipo 360, BBL with fat added to my hips, breast lift, fat transfer to breasts, and cesarian scar revision in less than 4 hours!!! The CQB surgeon ripped me off too, because I also paid for fat transfer to my face that the person claimed to have done, but never did. I paid $12,000 USD. I thought my shape right after my initial surgery was sexy. But I had a lot of swelling that hid imperfections from the lipo. The surgeon injected too much fat in my hips and injected fat in my upper buttock. I had a shelf. At first it didn't bother me, but after I gained some weight my upper buttock and hips grew the most. It was crazy. My butt looked apple shaped with the widest part being at the top. The risk for something like this increases when injecting too many CCs during a single procedure. Also, I had contour irregularities (waviness and dents) on my abdomen and torso, back, inner and outer thights. After 2 years, I started to have consultations with several revision surgeons. They all told me the real cause of my issues, but Dr. Svehlak was the only one we felt could do the revision surgery because of his experience. The problems were caused by the surgeon in Colombia. In Feb 2023, Dr. Svehlak effectively addressed most of the issues. I will see him in 18 months to complete the rest.
Take Care

Replies (8)

May 7, 2023
My husband helped me a lot to get past my bad experience. It's good to have a friend or family member to talk things over when a revision is needed. He came with me to all my consultations with revision surgeons.
May 24, 2023
I had a bbl in Colombia as well and I'm looking for a revision, are you happy with your revision results now? I would really love to see pictures I'd you felt like sharing? Please. If not totally understandable. I just wanted to know if our issues are similar. Thank you.
March 7, 2024
Sorry I am not posting photos. You should schedule a virtual consultation with him. He's very easy going because he's always available for additional consultations for free. I'm going back to him this year to address areas he could work during the 1st revision therapy.
July 3, 2023
Do you have any before and after revision pics you could share? Or the cost of the revision?
March 7, 2024
1st surgery with him was 19 thousand.
July 27, 2023
Dr. Svehlak is amazing, I'm glad he was able to help you too. I've had 2 revisions with him after a surgeon in LA who made herself sound experienced, botched my thighs terribly. I feel very lucky to have found Dr. Svehlak. I'm planning to leave a review so other people in our situation know who they can trust, I'm really surprised he doesn't have even more reviews, he's highly skilled!
March 6, 2024
Im soo happy to hear he was able to fix you as well! yes please leave a review sharing your experience with him if you can. It truly helps with researching revision surgeons!
March 6, 2024
im sooo happy for you!! Hopefully he can fix my issues too <3 thank you for sharing