26 Year Old Female, Smart Lipo: Lower Abdomen and Arms - Chicago, IL

1 year?! =( I was hoping for a possible revision after like...4-6 months. I can tell that barely was removed from my upper abdomen because I couldn't feel any of the scar tissue/hard lumps on it like I did with my lower abdomen. My arms, lower abdomen, and flanks look amazing though!! =D So, I think I might just work on my upper abdomen on my own. I can tell that he took out some, but not as much as I would have liked. I don't know if I can even think about spending more money on a second procedure. Other than my upper abdomen though, I'm still really happy about my results. I'm only 2 weeks post op, so maybe I gotta give it more time.
How long ago was your procedure and which MDs are you scoping out now? Make sure you go to a liposuction specialist that is experienced with revisions. Good luck girl!

Last June I had 5 areas done: inner knees, inner thighs, upper and lower abs and flanks done. Knees are much better, didn't end up with the thigh gap I wanted but now have bulges there instead but at least the inner thighs are smooth but not as small as I would like, abs are ok, flanks are still a muffin top. Last October I had my upper arms done and they look better, banana rolls supposedly were done but are still there (had tiny amount of bruising and no soreness), and hip bulges done (because he didn't go down far enough on the flanks) which are better but have long dents and bulges now where he took out fat and missed some fat. No, not really a happy camper...... He is nice and knowledgeable etc. etc. but he is too conservative, too rushed or something. It seems like the more areas you have done the less is taken out overall and even skipped over and I think that is due to his special price of 2 areas for $3900---he skimps on the 2nd area. I had extremely little bruising on my flanks and very little soreness but my knees were bruised and sore as heck. I think bruising and soreness are a good indicator that a good amount of fat was removed. Every time I go for a followup, which at first is frequent but now I don't have to go back for 3 months, I point out my fatty flanks and he keeps saying it takes time to retract and to resolve and just last week he told me it was just thick skin and I would have to have a lift which would leave a scar like a tummy tuck but on the back. I know it was to put me off. I only went to him because my regular PS (a real PS) doesn't do SmartLipo but just the regular kind and I didn't want to have as much downtime or bruising, and since I work in the Loop and Dr. T has a car service it was quite convenient and I liked that he does right there in his office. Last week I went to my regular PS for Botox and I tried for the first time Juvederm in my lips and I asked him about doing lipo on my flanks and would it work (due to my age...will be 56 soon) and he took a quick look and said yes, it would be fine and this dr I totally trust and really, really like and he's very good and in the far south suburbs where I am. He is a true PS and does reconstructive work whereas Dr. T is a general surgeon. I can tell by feeling and squeezing the flanks that it is full of fat and is not just skin---it's thick and spongy and just fatty. I am scheduled for 2/8 and can't wait. Oh, and his fee, since I am a repeat customer, is only $1700 which I think is quite low, however, he does it at a surgical center so there is a fee for that and an anesthesia dr of $1300. So, another $3 grand to have something fixed that I had already paid to have done...but at least it will be done and I'm sure this dr will do a better job and even smooth out the hip area. Keep pointing out your upper ab area to Dr. T though! Who knows, since it is a small area he may fix it for you eventually. I don't think he likes to admit he didn't take enough out.

Yeah, I'm a nurse and I know that my upper abdomen is not just having problems with retraction. I know it's just fat that wasn't taken out. :( My upper abdomen wasn't sore, didn't have any bruising, or lumps so I don't even think it had to go through any healing. I'm sure it did to an extent, but barely. So, I agree with you! It's mainly my left upper quadrant that I have an issue with so at least it's such a small area. Otherwise, I'm still happy with my results..I just wish I was 100% happy with it since it is so expensive and no one ever wants to go in for revisions... I'm hoping that I'll still look good once everything is healed though. I'm not even 3 weeks post op yet, so I need to just be patient before judging.
Which doc are you going to for your revision? Have you had any botox or juvederm by Dr. Truong?

Dreyfuss in Orland Park; he's a great PS and such a very nice, easy-going person that I like a lot. I also have a double-bubble due to too much scar tissue in one of my breasts from a BA he did several years ago and he's going to fix it at no charge when I get the lipo; I think that is just wonderful of him especially since the original BA was a good 7 yrs ago---he just said no problem, it's easy and we'll take care of it. No, I haven't done anything other than SmartLipo with Dr. T and I don't know if I ever will again. I like the benefits of SL but it seems like I get better results with regular lipo, although it may be the dr. that really makes the difference. Your abs are definitely better and since it's only been a couple of weeks or so, it may resolve itself but just keep mentioning it at your f/up visits and since it is so small he may just do it although I bet you'll have to at least pay the $500 fee but if it's fixed then it's worth it. Keep posting your progress and I'll keep reading and throwing in my 2 cents worth, LOL!

Oh wow!! He's fixing everything for no charge?! That's amazing! I'll definitely check him out if my issue isn't resolved in a few months...or I might just do coolsculpt to fix the little spot, because I don't know if it's really worth it to actually go through the whole procedure again. How do your incision sites look btw? Are they still visible? Best of luck with the revisions girl!!!! Hope to see a review to see your progress! =] and thanks for all the input!

Just the breast....guess I have some scar tissue built up that needs to be "released" as he puts it and since I'm having the lipo he'll do it then otherwise if I went just for the "release" I'd probably have to pay for the OR. He's great though, acts just like a regular guy, like your next door neighbor. I wish now I would have just stuck with him all along. I've read a lot of bad things about Coolsculpt---it's expensive, it hurts a lot and for a long time, doesn't always work, and causes problems down the road so you may want to really, really look into that. I haven't noticed my incision spots at all come to think of it so they must be long gone. Good luck to you too and keep trying to get a revision from Dr. T!

I did coolsculpt on my lower abdomen a couple years ago and got great results from it! ...And then I went back to school and gained the weight back hahah. Glad to hear that the incisions from smartlipo went away though! I was concerned about it since I have 5 on my abdomen. 1 of them you can barely see though.

Are you putting any scar cream on your incisions? I think I did, at least sometimes and it has been a few months since I had it done. I tried TruSculpt (uses heat vs. cold) on my knees, thighs, arms, abs but it didn't work on me so that's why I ended up going with the SmartLipo.

Which scar cream are you using? I've been using Mederma PM, but not sure if it's helping hehe. I know it's still early to really tell.

I'm not using it anymore but the last cream I used was ScarGel or something like that name. Got it from the Dr. (for free) It's a silicone gel and the tiniest bit goes the longest way. Where did you go for coolsculpting? I saw a magazine ad for Coolsculpting of the chin and I could use that. Don't want to do lipo there because of the bruising...did you have bruising with CS?

Hey! I used coolsculpting for my lower abdomen and got great results! I didn't see the results until about after a month and a half though. I didn't have any bruising with CS! =] Only thing is that I had a good amount of numbness and tingling for about 3 weeks.

Hello! The results on my arms are quite subtle, but it makes a big difference to me on how my clothes fit! =] Now, I feel like I have a head start on toning up.