Changing Body...Happy in the End

Prior to the surgery, I took the pre-op instructions seriously. In the past, I ate, drank...and didn't really follow pre-op diet instructions and I believe it increased bruising and recovery time.

This time, I drank tons of water, held off on alcohol 3 days prior and took the arnica along with Vitamin C supplements.

During the pre-op appointment, Dr. Buford consulted with me again and he answered all of my follow up questions, reviewed my measurements and desired results in detail. He then went over different types of implants and indicated which ones he would be ordering. He ordered several sizers, so he could also fit me, at the time of surgery. I was really impressed by his patience and time he took with me. I had A LOT of questions. Never did he seem short, curt or lost patience. He really took the time to listen to my concerns and addressed each and every one of them.

The morning of the surgery, my husband and I arrived at the surgery center early. Everything was standard there, and they got an IV in me almost immediately. Dr. Buford stopped by and the Anesthesiologist administered a relaxer, just before heading into the operating room.

When I woke up, I wasn't in a lot of pain, but I couldn't really move around much. A nurse helped me into my garment, which was the worst part. I had the foam pads (3 total) for the lipo and the the garment over it. Apparently, the company shipped the wrong one to the DR. office....the one I was supposed to receive zips up the side; while the one I had, was just "pull up". It was really tight.

Dr. Buford's office took care of ordering the garment. They also sent me home with 2 foam "donuts" about 8" in diameter each. These were used during surgery, to rest my head/face. They sent them with me, to sit on when I'm going to the bathroom. Once I got home, I wrapped them in plastic wrap, to keep them clean. These helped tremendously!

I took my pain medicine (Percocet) and was still a little out of it from the surgery, so I wasn't in a ton of pain. I just was not able to move fast at all...I was really just able to "shuffle" around, in slow motion. On the drive home, we just reclined the front seat and I laid on my stomach.

At home, I had the couch set up already, with pillows and blankets, so I just stayed on my stomach and occasional side. Pain was probably 2-3 out of 10. I stayed on top of the pain medicine, I staggered them. So, if I took 1 at 10AM, I would take another at 11AM...then take them each 4 hours within each other. This way, as one wore off, I had another cycle, without going over dose. This worked really well for me.

I had drains. Dr. Buford had them coming out of my butt, and kept the lines really long; so they came up the top of my garment, and were pinned to my side. They didn't bother me at all. My husband changed them often...every 2-3 hours.

The next day, I moved around the house quite a bit. No stairs; but stayed on my feet for several hours. The pain was still about 2-3...with pain meds, completely manageable.

Going to the bathroom was fine, those donuts were great. I couldn't tell my shape...with the foam in my garment, I still looked straight...but I could definitely see increased projection in my butt.

Implant Placement: Subfascia (between the muscle)
Implant Size/Shape: 220cc/High Profile
Garment: Veronique #1653 Size Medium

I will be posting more, including pictures.

Here are a few picture.