Vaser Lipo with Brazilian Butt Lift, Underarm Fat Removal, Fat Transplant to Hands and Feet - Istanbul Turkey

Hello ladies. I want to share my Brazilian butt lift surgery journey with you in the hope that it helps someone out there. I have been reading the reviews on this site and have found them very useful, so thought I would return the compliment by sharing my experience.
Scenario
I am 48 years old (49 next week), 5ft tall and weigh 53kg. I have put on 4 kg in the past month to ensure I have enough fat for harvesting. I have never had concerns about my weight however my two pregnancies have stretched my stomach so much that no amount of exercising is going to get me the flat stomach I dream of. In addition the ageing process has redistributed the fat so that my butt is now looking quite flat and I have gained fat pockets underneath my armpits.
Although I am going for the bbl procedure my main concern has always been my stomach. Initially I had decided to go for a tummy tuck, however it would have meant that I would not have had any fat left if I decided to have a butt lift at a later date, so a butt lift had to come first. Also my surgeon thinks I may not need a tummy tuck depending on the results I get from the vaser lipo, however I am not convinced because even with the vaser’s tightening ability I don’t think the skin will be tight enough.
There was an option offered by some clinics to have the tummy tuck and the bbl done together and despite it being cost effective I didn’t feel it was a good idea to put my body through so much trauma and given that bbl requires resting on the stomach I didn’t see how this would have been possible. So I have decided to go for the bbl, followed by tummy tuck in 6 months time if needed.
Surgeon selection
After much research I decided to go with Dr Mehmet Veli Karaaltin who is based in Istanbul Turkey at the Acibadem hospital. He was introduced to me by Zahid Hamid from Euromed Tours who highly recommended him. In my independent research I found Dr Karaaltin to have good credentials and he was a fellow member of European Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. However I could not find any reviews on him. This did make a little nervous but after having a skype conversation with him he put me at ease and instilled confidence in his ability to deliver the desired results. He spoke very good English so this helped in communicating my desired results without any danger of misinterpretation.
In terms of costs I was quoted between £2400 to £3000 for the procedure from 3 other clinics. Dr Karaaltin is close to £3900 (this also included £250 paid to Euromed Tours) but I decided that it was worth paying the extra for a state of the art hospital and a reputable surgeon. I just hope I am not wrong because in part the decision to go with him is based on a gut instinct.
The decision to go ahead with the surgery was decided at the beginning of December 2015 and the surgery has been scheduled for 12th January 2016. The reason for the rapid decision is because I am going on a cruise on the 20th February and I want to be healed enough to enjoy the holiday with a big bootie.
2 days before surgery – 10th January 2016
Up until today I haven’t had time to think about the surgery too much. I have been too focused on the practicalities and getting through xmas and new year, however it hit me when I started packing that this was for real. The panic lasted for a couple of hours but I knew this is what I have wanted and now it was so close.
1 day before the surgery – 11th January 2016
Today I flew out from London Luton to Atartuk Istanbul airport with Atlasjet Airlines. I had some problem at Istanbul airport with immigration and had to clear passport control with 3 different officers. I think they were making sure that a single Asian woman travelling on her own from Britain wasn’t out here for the wrong reasons. It did make me smile thinking if they only knew that I was out here to get a bigger bootie ?
The organisation by the Acibadem hospital was excellent. There was a stand at the airport and the assistant called the hospital car as soon as I arrived and had me transported immediately. I didnt get to the hospital until 8 pm and the interpreter had stayed on late to make sure I was checked into the hospital ok. The hospital itself looks more like a 5 star hotel than a hospital. My only gripe is that the nurses speak very little English and once the interpreter is gone it’s difficult to communicate with them but somehow I am managing to get by although I do have a telephone number of the interpreter in case something urgent comes up.
As far as I know I am having all my tests done in the morning and the surgery after midday. I am lying in my hospital bed and looking forward to tomorrow.

It's the day of the surgery and I have had my pre-ops done. Waiting for the surgeon to come along so I can have a final chat to him before the surgery. Feel very calm and just wanted it done now so I can get on with the recovery. Here are some before pictures for you ladies xxx

Apologies for the delay in posting. On the day of the surgery Dr Karaaltin visited me and we discussed the desired outcomes. He then mapped out areas where I wanted to have the lipo together with areas of fat transplant. Dr Karaaltin was very reassuring and put me completely at ease.
When I came out of surgery I did panic a little as I couldn’t speak because my body temperature was so low that I was shivering uncontrollably. I could hear the nurses call my name but I just couldn’t respond. It wasn’t long before they had my body temperature back to normal. I wasn’t in any pain just discomfort.
Day 1 post surgery - I was very surprised that I only experienced discomfort in my upper body. I expected to be in pain. My feet however throbbed and it was agony putting weight on them, which made walking very difficult. I was on a IV drip during the night and this continued the first day post op. Dr Keraaltin visited in the morning and he told me everything went well, however they were only able to insert 400 cc in each butt due to lack of fat. The hands and feet each had 20 cc. I was disappointed but I was just so glad that I had made it to the other side. I spent most of the day asleep. I didn’t require pain relief for the upper body but I definitely needed it for my feet.
Day 2 post surgery – I had a decent nights sleep but felt a little low due to the discomfort in my feet. The upper body discomfort was manageable. Still finding it difficult to walk so Dr Karaaltin injected some local pain relief into the soles of the feet. This was sheer agony but allowed me to walk without too much pain. I was scheduled to be discharged today but Dr Karaaltin felt it would be better for me to stay an extra night. This was arranged for me at no extra cost. I was so grateful for this because I didn’t feel confident leaving the hospital and it demonstrated that he genuinely cared about his patients and it wasn’t all about profits.
Today I also had my first bowel movement with the help of oil and sugar syrup. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Day 3 – post surgery – I had a comfortable night and noticed that during the night my feet stopped throbbing and the discomfort in my upper body was much better. I was able to turn over in bed much easier. Today the nurses helped me to shower. I have to say I underestimated how difficult this would be. When the nurse removed my corset and I saw my body I became light headed and faint. I was so glad I had the nurse help me as I don’t think I could have showered by myself. After the shower I felt completely drained and fell asleep for a couple of hours. I was discharged in the evening after being checked over by Dr Karaaltin. He gave me his personal phone number and told me to contact him direct if I had any problems or questions. I went to a hotel and spent the night by myself. This was probably the lowest point for me because I felt so alone and far away from my family. I was in discomfort and my feet were still painful to walk on. Everything I did took so much effort and I felt weak. I was also feeling a little nauseous so I had to force myself to eat so that I had enough strength to travel back home. Today questioned my decision to have surgery abroad. I felt very alone and emotional. I would suggest to anyone going abroad for surgery to take someone with them. I did it on my own because I didn’t want to put anyone out but trust me you need that help and familiar face to keep your spirits up.
Day 4 post surgery - I had my final check up with Dr Karaaltin , who was happy with the progress I was making. Because he is part of the European Board of Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery I was eligible to take out an insurance policy at minimal cost which insured me for any complications and revisions in a country of my choice. This meant that if there were any complication when I fly back to UK then I can get it sorted in my home country without having to fly back to Turkey. This is invaluable service in my opinion.
Day 5 post surgery – I flew back today and used the wheelchair service at the airport because my feet are still sore. The flight was for 4 hours and I did get a little stiff and uncomfortable. I would definitely recommend that one travels light because there is still discomfort and the last thing you want to worry about is carrying heavy baggage. I was glad to get home and be with my loved ones. It made me realise how much they meant to me and how lonely I was without them.
My verdict so far is: The hospital was absolutely brilliant. It had all the mod cons and I felt safe because it was a multidisciplinary hospital so if there any complications then I know the experts were on hand to deal with them. The nurses; although they spoke limited English were very caring and attentive. They did everything to make me comfortable and nothing was too much trouble. The surgeon Dr Karaaltin I cannot fault. He is approachable and very easy to talk to. He is accessible which for me was very important. I didn’t need to go through a third party to talk to him because he was on the end of the phone. After my discharge he whatsapp the next morning to enquire how I was feeling. I have kept in touch with him daily since then and this really reassuring for me. . In terms of results this is yet to be seen. I am disappointed that I don’t have a dome shaped bottom but I like the surgeon said he didn’t have enough fat to work with. So whether this has been worth it or not will depend on what results I get once the swelling dies down.
Day 7 post surgery – last night I felt the change in the level of discomfort. I can move around and get in and out of bed quite easily. The discomfort is minimal in the upper body and getting better in the feet. The swelling is beginning to subside and the compression garment is feeling looser. Today I put my feet in the foot spa at Dr Karaaltin’s suggestion and by the evening there the bruises had externalised. I hope this means they are on the mend.
Day 8 post surgery – today when I removed by compression garment I noticed that the foam pads had left indentations into my skin. I decided to remove them, however the compression garment doesn’t feel as snug anymore. I have been reassured by Dr Karaaltin that the indentations will disappear. I am moving around without discomfort in my upper body and don’t really require any pain relief however I am still taking it in the form of Ibruprofen because that also has the anti-inflammatory which would be useful for the swelling. I have also been taking arnica, ginger and turmeric as these are also well documented anti inflammatories. I have also been taking Manuka honey as this is very good for healing. Today is the first day I have felt more like myself and itching to get on with my life.

It;s been 5 months since I had the brazillian butt lift and fat transferred to my feet and hands. I am posting some pictures so you guys can see the results of the bbl.

As for the experience since my last post. The swelling started to go down after about 6 weeks but unfortunately i developed some hard bits. Dr Karaaltin suggested I massaged the area and reassured me that it is only temporary. It is now 5 months and the hard bits are still there and distorting the left side of my waist. I am not sure exactly why it is happening but I am praying it will go away. Other than that I didnt experience any adverse effects and healed very well.

I have been asked what I think about my results. I would say look at the pictures and make up your own mind regarding the bbl. With regards to the hands and feet. The feet are slightly better than before although I still can't walk for long in heels, however the hands are a different story. They are wonderful and look so youthful. I am completely happy with them.

As for the fat transfer to the hands and feet. I am tr

Hello ladies - after stalking this site for many months last year I decided to go for a bbl in Turkey in Jan 2016. Unfortunately the results were a little disappointing. For round 2 I have decided to venture further afield and go to Dr Duran as you ladies keep raving about her and the pictures look damn good. From my research she seems like the best and as I have agreed with my partner to just give it one more shot I want to make it my best shot. The only problem is I asked for a quote 3 weeks ago and I still haven't received anything yet. I have been calling Stephanie at Surgicoordinator every day this week but still no luck. I want to have the surgery in October and there are couple of dates that have opened up but guess what? I can't book them until I receive a quote. It's so frustrating. Can any of you ladies suggest how I might be able to get a response?? I have tried whattsapping and calling Dr Duran but no luck. The messages don't even get read :( After seeing her work she is my number 1 choice with Yily close behind. I am not sure how long I can wait as Yily is getting booked up as well and I want this done before at least 8 weeks before xmas. Any advice would be most welcome from you ladies. xxx