Laser liposuction - as time went on I saw that I was not getting the expected results

The consultation prior to my laser liposuction (upper/lower abs, flanks and bra roll) procedure went ok. On the day of my procedure I was given a combination of Vicodin, Valium and some anti-nausea medications that cause drowsiness. I was told that this combination of medication would put me to sleep for the procedure. I only slept when they were working on my flanks and bra roll. I was awake for the entire portion of my abdomen. It was terrible. First they had to put the local anesthesia evenly throughout the areas to be treated. I was so anxious that I was talking to them to distract myself, which caused them to lose track of how much they had put where. Then when Dr. Malhotra began working on my abdominal areas I felt pressure, which I found to be very uncomfortable, so I began moving, trying to sit up and putting my hands on the area. They had to re-sterilize my abdominal area two different times after the procedure began. I wish they had stopped the procedure at this point. I was too drugged up; the thought to ask them to stop never crossed my mind. Then they took a break from my abdominal area and worked on my flanks and bra roll. I slept through that (later I discovered that they burnt a hole through my back, but I'll get to that later). Then they woke me up to turn back over so they could finish my abdominal area. I did not go back to sleep after that; it was the same un-comfortability as when they were first working on it. When it was over I was so glad that I made it through and was excited to see my results, but as time went on I saw that I was not getting the expected results.

I still have visions of Dr Malhotra digging that long metal stick around me through my belly button.

After the procedure I noticed an open wound that had yellow crustiness around the edges. I text the patient liaison who I felt seemed irritated with me and said if it was infected that Dr Malhotra would have caught it at my appt, which was earlier that day. I was pretty concerned. I asked if I should put anything on it, maybe Neosporin and her response was 'sure'. (picture of text thread attached including photo of burnt hole). I still felt unsettled by this so I talked to Dr Malhotra the next day and she said it's nothing, don't worry about it, just keep it dry (so not Neosporin) and put a cloth Band-Aid on it. At my next appointment she told me in person that the laser had burnt a hole through my skin and made it sound to me like it was my fault for having tattoo there. She said she couldn't tell it was happening until it was too late because of my tattoo. If this is a potential risk, then it should be discussed prior to the procedure as I have a full backpiece and one entire side tattooed that also wraps slightly onto my stomach. I didn't feel like this was handled well. My impression is Dr Malhotra didn't want to tell me what it was via text, so I had to just be worried about it until my next appt.

Then as it was time to start seeing the results I was again disappointed. My skin was more saggy than before the procedure. Part of the reason that I chose this procedure was because it was supposed to also tighten the skin up some. There were some lumpy areas. This was my biggest concern prior to the procedure. I asked what the likelihood of lumpiness was (because I had read other bad stories about it) and was told none if I follow all of the aftercare instructions, which I did. And I was also told more is better, so being an engineer, I pretty much doubled everything. I actually ended wearing the compression garment for 23 hours a day for over 6 months and didn't stop wearing for 9 months after the procedure. I did all of the massaging as directed. I think I was told to do it 3 times a day, so I did it 4 times a day. Still I ended up with lumps. (I'll attach a photo from 18 months post lipo). When I bend, the skin would hang down inches...4-5" so gross.

During follow up visits, Dr Malhotra had asked me if I had sensitivity on my abdominal area and I said yes. She said had she known that she wouldn't have said I was a good candidate for this procedure. Then why didn't she ask me that first?

I was told it would be 1 year to see full results, so 18mo later I went back to Dr. Malhotra to see if there was anything that she could do to fix me. She offered to do more laser lipo, but at cost of equipment! I couldn't believe it. She said it would be different this time because all of the local anesthesia would go to 1 area instead of being spread out across 4 areas like in the first procedure. That made some sense, but I wanted to get a second option.

My second opinion said more lipo didn't make any sense because there wasn't any fat left. It was all loose skin (and lumpy). He said a tummy tuck would be the only way to correct the problem, so I did that. I had the tummy tuck about 3 weeks ago and finally feel like I can put this behind me. Although, I didn't want to get a major surgery or scar that became my only option..