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Perioral Mound Liposuction
I barely saw any information on perioral liposuction when I was looking up my procedure. In the interest of helping other potential patients, I wanted to outline my healing process as it has progressed.
Consultation: I loved my consultation. It was over WhatsApp. Dr. Patel will talk if you like to talk, and guess what. I like to talk. I've never had a consultation with a doctor that felt so natural and it feels like he truly enjoys talking about plastic surgery, the results, and what you, the patient, should expect. I want every other consultation that I go through to be like this one because I've realized that other consultations I've had by comparison aren't as personable or open to longer conversations. He didn't make me feel rushed at all, and I love how focused he seemed on making sure I got to say what I wanted to. I asked him about some other procedures that tend to come up when people talk about perioral liposuction and he was happy to lend his expertise on that. I love it that I didn't feel like I'm a person they have to get through in x amount of minutes. It's funny because I'm not a person that is big on "social media" doctors and it can even be a turn off for me, but my consultation with Dr. Patel definitely sold me on the idea that I wanted to do this procedure with him.
Background: I want to note since this review is for a liposuction procedure that I'm within the 20-22 BMI range and I'm decently fit. I walk every day and I'm toned all over. I have photos from high school when I can see my perioral mounds even when my BMI was underweight. I also still had the perioral mounds when I had an eating disorder and had an even lower BMI than my BMI in high school i.e. this is definitely genetic in some way. The mounds themselves didn't bother me until a few years ago when I was 24, probably because I did gain some weight when I went through recovery from my ED and I'm guessing my skin is a little more lax than it used to be just due to normal aging. I'm now 27 and part of my reasoning for getting this procedure now is because the longer I wait, the less likely I can solve this issue with perioral liposuction alone.
Day of Procedure (Day 0):
I ate 2 pieces of toast for breakfast to make sure I came in fed. I parked in the recommended parking structure and that went smoothly. It cost $5 for the entire duration of the visit which was a few hours, I highly recommend the parking structure that the office informs you of.
Procedure:
Dr. Patel numbed me up with Novocaine and it was 1 shot per mound. I waited around 45 minutes and then the procedure began. It is surreal seeing the little bits of fat come out (I like to look at what's happening to me during procedures if I can). The total amount was probably less than my thumbnail if I combined the fat taken out of both sides. I had a needle shaped bruise from the cannula on where one of the mounds used to be and some bruising under the other perioral mound right after the procedure. After the numbing shots wore off completely, maybe 1.5-2 hours later, I was definitely sore and fatigued. There was general swelling in the lower third of my face. I looked like those 60s illustrations of kids with the mumps when that was still an illness people took seriously. I took a nice long nap when I got home on an elevated pillow (and the bruising that I noticed right after the procedure was gone, save for the needle bruise mark). I already use an elevated pillow for my GERD and other GI issues, so it was nothing for me, but if you're new to elevated pillows, you may want to sleep on it before the procedure so you're used to and know how to make yourself comfortable on the pillow (it took me a week to get used to the pillow when I had first bought it). I use a regular pillow on top of the elevated wedge pillow (I slept with a wedge pillow for all the following days mentioned). I iced the area before and after my nap and I iced it again before I went to bed, making sure to press down on the perioral area each time. I ate ice cream for dinner and I made sure to rinse out immediately (dairy products are sometimes considered a risk for internal mouth wounds).
Day 1: I was still quite sore in the face, but I didn't feel bad enough to skip work, or so I thought. I nearly vomited a few times in the morning a few hours after my breakfast (a simple sandwich with the white fake bread that was not grainy). Please note I tend to vomit easily, so that may not be the experience for everybody. I had a large meal for lunch and that made me feel significantly better. I felt "good" for the rest of the day. I iced 3x today for maybe 10-15 minutes each time while pressing down and that seriously helped the inflammation. I slept elevated. By now, I was comfortable eating pretty much any food, but of course, it hurt to open my mouth too much so I avoided anything large to eat. I wasn't swelling as much as on Day 0 and it didn't look so crazy, but I would say it was still noticeable that I was swollen. There was no noticeable bruising on this day except for the needle mark, but that was lightening.
Day 2: The swelling all across my lower face had subsided somewhat, but it was still present. By now, only people who really knew me could clock the swelling. There was some minor bruising that reappeared slightly lower than where the initial bruising was after the procedure. I started massaging my cheeks and that was not fun, you're basically massaging bruised tissue, but it's at worst uncomfortable and sore, so it's nothing a person couldn't handle by then. I grew obsessed with the massaging because you can see how it helps to flattened the tissue. I still was icing, but I only did it 2x on this day. It looks like I'm going to love the results, but I'm cautious because I know there's still swelling that needs to go down.
Day 3: The swelling is now unnoticeable to most people and it's barely there (or perhaps I'm just so used to it that it seems like it's barely there). The bruising "falls" down the face and it's the most noticeable it's been, but it's still nothing that would make people concerned. It could be waived away as a shadow on the face. The "needle" bruise is now a light pink and seems to still be fading. I so far still like the results, every time I think of the fact I like how that area looks, I remind myself to massage it so it has the best chance of staying that way. I started taking Arnica since my package arrived late (yeah...you're supposed to take that the day of the procedure and afterwards). I feel like my healing has been fast anyway even without the Arnica. I did not ice in the morning, but I did ice in the afternoon and evening. It feels like overkill at this point because again, the swelling is barely noticeable anymore. I'm right now so glad I got this procedure done. I was worried it wouldn't be noticeable when I had just finished the procedure since there was such a tiny amount of fat that actually came out, but it is 100% noticeable to me even 3 days later. I will post pictures when the swelling has gone down for comparison.
Consultation: I loved my consultation. It was over WhatsApp. Dr. Patel will talk if you like to talk, and guess what. I like to talk. I've never had a consultation with a doctor that felt so natural and it feels like he truly enjoys talking about plastic surgery, the results, and what you, the patient, should expect. I want every other consultation that I go through to be like this one because I've realized that other consultations I've had by comparison aren't as personable or open to longer conversations. He didn't make me feel rushed at all, and I love how focused he seemed on making sure I got to say what I wanted to. I asked him about some other procedures that tend to come up when people talk about perioral liposuction and he was happy to lend his expertise on that. I love it that I didn't feel like I'm a person they have to get through in x amount of minutes. It's funny because I'm not a person that is big on "social media" doctors and it can even be a turn off for me, but my consultation with Dr. Patel definitely sold me on the idea that I wanted to do this procedure with him.
Background: I want to note since this review is for a liposuction procedure that I'm within the 20-22 BMI range and I'm decently fit. I walk every day and I'm toned all over. I have photos from high school when I can see my perioral mounds even when my BMI was underweight. I also still had the perioral mounds when I had an eating disorder and had an even lower BMI than my BMI in high school i.e. this is definitely genetic in some way. The mounds themselves didn't bother me until a few years ago when I was 24, probably because I did gain some weight when I went through recovery from my ED and I'm guessing my skin is a little more lax than it used to be just due to normal aging. I'm now 27 and part of my reasoning for getting this procedure now is because the longer I wait, the less likely I can solve this issue with perioral liposuction alone.
Day of Procedure (Day 0):
I ate 2 pieces of toast for breakfast to make sure I came in fed. I parked in the recommended parking structure and that went smoothly. It cost $5 for the entire duration of the visit which was a few hours, I highly recommend the parking structure that the office informs you of.
Procedure:
Dr. Patel numbed me up with Novocaine and it was 1 shot per mound. I waited around 45 minutes and then the procedure began. It is surreal seeing the little bits of fat come out (I like to look at what's happening to me during procedures if I can). The total amount was probably less than my thumbnail if I combined the fat taken out of both sides. I had a needle shaped bruise from the cannula on where one of the mounds used to be and some bruising under the other perioral mound right after the procedure. After the numbing shots wore off completely, maybe 1.5-2 hours later, I was definitely sore and fatigued. There was general swelling in the lower third of my face. I looked like those 60s illustrations of kids with the mumps when that was still an illness people took seriously. I took a nice long nap when I got home on an elevated pillow (and the bruising that I noticed right after the procedure was gone, save for the needle bruise mark). I already use an elevated pillow for my GERD and other GI issues, so it was nothing for me, but if you're new to elevated pillows, you may want to sleep on it before the procedure so you're used to and know how to make yourself comfortable on the pillow (it took me a week to get used to the pillow when I had first bought it). I use a regular pillow on top of the elevated wedge pillow (I slept with a wedge pillow for all the following days mentioned). I iced the area before and after my nap and I iced it again before I went to bed, making sure to press down on the perioral area each time. I ate ice cream for dinner and I made sure to rinse out immediately (dairy products are sometimes considered a risk for internal mouth wounds).
Day 1: I was still quite sore in the face, but I didn't feel bad enough to skip work, or so I thought. I nearly vomited a few times in the morning a few hours after my breakfast (a simple sandwich with the white fake bread that was not grainy). Please note I tend to vomit easily, so that may not be the experience for everybody. I had a large meal for lunch and that made me feel significantly better. I felt "good" for the rest of the day. I iced 3x today for maybe 10-15 minutes each time while pressing down and that seriously helped the inflammation. I slept elevated. By now, I was comfortable eating pretty much any food, but of course, it hurt to open my mouth too much so I avoided anything large to eat. I wasn't swelling as much as on Day 0 and it didn't look so crazy, but I would say it was still noticeable that I was swollen. There was no noticeable bruising on this day except for the needle mark, but that was lightening.
Day 2: The swelling all across my lower face had subsided somewhat, but it was still present. By now, only people who really knew me could clock the swelling. There was some minor bruising that reappeared slightly lower than where the initial bruising was after the procedure. I started massaging my cheeks and that was not fun, you're basically massaging bruised tissue, but it's at worst uncomfortable and sore, so it's nothing a person couldn't handle by then. I grew obsessed with the massaging because you can see how it helps to flattened the tissue. I still was icing, but I only did it 2x on this day. It looks like I'm going to love the results, but I'm cautious because I know there's still swelling that needs to go down.
Day 3: The swelling is now unnoticeable to most people and it's barely there (or perhaps I'm just so used to it that it seems like it's barely there). The bruising "falls" down the face and it's the most noticeable it's been, but it's still nothing that would make people concerned. It could be waived away as a shadow on the face. The "needle" bruise is now a light pink and seems to still be fading. I so far still like the results, every time I think of the fact I like how that area looks, I remind myself to massage it so it has the best chance of staying that way. I started taking Arnica since my package arrived late (yeah...you're supposed to take that the day of the procedure and afterwards). I feel like my healing has been fast anyway even without the Arnica. I did not ice in the morning, but I did ice in the afternoon and evening. It feels like overkill at this point because again, the swelling is barely noticeable anymore. I'm right now so glad I got this procedure done. I was worried it wouldn't be noticeable when I had just finished the procedure since there was such a tiny amount of fat that actually came out, but it is 100% noticeable to me even 3 days later. I will post pictures when the swelling has gone down for comparison.
Provider Review
Facial Plastic Surgeon, Board Certified in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
415 n crescent Dr., Beverly Hills, California