Vaser Hi-Def to Abs and Vaser to Chest/flanks

14th May 2013
1 day Pre-vaser

So I had been considering having Vaser done for about a year now and finally tomorrow is the day! This site has been not only useful for me to gather information but somewhat of a comfort to know that other people have been through the experience before me. This has been particularly informative given that I have travelled from the UK to Poland alone and not another person knows that I am undergoing the procedure.

About me: I workout a minimum of 5 days a week in the gym. I also swim competitively and I run marathons. However, I have always had this layer of fat, particularly around my abs and chest. Liposuction is not a lazy approach for me, I am only having it done because I have come to the realisation that I will never get defined abs with diet and exercise alone.

So I began researching liposuction and while watching a programme on BBC, 'Inside the Beautiful Body', I seen a young fit footballer who had a similiar shape as me and had decided to get vaser HD so that he could have a more defined and athletic look. I researched for months and came across plenty of UK surgeons that sounded great, but the cost was off-putting. So I came accross Dr Henryk Mekle from Katowice, Poland, who was able to offer vaser HD to my upper/lower abs and standard vaser to my chest and flanks, for half the cost. I would not chose a surgeon/clinic based solely on price so I made sure he was well qualified in vaser HD. I noticed that Dr Ravi Jain had thoroughly recommended him and he had performed thousands of procedures, so I contacted his assistant, Natasza. From first contact, Natasza was extremely helpful and I could not have got to this stage without her. She was extremely organised and has provided me with plenty of pre-op information and itineraries for my procedure. She also arranged an 'assistance package', where I was greeted at the airport and taken between the airport/hotel/clinic by an English speaking guide. Natasza emailed me yesterday specifically to remind me to bring a travel adapter so I may charge my phone/laptop while in Poland. What more can I ask!

Today I arrived at Krakow airport and was picked up by my guide and taken for blood tests and then on to my hotel. Not much to report here, everything went as planned. Right now I am in my hotel about to eat my last sandwich before traveling to the clinic on an empty stomach for my surgery. I have not yet met Dr Mekle in person, just spoke via phone, so I still have a few more questions for him.

Surgery is at 8am tomorrow so I hope to feel well enough to provide an update on tomorrow evening.

I have attached some photos, so you can see where I am at today.

John

So yesterday I had vaser hi-def to my abs and vaser on my chest/flanks. Cannot believe all these claims of a 'painfree procedure' where I can drive home and be back to work soon after. I am still in pain, walking like robocop and struggling to get in and out of bed. Not good! I believe things will get easier once the painful drains are removed and I get to remove the foam insert from my compression garment for my flight home to the UK. I have attached a photo which was taken last night, 12 hours following my procedure. There is a large lump on the left ribs which is not visible on the photo but I can even feel it through layers of foam compression :( I hope it goes soon. Any advice? Some comments on the photo would be great!

The past few days have not been great, I have been bored out of my mind in a hotel room alone in Poland, and the discomfort is still there. Very hard to get in/out of bed but as of today, this is getting easier. Looked a bit odd at brekafast this morning as I really struggle to sit down with the foam compression on...was hanging off the edge of my seat! But as I mentioned, this has all started to ease today and I am going home tomorrow, thank god!

Dr Mekle called to my hotel room today to save me the trouble of coming to the clinic. He removed my painful drains, changed my dressings and brought me some more painkillers and spare bandages to cover up the drain spits for a few days until all the leaking has entirely stopped, although Im happy to report that the leaking has stopped since the drains were removed. With the garment off, I got up and had my first real look in the mirror. I am delighted so far! Dr Mekle has advised me that swelling will take place and that I must wear the garment 24/7 and have regular massages to keep it looking good. Before leaving to go back to his hectic work schedule, he stayedto have a good chat about music and cars (he plays in a band, which I find impressive)...a genuine man who cares and gives his patients the time they deserve (I should also mention that during my stay in the clinic, Dr Mekle returned without me asking simply because the nurse couldnt understand what I was asking her about the aftercare, excellent care from him). So have a look at my updated photos and let me know what you think or if you have any questions, I know these blogs were a great source to me and still are today, I hope I can help someone else :)

Recovering well at home, no pain or painkillers, still discomfort getting up out of a chair but otherwise, recovery seems to be going well and I am very happy with results...counting the days until I can return to the gym and get fully back to normal! Swelling only on flanks, brusing still bad on one side of my chest but not much else to report. Hoping the stitches wont leave a scar so have atarted using bio-oil today.

Back at work today and I have been constantly on my feet. Unfortunately this has caused swelling in my lower abdomen. I can physically feel the fluid jiggle when i massage it. This started to worry me but i know it shouldnt, as Dr Mekle told me this would be the case before the surgery. Removed my own stitches today (Dr Mekle provided me with everything I needed to do this. I could have went to my GP but i decided to do it myself, easy!) so at least thats some form of relief for today, i was keen to get them out and to let the scars start healing. I hope that when i wake up in the morning, the swelling has subsided a bit but the massages are due to begin soon so maybe that might encourage the swelling to go away. Not great being back at work today, feels like im taking a step back in terms if my healing (in saying that, pain and discomfort are virtually non existent as long as i dont try and bend over)...just felt a bit diaheartened at the first real sight of swelling. I know i shouldnt be, everybody seems to have swelling. And i know im in a good position in that I have actually seen my results in the first few days. I suppose its just a waiting game until they return again! Il keep you posted :)

Today I am 13 days after my vaser hi def procedure. The past week, swelling has been pretty bad in the abs and flanks. In addition, I have developed a pouch of fluid in my lower stomach which neesa removed with a syringe. As I am back home in the UK, my GP has agreed to remove this fluid tomorow.

I have been feeling pretty down due to all the swelling and a lot of the definition that i saw following the vaser has gone away. The past 2 days I have started drinking huge amounts of water to try and encourage my body to stop retaining all the water and fluid. I have been drinking about 10 pints of water a day. I didnt know if this was excessive or if it might even increase the swelling....Well, This morning I woke up and while the swelling is still present, it seems to be decreasing (the fluid pouch also seems to be decreasing, I am not sure if the fluid -seroma is decreasing or whether the general swelling subsiding has made it look as though the seroma is going away...either way, I feel a bit better about it). So I am happy and dont feel so depresses at the minute. I know it will probably swell up throughout the day buy I suppose its not even 2 weeks and swelling is probably to be expected. I have added a new photo of me today, you can see some swelling. I am still worried about when this will go and what result it will leave, so Comments would we really appreciated :)

Today has felt like a bit of a turning point in my recovery from hidef vaser. This morning my swelling looked better but i dont get overly excites at this because it tends to do this lately and then increase throughout the day.

I also made a slight return to the gym today which felt great! Strictly speaking I am supposed to wait another week or 2 but I am getting fed up of no gym and decided to giveit a go. Instead of lifting heavy, I went for low weights and high repa, at least it will give my muscles some sort of challenge! I was very aware of my abs tensing up and feeling tight so I tries hard to refrain from using my core. I didnt twist or move them and really concentrated on using my arms for the workload. This is a very very light session and only lasted 40 minutes but it was great to be back. I am delighted to say that there was no increase in swelling after exercise (although I should reiterate that it was a very light session).

After the gym, I went to my GP for the appointment I made to aspirate the liquid from my lower abdomen. Im not sure how much he syringed but looked to be around 60ml. Although it still looks as though there is a little fluid there it is a massive improvement and I was not going to push my GP to remove any more as he wasnt the happiest to be "picking up the pieces from medical tourism". He joked that I was coming to the NHS for free fluid removal following cosmetic surgery...I reminded him that I pay taxes towards the NHS and have never relied on it for anything. He agreed!

So I have attached a photo of the seroma (fluid pouch) before and after it was removed by my GP. It has made a huge difference in my progress. I have also attached a photo of how I look today with less swelling. To be honest, I think it looks better in this mirror than in real life but nonetheless I am happy that results are visible (again, I am aware that I will probably balloon up myltiple times over the coming weeks and months but for the meantime, its nice for my abs to occassionaly pop up and remind me that they are still there :)

Today I am 3 weeks after my vaser. I genuinley dont think I have ever felt so down in my life. Chest and flanks are good, im happy with them. However, my abs are only good for about an hour in the morning when they look good, subtle and natural. However, after being on my feet for about an hour, the abs start to look a lot bigger/fatter and tje grooves inbetween them deepen causing the whole thing to look extreme and unnatural. I am freaking out and spend every minute thinking about them and looking in the mirror. How am I ever going to show these big xtreme abs to the people who dont know that I had the procedure. Again, it looks good when I first wake up.

I expexted the physical aspects of the recovery but the mental side of things were not expected...I feel so much anguish, worry and even guilt over my secret procedure. Is this normal? Please someone put my mind at ease, im going out of my mind with worry :(

Today is my 4 week point. Last week wasnt great and I was far from happy due to all the swelling, particularly when I am in work. This week things are a lot better!

I was allowed to remove my compression garment this week but I bought a tight compression belt to wear for a few hours when I have been active in work etc, it gets the swelling down in about an hour which is great! Swelling has reduced significantly and although its not very visible from my recent photo, the area below my belly button is still swolen and it is hard with a few lumps under the skin (not visible thankfully). This photo was taken first thing in the morning and it is before the days activities have caused it to swell so it doesnt always look so good but I am happy with how things have been going the past few days! I have lost weight all around the rest of my body including muscle mass so I am really eager to get back to the gym and start building my upper torso again...when I have been out of the gym for a few weeks, I lose my muscle quite quick but generally can get back to where I was within a short time too...I think it will all look better once I get a bit of muscle back on my chest/shoulders :D

Let me know if you have any questions or comments guys, we are all in it together!

I havnt updated this in a while and I have removed my photos recently due to privacy concerns (forgot to log out of a friends computer!). So I have decided to put up some before and afters as I have been asked a few times. Recovery is going very well. Swelling is pretty much gone but there is a small bit of swelling that sonetimes appears in my lower belly when I have been training hard, but this doesnt bother me as its so little. Scars are healing nicely. There is no pain or discomfort whatsoever and I am nearly ready to start taking my too off in front of people! There is slight bits of discoloration that is still fading each week.

All in all, I am delighted with my results and I owe so much to Dr Mekle and also Top Medics Poland. First class service, and I love the results :) Top Medics Poland are still in contact with me to see how I am.

For anyone going through the early stages of vaser recovery, just be . Its a slow and difficult recovery and the mental anxiety is the worst. But give it time!