Smart Lipo - 39 Year Old Male - Abdomen and Flanks - Houston, Texas

It has been a week since my surgery and I’m still undecided rather it was worth it. I understand everyone’s situation is different but there are so many things the doctor and advertising doesn’t tell you. There were very little testimonies on line by men my age that fit my body type and the pictures you see may show a big difference (before & after) but I was not able to find the timeframe or progression in which it took them to get there.
I had my follow up Monday, April 2, 2012: The doctor said everything looked good; he was surprised at the amount of bruising I had but told me it would completely go away. The bruising seems to get lighter each day and is a light red color today. The “lumps” I have are referred to as seroma and the doctor says they should heal in about four weeks and I will see the area get even flatter. Overall; my follow up was positive. The wait just sucks!!! The garment is so uncomfortable and the doctor told me to wear it as much as possible. I will return for a follow up in three weeks. I did complete a real good workout yesterday for the second time since surgery and have no problems from the procedure – although I have not done any abdominal exercises but plan on starting out slow later this week and see how that goes.
If you are considering this procedure, mentally prepare yourself by understanding that you are not “turning heads the next day” Read as many testimonies as you can as well as research (from a valid source). I would even recommend taking several days off after the surgery if you can. I returned the next day and although I made it, you need to rest and the amount of swelling and sourness will impact how your clothes fit and wearing the garment is no fun.
My abdomen seems larger today prior to the surgery and that could be the swelling but my clothes seem to fit better each day even with the garment on. I just tell myself to be patient, I knew it would take several months before I saw any results and I am confident I will look back and say it was worth it!

After several months of research, I decided to schedule a consultation for Smart Lipo. I begin working out in March 2011 and by the end of 2011, I had lost 58 lbs. I actually lost more than 58 lbs since muscle weighs more and I had gained and toned a lot of my body. Today I weigh 193 after surgery and a year ago I weighed 258 before surgery. No matter what I did, I could not get rid of my “muffin top” or “spare tire”. Smart Lipo seemed like a solution that would work for me and I felt confident after speaking with the doctor I would be happy with the results. The doctor told me I would still have some skin, but my stomach would be flatter and skin tighter. I didn’t set my expectations that high either (just my personality). My surgery was March 27th at 9am. I was nervous since I had never done anything like this before. I was taken and prepped for surgery immediately and met with the doctor for a quick review of what would happen. They gave me some pain pills and a valium (which barley made me tired), rubbed me down with iodine and laid me on the exam table. The doctors came in within minutes and begin giving me shots for pain in the abdomen. Shortly after, he begins with the tumescent fluid which took about ten minutes and we would let that sit for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes later the doctor started the suctioning process, no real pain – lots of pressure and vibration. It took about fifteen minutes for the suctioning of the abdomen and he asked me to turn over on my left side and performed the same process as well as the twenty minute wait time for the fluid to settle. This continued for the right side and my back. It was a little after 11 am and he was finished and asked me to turn over on my back. So far so good; no pain just a little uncomfortable from a “lumbar” pad you have to lay on at all times but no problem. The doctor tells me he was going to start working on my stomach and this must me the smoothing and sculpting part of the surgery. This is where I got real uncomfortable and started to feel pain in my abdomen. It wasn’t unbearable and the doctor stopped and added the tumescent fluid when I alerted him that it hurt. This was the worst part of the surgery, not only the pressure and vibration but the pulling and pushing on my abdomen. Not unbearable though but made me nervous and it lasted about 20 minutes. Finally; the doctor looks at me and says, “You’re all done.” The nurse helps me up, applies my bandages and the compression garment. I felt great! Left the clinic and went to have lunch with my friend that picked me up. Day of Surgery at Home: The nurse told me it would be okay for me to wait an hour and take my bandages off to shower. That was a mistake! I started to bleed a lot which was a mixture of blood and fluid – just enough to make me light headed and cause me to lie on the floor for ten minutes. I got up and in the shower to rinse off, apply the bandages and garment. I rested the remainder of the day and went to bed about 8 pm because I intended to go to work the next day. I woke up several times throughout the night as I turned because I was sore and the garment didn’t make it easier. I did get up a couple of times and pick at the bandages to make sure no heavy bleeding. Everything seemed okay. Day 1 returned to work: Woke up early and felt good. Hard to get out of the bed but once I was up, I was moving around like normal. My stomach was sore and felt tender when I touched it. Had breakfast and got ready for a shower. Took the garment off and bandages. The bandages did have a lot of blood but no leakage through, I took a shower with no bleeding just a little pain as I washed the surgical area and bent over to wash below my waist. The pain was not unbearable – felt like I had just completed 100 sit-ups. Reapplied the bandages, garment, got dressed and headed to work. Throughout the day, I seem to be swelling in my stomach and it got more uncomfortable as the day progressed. I just got up and walked around a lot which seemed to help. I made it through the day and sent home that evening to rest. Day 2: The soreness is getting worse as well as the swelling. I only used band-aids today, since there were minimal traces of blood on the large pillow bandages. Today was about the same, swelling increases throughout the day and still tender and sore. Went home to rest knowing I had one more day to work. The only noticeable differences are my flanks. I can really tell they are smaller and do not hang over. Day 3: Really disappointed and regretting the surgery today. I noticed hard lumps along with black bruising under my abdomen and around my belly button. I am very tender and swollen still but the bleeding has completely stopped and I don’t see any problems with the incisions. I showed and put on my garment wrap. As far as the soreness; it seems to be less but the swelling progresses throughout the day. Day 4 & 5: Saturday and Sunday Not really seeing any changes other than the bruising which is getting worse. I’m a little concerned about the lumps and glad my follow up is on Monday. The garment seems to be getting loose but I’m not sure if that is the swelling going down or the garment is stretching. I returned to the gym on Sunday and did all my regular routines with no pain or problems form the surgery. Day 6: Monday Day of Follow up: Feel really good today, physically. Very little pain and its only when I get up or sit down, especially in my car. My bruises are a light purple now but I still have the lumps. This morning when I took off my garment, it seemed it got loose overnight and for the first day I could tell my stomach looked smaller. I can even tell my skin is tighter. The skin being tight could be the swelling. I will have a lot of questions for the doctor today. I will post more of my experience as time permits.