My Journey of Lower Body Lift with Liposuction

Today is one calendar month since my procedure. Healing is going well, other than minor common things; spitting stitches, liposuction nerve pain and swelling.
A few areas I would advise others to watch; the "V" at the bottom back incision is in my crack. It is very thin skin and I notice it can easily get raw and sting. It is still healing and the scars are red and raised for now. I keep gauze or lipo foam over it to cushion it, as I have a sitting desk job and a fractured hip. Yes, I fractured my hip and thought it was a spine issue before my procedure. MRI was on April 6 and they found the fracture. I see a surgeon for that in May. So, I can't do a lot of walking and I am on my bum far more than I want to be.
The emotional part of healing can sometimes be rough. This first month is full of self questioning and doubt. I wonder if my stomach will always swell. I wonder about the scar. I wonder if I will be able to maintain the way I look. Sometimes when I am swollen and tired, I am angry that I did this to myself. Well, I know these are all COMMON and NORMAL emotions to have. I've been sleeping in my bed since day one post op. I used wedges and lots of pillows. To keep my neck straight I used a travel pillow. This worked really nice. By three weeks, I was trying to sleep flat and on my side. My thighs hurt from the lipo, other than that I was fine. Now at one month post op, I can only feel a little tenderness on my outer thighs and it's going away. My lower back still aches from swelling and lipo pain. I've been straight since the first couple days post op, so I didn't have the muscle back aches I see so many complain about. I have a hard knot on the right side of my bellybutton that runs about five inches long and one inch wide. My PS thinks it may be from a broken vessel. It should have absorbed by now, but I notice it is still there and a little tender in one small spot.
The tummy skin is getting looser now that swelling is subsiding some. I honestly did not like being so tight that I felt my skin was going to rip. I still have a nice tummy but it isn't flat flat unless I really suck it in. I'm ok with that at almost 55 years old.
I am still wearing undershirts, lipo foam and fajas, although I am slowly transitioning to spanx. The lipo foam keeps the skin from feeling like sandpaper against anything that touches it. I am thankful all my jeans were way too large before I got the procedure. They are ok to wear over a faja, if I wear the foam as a barrier to avoid nerve pain.
Constipation: It has been my worst nightmare. Stool softeners don't touch it. While I was taking meds for the nerve pain in my hip and for the nerve pain on my stomach hips and back, I could only have a good movement of my bowels with ELEVEN laxatives. So, I quit all the medication and for the last week, I have been much better.
I will add photos to this review when I get some taken. I weigh 166 pounds this morning in my faja and undershirt.

I arrived in Salem, Oregon on March 15 and stayed at a hotel that offers a kitchenette and full size refrigerator. I am staying a full week and will return home after my one week follow-up on 3.23.23 because I live approximately 300 miles away over the Cascade Mountains. That isn't a fun drive for 9 months of the year.
I had my procedure done at Northbank Surgery Center on March 16th 2023. The nursing staff and anesthesiologist (Dr. Clark) were amazing and helpful so I wasn't afraid at all. When I woke up, I was wearing a Moderna Recovery garment that covered my thighs to my ribcage under my breasts. I had four drains and they are the worst part, so far, of this experience. I blistered from the silicone drains rubbing against my abdomen and the blisters broke and they could possibly scar a little. I have rectified that problem by wearing a soft seamless tank under the garment and not allowing anything other than gauze, triple antibiotic ointment and a tee-shirt to touch my skin. Be careful not to let the drains get pulled around. They stretch and yank and pinch.
Because my hotel room doesn't have a recliner, I used bed wedges to help prop me up. However, the torque against my lower bottom sutures of twisting around in order to get in and out of bed, opened up about a 4 in area behind my right hip. Dr. Christiansen used the running stich and restitched it in his office on my one day post op appointment. That side was very painful and the drain would not stay deflated because it was pulling air from the incision site. The sutures worked well, although it was sore. To prevent more separation of my incisions, I am using a large thin cutting board to sit on, then I easily spin around to where I need to be, and pull the cutting board out from under my bottom. After the drain was repaired and the incision fixed so it couldn't pull air through, the drain began functioning and all was well.
Talk about SWELL HELL.... Today is day four of post op. My abdomen is extended. I have finally had my first bowel movement after four full days and nine hours post surgery. I was trying to have a movement before my surgery without much success. It required taking heavy doses of Miralax, about 10 laxatives over the last two days and two stool softeners every day, and a LOT of walking. Words of advise; DO NOT IGNORE having a bowel movement. Today I was miserably distended. Tonight after eating oysters and prune juice (doesn't even sound good) I finally cut loose. My last resort would have been a full enema. Thank goodness my body is waking up.
So, back to my review; I met Kylee today in person. She is a Certified Medical Assistant and I have spoke to her on the phone a few times and through email. She's very friendly and knowledgeable. Today I was lucky enough to get two drains from my backside removed. It hurt a little on the side that was only vacuuming my flesh and was burning. It feels nice to only have two drains in front now. The drain tubes are a silicone material and when put against my tummy under the tight garment, they rubbed and created blisters. It was really painful. The liposuction doesn't hurt. I am very bruised but that is all it feels like is a bad bruise. I am not experiencing nerve pain at all.
My hooo haah, has been lifted up and it looks youthful again. No "Ken Doll Syndrome". If you use your visual imagination, you can figure out what I am talking about. I won't have that problem when I wear leggings. Thanks to Dr. C for paying attention to the little details.
My surgery took less than five hours. That is pretty sweet. Lipo to literally remove my saddlebags, lipo to my bra line, flanks and back. The areas are a bit tender but they really do not hurt. I can already see results. So far so good. I am so happy to have instinctively chosen this surgery group. Neaman Plastic Surgery and Medi Spa in Salem Oregon. Hit them up for a consultation. You will be glad you did.

I will update more after swelling and bruising goes away and these final two drains are gone.

This is just the beginning of my review of Dr. Dustin Christiansen who is a board certified plastic surgeon at Neaman Plastic Surgery in Salem Oregon. My Lower Body Lift with Muscle Repair, Lipo to flanks, upper back and outer thighs is two weeks from today, March 2nd 2023. My procedure is being partially covered by my insurance, so it will be done at Northbank Surgery Center, instead of the new facility at Neaman Plastics. I want to begin my review by mentioning the AMAZING assistants and coordinators at his office. Stephanie, Allison, Kylee and Alice, you are all so great at making sure I have all my information and so reassuring of my care. You even got more before and after photos of Dr. C's up on RealSelf, which was a great relief to me. Thank you ladies for being so kind to me. The best is yet to come! So, here is the beginning of my story: I was looking for providers in my network to do a panniculectomy. Dr. Keith Neaman was listed, so I researched him and really liked what I learned about him and his practice in Salem Oregon. I remember calling for a consultation in August 2022 to see Dr. Keith Neaman, but for what I was looking for, I was referred over to his partner, Dr. Dustin Christiansen. I had seen so many amazing reviews about Dr. Neaman, I asked the lady on the phone, "Is he as good as Dr. Neaman?" and the response was, "If he wasn't, he wouldn't be working here". I am so glad I took this consultation with Dr. Christiansen. On October 11, I arrived weighing 188 at 5' 9.3 inches tall. Dr. C came in to the room with a positive energy that I could feel. He listened to my concerns and my history. He looked over my body pretty well and I felt very comfortable in his presence. Because I had Gastric Bypass in 2007 and lost over 100 pounds, I am dealing with a lot of loose skin all around my lower trunk and upper buttocks. Dr. C and I agreed that a lower body lift (Belt Lipectomy) with lipo would be best for me. He submitted the request for a panniculectomy to my insurance and it was denied. I wrote an appeal, expressing how my skin condition at 54 years old was affecting my quality of life. They overturned the denial and I was approved for panniculectomy. I have upgraded to the belt lipectomy with muscle repair, lipo to flanks, upper back and outer thighs. I want to mention, I live 6 hours away from Salem Oregon. I live in a rural town in eastern Oregon in Harney County. The nearest major hospital is three hours away. I must be really impressed with Dr. C, to be willing to travel that far by car in the winter over some serious mountain passes filled with snow and ice right now. I will be staying a week in Salem to be close by after my procedure. Pre-Op Visit: February 22nd 2023--- My weight has reduced to 171 lbs +/- Dr. C and I met virtually for my pre-op visit. I had done all my labs and EKG which were ok. His assistant, Kylee, met with me first to go over my medical history over the phone. I was at work at the time, so we did the virtual meeting with Dr. C in my office. He is so professional. But, behind that professional exterior with his arms crossed (see photo above) I can see a sense of humor, and a true caring for his patients. I had a created a list of questions and he let me ask them first. His answers were spot on and clear. I feel I am going in to this procedure, which is very major, with no questions and clear expectations. I will update further with photos as I go through this journey.