High Volume Lipo African American Woman. Ellicott City, MD

So it has been 2 years since my lipo suction and the short response is, I am STILL very pleased with my results. My contour actually looks even better 2 years later. I will post pictures but please keep in mid that I had circumferential (360) tummy tuck with muscle repair 10 months after lipo. So the flat stomach you see is NOT a result of lipo! It is a result of a tummy tuck and actively managing my weight. The contour of the hips and waist that you see however is a direct result of good lipo. I will replicate here what I did with my One Year Tummy Tuck Update and that is break each response down in headers, that way if you don’t want to read the entire response, you can just go to the topic that interest you. If your interested in my tummy tuck journey or why I chose to do so, feel free to read my tummy tuck updates. Just click on my name and you will see the review for my tummy tuck.


Lumpiness

I did not experience this at all and truth be told it is because I went to an experienced BOARD CERTIFIED plastic surgeon. Lumpiness of the skin is a result of “over lipo” and is strictly attached to a doctor’s performance, not yours. Nothing you do in the recovery phase can help or prevent lumpiness if your surgeon was over aggressive and “over” lipoed you. Some doctors don’t know when to stop. I read often that women tell a surgeon to “over” lipo them and I cringe! And I cringe even more when the greedy surgeon takes their money and actually does it instead of educating the patient! Anyway as I said, I did not have that problem. I did experience tightness and hardness post lipo which took 6 months to soften, and that is because of the adrenaline used during lipo. My skin returned to its natural soft state and remans soft to this day post tummy tuck.


Pre and Post Waist Measurements

As I put in my tummy tuck response, I am often asked this question and I don’t have an answer because I did not take any measurements of my waist or hips pre lip surgery or pre tummy tuck surgery. However I can tell you it was bad in my opinion of my own body!!! I’m not saying that the following sizes are bad by any means because they are not but for my personal body I was not ok with these sizes. I was wearing a 12 or 14 bottom and my breast and hips/butt have always been big, so that measurement was a 38G for my breast. After lipo I was down to a size 6, but went back up to a 8 due to weight gain. Post lipo and tummy tuck I am back down to a size 6. My new bra size is a 34H and My new measurements taken by my doctor are 34-31-43.

Waist Trainer or Binder

I had been wearing a waist trainer at night for comfort reasons all the way up to 8 months post my tummy tuck Around that time I felt I was using it as a crutch because I simply forgot what it felt to sleep without it, so I begun wearing only 5 nights a week. The first night was weird, but once I got used to it, I quickly went down to only 3 nights a week, and now I am done to just once in a while. It actually feels better to sleep without it. Yes my waist is still the same size, it didn't grow ;) so you will be fine. The lipo what shaped my curves, not a waist trainer or binder. 2 years later, all my curves are still there. So I guess I can say that the lipo surgery and weight management have done the job, so put the cheese curls down and breathe girl! ;).




Numbness

I had both numbness and tightness all the way up to a year after lipo. I often read that many people get massages less than 3 days after surgery. I did not do that nor did my surgeon suggest it. He instead recommended I get massages roughly 6 months post op to help with numbness and tightness. Too each it’s own, just sharing what I did. I received all my feeling back after a year however I had tightness in my lower back. I had 4 massages monthly that added in breaking that tissue down and helping it return to normal. I then had a tummy tuck 10 months after and I discontinued the massages, also the numbness returned so I am not a good poster child for how to deal with numbness and tightness, I can not clearly say what happened because I had 2 surgeries on the same areas in less than a years time. I will say that I no longer have tightness in my lower back, 2 years later.

Contour

It’s still there and better. After my tummy tuck and additional weight loss (175 current and maintained weight) for the past year. I was well over 205+ pounds pre surgery, well over!), my waist shrunk another 2 inches landing at the 31 inches mark an I am happy with that. It is very proportionate to my body and with 43 inch hips it looks even smaller than 31 inches to the average eye. Dresses hug my body the way I want them to and my bikinis look like I want. Confidence starts inside. I was never aiming for perfection with any of these surgeries but instead looking for some touch up. I am very happy with both my body and my results and its not because I had surgery. You must come to peace with your inner self long before surgery happens. And if you don’t you will forever wanting to change something and miss your purpose in life. No shade to the who have had multiple surgeries, do what makes you happy, however don’t think surgery will bring your inner peace!

So I have not updated this post because I had a Tummy Tuck 5 months ago and I have been focusing on those updates, however it has been a year and three months since this surgery and I do think I should update this. I will also try to find a picture to do a comparison of pre lipo, lipo, and than Tummy Tuck.

So as I mentioned I had high volume liposuction over a year and three months ago. I have mentioned this before and I will say it again because I get lots of questions about this. Lipo is not weight loss surgery, so if you are doing it to lose weight, you will be disappointed. I did it to get rid of stubborn fat that would never leave my stomach area even after working out 5 days a week. I also did it to contour my waist. I initially lost weight post surgery, however gained it back from lack of exercise and not eating correctly. I say that to say that no plastic surgery replaces old fashioned eating habits and exercise. So I got back on the wagon and lost more weight. The more weight I lost, the looser the skin around my stomach got post lipo. With that said, I am still incredibly pleased with my lipo results and would do it again. The surgery alone changed my life for the better both in confidence and eating habits. My waist was the smallest it had ever been in my adulthood and I am also very pleased with the contour. I did begin massages at the 6 month mark to help with scar tissue that had built up in my back. It is all but gone except for my lower back and that is because I stopped them due to having another surgery and will resume at my TT 6 month mark. I am confident with a couple massages it will be gone.

The one thing that changed the most around the 7 or 8 month mark was the softening of my skin. When having lipo your skin gets hard due to the adrenaline used during surgery and the process. Your skin will soften and return back to normal with no lumps or bumps as long as your surgeon did not “over lipo” or become to aggressive during surgery. In my experience, the hardness helped in keep my stomach flat and hold everything in. Combined with the weight loss and my skin softening, I was not happy with the loose skin. I knew this could be a possibility post surgery because my surgeon was very clear that this would happen. I then had a tummy tuck (10 months post lipo) and because I had lipo already, I did not need anymore and post my TT, my waist has shrunken down 3 more inches. If you are interested in my TT journey, the info is on my page.

All in all I am very pleased with my lipo over a year later. I would do it all over again in the same order and the only thing I would change is I would have done it sooner! Good luck with your journey and remember to claim your happiness because no one else will do it for you!