31 Years Old, Inner Thighs, Knees and Upper Arms with Deltoid Sculpting

I can honestly say that I feel different, but I certainly do not see a difference. It's not worth the $10k I paid, but it is worth something...

Arms: My arms feel slimmer and seem to fit my body. So, in that regard, I am pleased with the results. In terms of the sculpting, I am not very happy, as my arms have waves. When I was wearing the garment and for about a month or so afterward, my arms were slim and sculpted. Now that everything has settled, I have waves and a pouch of fat or skin or something at the my elbow. It looks really weird. I will say that I am more comfortable wearing short sleeves and sleeveless shirts, but it doesn't look as nice as it did several months ago.

Knees: The only pro to getting my knees done is that they no longer hit each other when I walk. However, I am not sure that the surgery was all that necessary, as one knee still has a pretty significant amount of fat on it. Maybe he forgot that part? Getting my knees done made sense at the time because I didn't want slim thighs and fat knees. Now... not so much.

Inner Thighs: Now, this was the most disappointing. If you read the initial update and were in the room with me during my consultation (which you probably weren't if you're reading this lol), you know that the ONE THING I wanted was thighs that didn't touch. Alas, they still do. They feel slimmer, but I still hear the swish of my pants with every step I take. That makes me so upset because I was most concerned about this and let the fact that Dr. Sukkar didn't have a lot of pictures slide. Now I see why. I even waited until at least six months went by before I decided on whether I would say its worth it or not because I was told at the office and saw the responses here on Real Self that thighs take longer to see results. Well, I think that at this point, we can call it. NOT worth it.

So, all in all, I would get another surgery, but I will definitely look for more aggressive doctors in terms of what they will take out. I will likely look at Sculpsure for my inner thighs because I was wobbling for about a month due to the swelling and would not want to go through that again with another round of lipo or Coolsculpting. Thus, I will continue my quest to getting rid of this inner thigh fat.

I have had thighs that rubbed together my whole life. As early as the 6th grade, I could hear the "swish, swish" of my pants rubbing together. Fast forward to high school and I started to become more self-conscious about my upper arms, which were a good three times bigger than my forearms. Now, I'm not the biggest gal out there, but I could stand to lose some weight. However, from 139 clear to 160 and back, the constant thigh rubbing and flabby arms were not going anywhere. So, I decided to contact a couple of plastic surgeons and found one near me. I plan to move to a new job soon, so I wanted to make sure that I got the surgery done before starting my new job so that I can be a couple of weeks into recovery rather than taking time off for an elective surgery. I found Dr. Sukkar at the Plastic Surgery Center in League City, TX.

Consultation (5/9): After emailing Dr. Sukkar’s patient coordinator, Mary, I decided to go ahead with a consultation. I had my consultation on Wednesday, May 9th. I met with Mary first and then Dr. Sukkar. Mary was nice and had a great deal of information available regarding my options for surgery. She definitely has the personality of a salesperson and is darn good at it. The only complaint I have is that with 18 years of experience they tout, I only saw one or two photos of inner thigh lipo. She claimed she was having a hard time finding them - clear up through my surgery date. The before and after photos of the arms were good, but my number one problem area was my thighs. So, I preferred to see more pictures of successful thigh candidates. I think this could have been a red flag, but since I am in my early days of recovery, I won’t judget. We will see. The total cost for all three areas (upper arms, inner thighs and knees) was $10,125, which included all fees, 3 post-op lymphatic massages and my garment. They also claim to offer lifetime post-op care, if needed. I asked about revision if it does not come out the way I want, and Mary told me that it hardly ever happens and when it has there was small $250-$500 fee or no fee at all. I hope it does not come to anything like that.

I also met with Dr. Sukkar who was direct and friendly. I did not have a lot of questions that Mary had not already answered, but he seems to know what I was trying to accomplish. They both acted like this was routine, which is understandable. I left the appointment feeling like Dr. Sukkar was capable and would probably do a good job.

Pre-Op Appointment (5/11): I scheduled my surgery for the next week (this past Monday, 5/14), so I had to get my pre-op work in by that Friday (5/11). I was informed during the consultation that I would need to have blood tests taken. As suggested by Mary, I went to Quest to get that done on Thursday so that they can have the results by Friday. It cost $17 with my insurance versus the $75 it would have cost at their office. Due to my age and overall health, I did not need an EKG. When I arrived at the pre-op appointment, I met with the nurse, Andrea, who went over the pre and post-op information with me. We also tried on garments and Ruby, a nurse and massage therapist, took my before photos and scheduled me for my first post-op massage, which was going to be the day after surgery (Tuesday, 5/15). The garments I tried on did not fit very well, but they informed me that they would get that fixed, as they would dress me before I wake up from surgery. I was going to put under general anesthesia given the number of areas I was getting done and the amount of fat in those areas. They showed me a two piece and a one-piece. I preferred the two-piece (but woke up in a very uncomfortable one-piece). My bloodwork was all good, I was given prescriptions to get filled and sent off on my merry way.

Surgery Date (5/14): I took an Uber to surgery and arranged to have a nursing agency pick me up and take me home. My sister was coming to assist, but was unable to make there in time to get from the surgery center. I arrived at 7:30am, and the surgery was scheduled to begin at 9am and end at around 1pm. They weighed me, took my vitals and put my IV in my foot because my arms were considered a surgical site. That did not hurt as bad as I thought it would. That day, I met the RN, Danielle, and the anesthesiologist, Melanie. Dr. Sukkar came and drew on me. I reiterated my goals (no touching thighs/knees and slim, sculpted arms that were not smaller than my forearms). He said that he could take it right up to the muscle, and I was happy with that. I was taken to the OR and rubbed down with Iodine (I think) and they laid me down on the table. Next thing I know, I was in that uncomfortable one-piece garment with my dress on over it being wheeled to the home health rep! I was awake but a bit out of it. I had to climb three flights of stairs to get to my apartment, but I had not felt any pain. I fell asleep and woke up a couple of times. But I was just fine the whole rest of the day.

Day 1 Post-Op (5/15): I had the home health aide come back and take me to my lymphatic massage (on 5/15). I was given a shot to "help with discomfort". I am not sure if it worked or if it was the Tylenol #3 they had me take an hour before going to the appointment, but it did not hurt so much as it was VERY uncomfortable. I had to close my eyes because the therapist was putting all of her weight into squeezing the living daylights out of my arms. Actually, my left arm did hurt a bit. She did not do my legs because they looked tender (and boy did they feel tender). We scheduled another appointment for Thursday (today, 5/17) to give me some time to rest and more fluid to build up and be flushed out. I mentioned the garment, as I had not been able to keep the shoulders up on the one-piece because the whole rest of my body is pulling the garment down. Plus, it is digging into my arms. They told me that they will change it next time. Ruby also gave me my first Lovenox shot and told me how to administer it to myself. They said that I could shower now that I have had my first massage. That night, I took a shower, as the leakage was all over everywhere. I also washed my garment and stuffed myself back in there. I went to bed a bit late, but was sure to take all of my required prescriptions.

Day 2 Post Op (5/16): I woke up at 3am on Day 2 and was so stiff! I had been propping my legs up and it felt like my thighs were getting bigger. I took a Tylenol #3 and antibiotic and went back to sleep. I woke up again at 6am and decided I was up for the day. I walked around the house, but I was in so much soreness and stiffness (I wouldn’t necessarily call it pain, though), I decided to fill the Norco prescription Danielle gave me just in case the Tylenol 3 was not working. I had no plans to fill it, but I did that day. She must have known because I was sore and stiff and could hardly move. I decided not to shower because I felt it would be too painful and taxing, but I only took half a Norco because I did not know how strong it would be. Surprisingly, it did not make me sleepy or anything. I felt a little better, but I was still extra stiff and sore. I also gave myself the Lovenox shot. That was a bit freaky, as I have never given myself a shot. It was definitely bearable, though.

Day 3 Post-Op (5/17): Today was the second lymphatic massage. Ruby started with my legs and I finally felt PAIN. So, I have been following the instructions that said to get up and walk around every two hours or so, but when I was not up walking, I had my legs propped up. Well, that caused the fluid in my legs to settle near my groin, which started to become a little stiff. So, she had to break it up and move it down my leg to the opening. O.M.G. I could have cried! But when she finished, I felt better. As with the first arm massage, my left arm was much more tender than my right arm, so that was also painful. But I’m glad she was getting all of that fluid out. They also gave me a second part of the garment for my arms, which is much more comfortable now. I was instructed to stop propping my legs up so that the liquid can flow down and to continue walking every hour or so. I will be switching from the Lovenox/Tylenol-based pain management to ibuprofen to help with the swelling. At this point, I am swollen all over – my hands, feet, face, stomach – you name it! At this point, I see a big difference in my arms. My legs are still too swollen to see any changes. I really hope the swelling goes down enough to give me some hope that they will look good! Tomorrow is my final lymphatic massage (of those included with the package). Depending on what my legs are looking like, I may add more, as I think they are helping my arms a heck of a lot. I was draining through the incisions all day, which is a good thing…. But how am I going to go to work on Monday leaking fluids like this?

Notes about Post-Op Experience: So, I will break this up into meds, pain, and leakage.

Meds: I was prescribed a nausea patch to help with coming off of the anesthesia, Lovenox (which is a blood thinner - probably because I have an IUD), Tylenol 3 (which is acetaminophen and codeine), and an antibiotic. I was offered Norco instead of the Tylenol 3 and initially refused. However, on Tuesday, the nurse insisted that I take the prescription just to have it in case I needed it. She said that I did not have to fill it, but she wanted to make sure I had it in case the Tylenol 3 did not work to keep the pain at bay. She instructed me to take either/or - not both - and to take the Norco with food. I ended up filling it and taking a total of 1.5 pills. During my pre-op, I was also offered Ambien to help me sleep, but I refused that, as well. So, as of right now, I have Lovenox shot, antibiotic, Tylenol 3, a nausea patch and Norco. All of my meds cost about $60 total with insurance.

Pain: Honestly, there was not a lot of real pain involved – at least not in the beginning, just a lot of soreness and stiffness. For me, Day 3 Post Op was the worse. I did not want to take a narcotic, but they prescribed Tylenol 3 (which turns out - is a narcotic!). I took that, but the soreness and stiffness was still there. I found out that there is no anti-inflammatory properties in this, so I am just going to be swollen until I'm not. I am not allowed to take any anti-inflammatories (like Motrin) because of the Lovenox. Honestly, I would rather take the Motrin over the Lovenox.... As the Motrin would kill three birds with one stone (pain management, anti-inflammatory (to reduce swelling) and blood thinner). However, I am sure they know what they are doing.... I was so sore and stiff and my sister was gone, so I went ahead and drove myself to CVS to get the Norco prescription filled. I also bought some Arnica gel to see if that will help with the swelling and bruising (which I definitely have). I am walking every hour or two around the house, and I have already gone to the bathroom several times (both to urinate and produce a BM), so I am doing well in terms of following the doctor's post-op orders. However...

Leakage: O.M.G.!! The leakage is REAL! They did not close the incisions on my arms or thighs, so the first night, I had to sleep on puppy pads and change them out every few hours! I could not go from point A to point B (living room to kitchen - which is only about 30 steps away) without staining the carpet with dripping blood/liquid. After a few changes, I gave up on trying to stop it and just wrapped my left arm and right knee up with gauze (thank GOD I got some gauze!), but that was drenched and leaking out onto the couch by morning. Day 2 was a bit better until after the massage. Then the leaking started again - however, only on my arms where the therapist was working. When I got home from the massage, I waited a few hours and then mustered up the courage to take a shower. There was blood/liquid all over the tub. And yesterday, my left arm was leaking AGAIN! However, this was my fault for doing too much too soon. I took off my garment to put on the gel and barely took a break between getting out of the garment and back into it. So, I may be reopened the incision that was closing on its own. Then today, I was leaking some more this morning and then from both my arms and legs after the massage. I went back to CVS to get more gauze and a few supplies, and I had to hold my arm with tissue I had in the car because I just started leaking again out of nowhere!

I have my 3rd massage tomorrow. Regardless of how swollen or tender my legs are, I really want her to get more of the fluid out. My thighs are huge right now, and I am sure the massage will be painful, but oh so worth it! Wish me luck!