I'm 26, and I Should've Had This Surgery Years Ago! - Houston, TX

Everything has healed nicely, and I think the results look really good. The only sign of the surgery that remains is the small incision scars on my sides. All swelling is gone, and my pecs feel normal and haven't been sore and tight-feeling for a few months now.

I'm about to go in for my two-week follow-up appointment. I thought it would be helpful to share my healing experience in the last 15 days or so. All of the bruises have disappeared, although my chest is still sore in areas. Other than soreness, the pain when resting (or not stretching too much) was minimal after the first week or so. However, I could not sleep on my side until the last few days or so... that was pretty annoying because I'm usually a side sleeper. The prescriptions (Valium and Hydrocodone) definitely helped me get to sleep for a while.

Although my nipples/areolas initially had some swelling and a little bit of bleeding (very minimal), that has now completely healed and the areola diameter seems smaller and more aesthetically pleasing now. The pectoral area of my chest and nipples still feel pretty sore and sensitive to pressure, but are not generally painful and the swelling is almost totally gone. The small liposuction incisions on my side had a very small amount of drainage each day for the first week, but I just applied fresh gauze and ointment every day and that was enough to take care of it with no problems. However, I left the gauze and tape on too long the first few days when I was stuck in bed, which made it irritate my skin and form blisters. Those blisters hurt worse than the incisions themselves! Now everything is pretty much healed up, and I only notice it if I try to stretch my arms too high.

I do feel like there is some slight asymmetry between my right and left nipple in terms of how they are positioned around the pec area... While my right side feels "right," the left side seems like it still has a small amount of swelling that is pushing it out a little in the downward direction. It's probably hard to see this from the pictures, as it's pretty minimal. It makes sense that the left side would swell more, because I'm pretty sure it had more glandular tissue than the right side. I'll talk to the surgeon today, but I'm pretty sure some slight swelling is normal for a few months.

Overall, I'm impressed with my speedy recovery. I'm hoping to hear that I can remove my compression vest today and begin cardio exercise to burn off that belly fat... we'll see!