44y/o Wanting to Get my Curves Back - Slim Lipo NO BBL - Jacksonville, FL

Like the many other reviews I have read, I workout 5x a week and try to eat clean but I had those stubborn areas that would not go away. I had been considering some form of liposuction for a while but thought it was for "rich folks." I am a single mother of a 15 y/o who usually sucks up all of my money. So I happened across a Groupon for vaser lipo for $1199 per section. I figured this could work if I only got my upper and lower abs done. I went to the consultation and the young lady was not convincing at all. She started her statement with "we have a lot of people complain that it did not work because they do not ware the CG. She then looks at me crazy and asked if I could wear the CG all day." From there the consult went down hill when I asked when do I meet the doctor. She tells me I do not meet the doc until the day of surgery....RED FLAG I left knowing this was not right especially since I was at a dermatology clinic and the doc was a dermatologist. I politely had Groupon refund my money.

My next consult was with a young lady I got to know from having my vein treatments. The doc she worked for did smart lipo and we reviewed before and after pics and discussed some pretty go pricing because she could "hook a sister up" but since I had found RS by this time I knew to do my homework. Come to find out, this doc was an Ob/Gyn who was now into doing cosmetic treatments and holistic health. I because extremely annoyed at the fact that you had to be a board certified plastic surgeon to do a BA but did not have to be board certified to do lipo procedures.

My third consultation was with Dr. Obi which I describe below in my review of him and his staff. I thought he would be out of my reach financially because he as been doing plastic surgery longer than I have been on this earth. He has pioneered many surgical techniques and was the first in the country to have a state and federally approved clinic facility to do surgery. Thus, if anything were to happen to me on the table, I was in great hands. After our consult and I went home thinking I can swing the $4900, I called back to ask if the doc could remove a cyst from my inner thigh hairline. It was not covered under my insurance but he agreed to do it for $500. This now became a win-win for me because having the cyst removed by my gynecologist would cost about $2700-$3000. So it only made financial sense to have it removed during the slim lipo procedure.

I did a second consult with another local board certified plastic surgeon just to weigh my odds. Plus this doc does BBL. He told me the same things Dr. Obi said about being a good candidate and what areas needed to be treated. Of course, I asked about the butt lift. He took a look at my butt and said that it did not need any work. That's good because I was not looking for what of those super dunks anyway. Well, his price quote was $4200 and no extras except the CG. I also learned that access to the PS after surgery was important and they both offered that.

I had my pre-op on 8/10/15 and made my payment. I was given instructions, prescriptions and arnica pills. PS insist that losing weight after the procedure will help with results too. BTW, 5'7" and 195lbs. I would love to be at 160-170lbs. Surgery took place on 8/27/15 and I have been feeling good since the surgery day. I have never had any type of surgery or anaesthesia, so this was a first for me. I had a general where I was breathing on my own so I could talk to them if needed. I do remember saying it hurt a couple of times and them telling me to turn over a couple of times. I had upper and lower abs, flanks and bra rolls plus the cyst removed. The CG garment was not super tight but the ice bags helped. I took the oyx just to stay on top of any pain that may come. All the sights say that on the third day is when it really hits. Well, I thank God that is not me. I have had minimum pain, more like a dull ache. I am already only using Tylenol if needed. I have swelling which is expected but put my waist training corset on to help with the skin tightening and swelling. I would not consider my drainage excessive but I did go to the bathroom a lot. At my next day post-op visit there was still some drainage from my two lower incisions. I was told in two weeks to switch to some spanx for compression. I was also told to purchase a baby rolling pin to smooth out any lumps and help with swelling. Honestly, I don't have any lumps and the most tinder part of my body, lower abs, are not feeling fine. I finally showed my daughter how I looked without any of the bandages or CG and she said I look great. This is big since she truly knows how my body looks nude.

All in all, my surgery was uneventful which is a good thing in my book. I went in with realistic self image goals and I think I am at an excellent starting point. I will post pics once I figure out how to do it. I am scheduling lymphatic massages as I know they are needed to help with full drainage and I have been doing the self lymphatic breathing and rubbing. I am starting to feel a little strange for not having any pain to complain about as I have read so often - but I would not trade my experience for anyone elses. I love me.

Yesterday marked my 1 week post op. I first noticed swelling about four days post op. I think it started because I hit the gym too hard as I was feeling really good. Mainly the lower abs have the most swelling. Today I had my sutures removed from my cyst area which is healing just fine. I also received my new CG a Vedette 136. I love it. It gives me the full coverage strong compression I need and its cute too. I hope this will help with the swelling. I want to go back to the way I looked on day 1 post op. As far as weight I am maintaining 188-189. Starting point was 196 according to my scale and 200 according to PS scale:-) Dr. Obi is always attentive at my follow ups making sure the entry points are healed.

These were taken by the nurse when they were prepping me for surgery.