Only 48 hours in the garment!

I had chin liposuction & FaceTite with Dr. Smith in July 2021. I am only about one month post-op, so I have not achieved my full results, but I am already very happy with my results so far. The *massive* advantage of going to Dr. Smith is that he only recommends that you wear the compression garment after surgery for 48 hours, because research shows that wearing it for more than that time doesn't significantly aid recovery. Most local docs advise a minimum of 4 days to even months in the garment! This was huge for my recovery because I didn't want to hide out at home for a week and I had some calls to take the following week. Again, I can't stress enough how happy I was about that, as I was the most nervous about my recovery than the procedure itself (what if someone drops by sees me in the head wrap? ahh!). I had to wear it at night while sleeping for one week because I also had Facetite, but if you're just going for lipo, it's only 48 hours. The other significant advantage is that his pricing is better than a lot of the top docs that do facial contouring. I'm pretty sure for just chin lipo, his price is ~$3.5k. Another doc quoted me ~$5k+ for just the chin lipo. Even though I'm 26 with good skin, Dr. Smith advised that I also do FaceTite because I previously had Kybella treatments, which results in scar tissue that might hinder my best results with solely lipo. While this added about $1k to my expenses, I agreed that I should maximize my results. I didn't feel like he suggested this to make more money, which I appreciated. Dr. Smith's team is extremely nice and helpful. I had a lot of questions about recovery leading up to the procedure and they answered everything within 24 hours. Dr. Smith was unlike the other surgeons I had consults with -- he was not arrogant and he didn't try to play the whole thing off like it's no big deal. I can tell that he's a genuinely kind person and would never try to up-sell you on random procedures. The procedure itself was not very painful. The initial numbing was the most uncomfortable part, but it was very fast. After that, I felt pretty much nothing, except the vibration of the machine. I got to select my music and Dr. Smith would frequently check-in on how I was feeling. I was nervously cracking jokes ("I feel like I'm at a dinner party") and they played along with me. It really felt like I was at the dentist and I can truly say that it was less painful than my last dentist appointment (I'll say my dentist is aggressive and doesn't let me pick the music). So if you're nervous, think about it like you're going to the dentist because that's the closest thing to it. The recovery was way easier than I anticipated. I was very nervous about bruising because I normally bruise a lot. I didn't want people to assume that my husband was hurting me or that I got in a brawl. I started taking vitamedica supplements 2 weeks before and after, and also used an arnica cream on my bruises. I also ate a pretty clean diet with a lot of greens, fruit, and lean protein with very little salt. The bruises looked pretty intense at first, but I was surprisingly able to cover them entirely with dermablend concealer with no problem. I iced them and applied the arnica cream regularly, and they were nearly gone within 5 days. They were completely gone aside from a general yellow tint to part of my neck by day 7. I had purchased a gaiter mask before the procedure so that I could cover the entire area just in case. It did feel nice knowing confidently that I could leave the house and nobody would see my stitch or any bruises. I'm pretty sure I got groceries on Day 3 and I was totally fine. I only took one of the painkillers the night of the procedure, but I probably didn't need to. The pain wasn't bad at all. At one month in, I have some lumps and bumps. On my left side, I have a pretty big lump under part of my chin and my jawline that basically just looks like fat (not a bump). I massage my face regularly and it has significantly decreased. My right side is looking better than my right, but it'd be hard to tell unless you were actively looking for the difference. I'm told that all of this is normal and it will go away eventually. My double chin is nearly entirely gone, and I have a jawline for the first time in forever. I would be pretty satisfied if these were my final results. In short, if you're considering local NYC docs -- Dr. Smith is an incredible doc, has very reasonable prices for the local market (I'm pretty sure he offers chin lipo for $3,500, I was quoted $5k+ elsewhere), and only advises that you wear the garment for 48 hours. Results are awesome! The photo currently posted was only taken at 1.5 weeks post-op. I know that the angle isn't perfect, but the results are very dramatic! My close friend told me my jawline looked awesome last week and I didn't even tell her I had anything done. I will try to post an update soon.