26 Year Old - Liposuction on Abs, Flanks and Back- DETAILED REVIEW + PICTURES - Miami, FL

Hi Everybody

I've decided to detail my liposuction experience here for everyone. It is through reviews on RealSelf that I had my first surgery experience nearly two years ago, and now I'm finally doing Liposuction. My surgery two years ago was to lower my hairline with a doctor in Miami, and now I am ready to make my next change. I'm not surgery obsessed but I've always wanted to change four things about myself- Hairline, Nose, Stomach and Teeth. I have decided this is the year I complete all. Thank god for this website or God knows if I'd be doing any of these because my fear is getting a bad doctor.

I want to do short but frequent posts so please follow if you are interested and every few days I'll add more.

Although my surgery till early June, there will be a lot to share between now and then + my before pictures and wish pictures.

Speak soon!

You can see that I have said that my surgery date is June 1st. This isn't actually true.

We are still trying to figure out a date, although I know for sure I want early June which they said they do have some open slots available then. I told them that I really want to avoid my period which is due end of May, as I get it so incredibly heavy and painful. I really don't want to deal with two things at once!

Once my date is booked for sure I will let you all know, but I think it's fair to say I am about 5 to 6 week away from the procedure.

Once I get a date I will let you all know, buit

Hey Guys So as promised here are my before pictures. I cannot for the life of me find my measuring tape to give you some figures but I am a big size UK 8/US 4/EU36. I stand at 5ft 3 barefoot and my bra size is 32DD. I weight around 130lbs. In a few days I will post both my measurements for my hips, waist, thighs and arms so please come back for that. As stated in the title I will be getting lipo on my stomach, flanks and back with Dr Hanabergh. So excited!!!!

I just wanted to tell you all a little bit about my body journey and why I've decided to finally have liposuction.

I was about 17 when I first complained to my mum about my stomach. I did not understand why with all the fitness I had done for the last ten years I did not have a flat stomach. She told me that as a very young child a doctor had informed her that I had weak stomach muscles. It all made sense.

I have always been very active. I absolutely love sports and from age 5 till about 16 I was very much part of all the extra circular sport teams my schools had to offer. There was even a time I considered being an athlete as a profession.

From about 16 to 23 I was at the gym anywhere from 3 to 5 times per week, even being on and off with a personal trainer. My eating during this period was always impeccable, although a had and still have a sweet tooth.

For the last three years I have completely let myself go. I was 115lb then and now I am 130lbs. I know there are people who would die to be 130lbs so I do not want to offend anyone by saying that my body right now depresses me. Things just got so busy in my life and now my unhealthy eating and lack of exercise has caught up with me. I have started and stopped the gym about four times in the last three years but when I see no change in my stomach, I lose motivation.

The last three years I have worked so hard on my career that I am proud to say I am in a better financial situation then all my friends. But I am also the most depressed I have ever been regarding my outward appearance. I have even avoided dating as I am too scared to get naked in front of a man. I bet I sound pathetic, ha. But this is just how I feel.

So with all that being said, I want to do this lipo to get rid of my stubborn problem area and to kick start my healthy lifestyle again.

Please leave any comments below :)

So, I had seen a lot of girls on here uploading their 'wish pics' as well as sending it to their doctor to see the type of 'look' they want. I asked my coordinator if I could send them in and she said sure. I also let her know that I am fully aware I am not going to wake up from surgery looking like any of these girls. These pictures are simply to show Dr H the type of 'look' I like. You will see from the pictures that all the girls are lean but not skinny. I like lean and petite, but with curves look. I already have a butt, and trust me when I say that when I used to exercise regularly it was pretty darn amazing in my opinion. I also am a pretty busty 32DD. All I do not have is hips. I am fully aware that I could have some of the fat from the lipo put to round out my hips a little but I would much prefer having a very very VERY small tight stomach and waist, thus giving the illusion of hips. I found my tape measure so I will be posting my before stats tomorrow or the next day. xxx

I uploaded my before pictures some days ago and now here are my measurements. I want to be able to compare both to know both visually and numerically the change after my liposuction surgery. These measurements where taken first thing in the morning before any food or drink -

Bust - 33 inches
Waist - 28 inches
Hips- 38 inches
Right Thigh - 23.5 inches
Left Thigh - 24 inches

Hi all Back with another update. I actually have a few things to update you guys with but I have had my period for the last three days and it was AWFUL! This is exactly why I wanted to schedule my surgery for after my cycle so I could heal without having to deal with it too! My surgery date is on June 2nd 2016! YAY! I am so excited. I paid the $500 deposit to secure it, so I have $3,500 more to pay. I feel like I am going to blink and I will be there getting it done. My next period is due May 28th and luckily I am very regular, so this means it will practically be done by June 2nd. Then by the time it rolls around again 28 days or so later, I will be out of the worst part of my healing. Planning is everything ladies. I had my telephone consultation with Dr Hanabergh and I have to say he sounds so educated, so informed, so confident. I did not have too many questions, but I feel like the few that I did have he answered them without missing a beat. I feel like between this website, varies magazine articals and tv shows over the years and my coordinator Alejandra, I already know so much about my surgery and roughly what to expect. Our conversation was short as I did not have many question but he did let me know that - 1. He would be making something like eight incisions between my front and back, and that they would be tiny, something like 2 or 3mm each and that he does not use drains. He also said I would need to use healing cream on it every few hours for as many days or weeks as they take to COMPLETELY heal. He did stress this actually, that they needed to be 100% closed, without an scab or anything before I stop. 2. He also said I would need minimum five Lymphatic massages, and recommended that I do them everyday from the day after my surgery. After that, it would be between me and masseuse to decide if I need more. He says the more the better as it will help with healing, and that up to 10 total is great. 3. I asked him if he recommended I go to a recovery house or use a private nurse, and he did say he really cannot recommend one over the other as he does not have enough knowledge on either to make a fair judgement. I pushed him a little to give me an answer and he said a recovery house as I am from out of town and I would have plenty of people around me at a recovery house. He asked that I speak with Alejandra to help me decide as she knows me. 4. He says that he would normally decide after a week or so if a patient needs an ab board, but as I am an out of town patient he will be giving me one just in case which I can use when I get back to London if needed. I can already confirm that I will 100% be using it regardless of if I need it or not. 5. I was surprised at how long he said I needed to wear the compression suit/faja for. I knew I would have to wear it 24/7 for the first month, but I had no clue I would still need to wear it five hour per day minimum for the next month after that. Or did he say two months? I cannot quite remember but it did not make me smile, ha. I guess I have to do what I have to do to get the results I visualise in my mind. 6. He asked if I was sure I did not want fat transfer to any areas. I said no on the phone, but I must admit for a day after I was thinking about it. I mean, this is a one shot thing. Once the fat is out and he chucks it away that is it. I cannot change my mind you know. But I decided that I was happy with just the liposuction. I am happy with what I have so donkey booty for me :-) That's all folks! Any questions feel free to ask! I have decided which I will be using...coming soon in a future post :-)

Hi Everybody!

Been so long since I last posted. I'm really sorry for that. Just so busy.

As an out of town patient (out of country in my case) I had to decide between either going into a recovery house or simply staying at a hotel and hiring a private nurse. Alejandra my surgery coordinator recommended me both a private nurse called Dara and a recovery house called New Life.

I would like to say it took a lot of time for me to come to my decision but it did not. From the get go I was almost certain that staying in a hotel and hiring a private nurse was the only way for me. Sure it would take more planning and stuff, but in a exchange for my privacy it would be worth it. I just could not see myself feeling comfortable sleeping in a room with strangers, and also risking not liking the food they supplied at the recovery house. I am not a difficult person at all and am very sociable, but for this situation I know I want my own space. What if I did not like someone too? Then I would have to see them every day for a week. Just no no.

I did not do too much research into reviews and stuff for the recovery house since I had decided on a private nurse from the beginning, but I did browse New Life's website. I would have needed to take the 7 day package for $1750 + an extra night there or at a hotel as I arrive into Miami the day before surgery. While their package seemed to be include a lot in terms of services and supplies, I felt with a nurse I could pretty much recreate the same thing for the same price (or less).

I spoke to Dara before writing this post and she asked that I do not reveal her prices. I know this might be annoying to some of you, but simply using my own common sense it is properly so that in the future if she decides to increase her rates people do not use this post to try to bargain her down. She offers a 3 days package from the day of the surgery and in my opinion it is very affordable. The plan we have is that she will meet me at the surgery centre, wait while I am in surgery then take me back. Then I will have 3 days care where she takes care of me and my needs fully from morning to evening, goes home overnight and comes back the next day to repeat. She can stay overnight with me in my room if I need on the first night or however many nights I wish at an additional cost. Then after the 3 days, I can book her by the hour if I so need it. I will certainly need her the first 3 days but whether I need her overnight or more days after will depend on how I feel. I will keep you all posted.

I have already bought loads of supplies (info coming in the next post) but if I need her to go out to get me anything she can, and this includes any supermarket food you may need.

Like I said before, if you go down the private nurse route you will have to coordinate everything yourself starting with the hotel, but honestly guys you do not have to stay anywhere expensive. I would say as long as it is minimum 3 star and has breakfast included. All then you have to do is get some take away menus that you can order in with for lunch and dinner, and it is an added bonus if your room has a mini fridge to keep water and maybe fruit in to snack on between meals. Also make sure to get at least a double bed. My hotel has a full in room dining menu so I will be ordering from there and using take away menus too.

Next you need to arrange your lymphatic drainage massages. Dara is actually co coordinating it for me with a lady called Carolina who charges $100 per session. I will let you know how many I decide to get.

I was really worried about washing my clothes but Dara said she can do all that for me. I would seriously advise you have one or even two extra Fajas to rotate. Also, I do not want to get blood on the hotel towels so I will be taking about 10 towels with me. I will also bring plenty changes of clothes in case you need to change several times in a day due to blood or other fluids leaking.

I think I will leave it here as this post is already quite lengthy. If I have more to add I will write up a new post or you can ask me questions below :-)

Thank you for reading :-)

Does anyone know how to delete or edit a Realself post? Because sometimes I stupidly make little grammar or spelling mistakes but I don't know how to change it. In the last post I meant to write 'Just a little post to show you guys the types of outfits I will be living in after my surgery..

Hi! How are you all? I am five days post op now and I am going to detail my surgery experience and the days following. I know a lot of people write a little something on here within the first 24 hours of surgery but I honestly was not feeling up to it. I think the mixture of having just been put under, pain from surgery, pain meds in my system and my jet lag just left me needing some days to myself. So here goes.. I found out a couple of days before the my surgery date that the actual time of surgery would be 12:30pm, however I found out when I arrived at the surgery centre that I was not due in till 1:30pm. They ask you to come in early because there is a lot of paper work to look over and sign + changing into your surgery outfit + meeting and speaking with the doctors. My nurse Dara had already arrived at the surgery centre when I arrived. She wanted to be there to meet me at the beginning, wait for me and take me back to the hotel. We had already built a rapport over text, but it was lovely to meet her in person. It felt so good knowing I had somebody out there waiting for me. She took care of my handbag and I gave her some emergency telephone numbers to my family in case something bad happened. I learned after that she did leave the centre once but just to get my medication for me, she wanted me to have everything I needed once I came out. I first met with the anaesthetist (sorry I forgot his name) who was very cheerful and upbeat. He told me he had seen my EKG and blood work that I had sent over from London, and that all was great with it. He ran me through the process and told me to think about my new body, laying on the beach with a margarita and marrying a rich man to help distract me from my nerves. Haha. He also told me that my surgery would take 1.5 to 2 hours, but then I would go into recovery for a couple hours after. I asked if Dara could come into the recovery room however he said no, but that there would be nurse there with me. Next I met Dr Hanabergh for the first time, and just like on the phone he was very friendly, answered all my little last minute questions confidently and helped to relax me. I was very nervous guys, very. Not even of my results because I truly believe I had a great doctor, but if I did not wake up. I kept asking myself if a little belly fat was worth me risking my life. He told me I would be fine, and by this point I had already changed into my surgery outfit so he marked me up and took some pictures. I was then taken to a medium sized room for surgery. There was all the 'surgery' stuff around but it was not scary looking. A lay onto the operating bed and the anaesthetist began his work. This is the only pain I felt. He just put a little needle in a vain in the crook of my arm just like a nurse or doctor would when taking blood. He then attached a tube and some sort of fluid started running through. Then he said he would be adding some 'happy juice' in. I caught sight of the clock on the wall and it said 2pm. I guess I was gone after that because next thing I knew I woke up in recovery, and in PAIN! I will stop here. I will write another post tomorrow detailing what happened after I woke up and my first night. I will say though I am very very happy so far. x

Hi I know I am taking wayyyy too long with these updates but I really have so much to stay. I really want these posts to help you guys out as much as possible. However today I am 7 days post op so I decided to quickly show you guys some pics. The lighting is not the best and I am still very swollen but the change can most certainly be seen. I am actually smiling as I am writing this..I am just so happy. I know that in three weeks when I start working out again I will have legs, bum and arms to match, and by then a lot of swelling will be gone. I am going to break some hearts this summer :-P I have checked out of my hotel and am on my way to see Dr Hanabergh to get some fluid I have drained (more info about that to come) and have an overall check up. Surgery Day part 2 coming soon. Promise! xxx

So I woke up and I was in serious pain. I remember my legs were shaking, and I mean REALLY shaking, moving in a little bouncing motions knocking together. This room was cold when I came in before my surgery but not the point that would have me shivering like that. I also remember reading someone else's review on here and she mentioned this happening to her, so I was not scared and did not feel the need to ask the nurse why this was happening. I later found out from my nurse Dara that this is a normal reaction after having anaesthesia. Just some advice here guys, before you have any surgery it is very important that you educate yourself as much as possible with all things regarding pre op, the surgery itself and post op. Although I had wanted lipo for years I decided in a split moment end of April that I was going to do it. This then just left me just over four weeks to do as much research as possible. I was not aggressively studying or anything but every night if I had 30 minutes or so I would go onto YouTube or here to do some research. This knowledge I gained allowed me not to be scared when certain things would happen. There are still many surprises and lessons to learn as everybody will react to things differently, but I feel I have been prepared for about 75% of what has happened to me so far. So after 10 minutes or so the nurse said it was time for me to leave. I cannot remember if I saw Dr Hanabergh but I think not. But I also did not ask for him either. I had brought with me a medium length red floaty dress which both Dr Hanabergh and the anesthesiologist commented separately during our pre op conversations that the red colour would help to hide the blood :-| Hahahahahahaha. I recommend taking something that can easily be put on, definitely not trousers. In fact I think a long robe would be an even better option than a dress. I was already in my compression garment so the nurse helped me with my dress and into a wheelchair. They wheeled me out and I caught a glance at the time, a few minutes to 6pm. I had been there a total of 4 hours on the dot. They opened the door and there was Dara waiting for me with a big smile of her face. In that moment I was so grateful to have her there. She spoke a little to the nurse and off we went. I have to mention here that nobody schooled on aftercare but I assume that is because they all knew I had DaraRemember that Dara was recommended to me by my coordinator Alejandra because they work with her often. They trust her. I know Dara was giving constant updates to both Alejandra and Dr Hanabergh regarding my progress, such as taking pictures of my incisions and sending it to them. If you are going to taken care of by a loved one it is VERY important that they school you and that person on how to deal with the next 72 hours. They are the hardest for sure. Dara wheeled me to her car and with her help get in. I am 23 days post days post op, but I remember even on the 10th day was I still struggle with sitting, laying down and getting up, but it gets better each day. Every morning I would need to hold onto the nightstand for support to get in and out of bed. And getting in and out of cars was also very hard. We began the 20 minute journey to the hotel, and the pain I was in made me say to Dara 'Why did I do this?' and 'What have I done?'. Yes at that moment I regretted my decision of having the surgery as I could not imagine having this pain overnight. I hope I am not scaring you all :).. Aside from pain I remember being extremely hungry. I had not eaten since midnight which by that point was 18 hours ago. Dara later told me that if I had eaten anything just a little too big at that point I would not have been able to keep it down, but instead something light like crackers would have been perfect. So here is a tip, have some crackers or light crisps like pringles incase you are extremely hungry after surgery. We got back to my room and I had already opened up the bed ready to lay in, with wee wee pads double stacked down all over including the pillows. After I was in, she left me to get soup from one of the nearby restaurants. I sipping a generous amount then she gave me some pain meds and antibiotics. I am not even joking guys but after about 15 minutes my pain reduced from 100 to 50. I was so happy I would not have to sleep in that pain! I did however throw up about 10 minutes after taking the pills. Those painkillers were a blessing and a curse. Yes they took away a lot of the pain very fast but they would always make me incredibly nauseas and I would vomit once a day. I do not know if it is because I am small person or that never have drugs of any kind in my body, but I am super super sensitive to narcotics. After about the third day Dara suggested I take ibuprofen as I could not handle the side effects of the painkillers anymore. I had the option to have Dara overnight at an additional cost but I really felt I could deal with things now that the pain meds were in me. Plus I knew she was on the other side of the phone if I needed her. She had me set my alarm for 2am to take the painkillers and antibiotics again. It was about 8pm by this point and she left about an hour later. When I woke up at 2am to take my meds, I felt hungry so I had more of my soup from earlier which thank goodness was just on my bedside table. I'm not sure if I could have gotten up alone. So that is it for my day one kids. I survived it :-) Hope that was all very informative for you all. My overall feeling at 2am was pretty calm. I no longer had that bad pain that I came out of surgery with so I felt I could handle the recovery. My faja was really quite bloody by this point too but I had wee wee pads over and under me to stop things leaking onto the actual bed. It all started to sink in that I had done it and I was looking forward to seeing the results. Until next time folks!

I am now 23 days post op and here are all the things that I used to help my recovery. I am glad to be doing this now as some things have come up at this stage of my recovery that I would not have thought I would need at the beginning.

The surgery centre gave me a faja, an ab board and these rectangle boards that I do not know the official name for. Make sure you get all these and ask Dr Hanabergh how to place them in case it is different for each person. It is important you wear them all day every day.

1. Antibiotic Ointment

For this I used the Neoporin Pain + Itch + Scar. I think this brand is the only one on the market that has that 'scar reducing' feature. This is used to put on your incisions three times a day till they have fully headed. I am now 23 day post op and I am still using it on 3 of my 8 incisions. I have still scarred sadly :-( but maybe I would have more without this. The pack I got had 0.5oz/14.2g and I am on my second one. I will not need anymore.

2. Antiseptic Wipes

I like to wipe my incisions every time I apply the Neoporin to avoid infections and stuff. I do not use it in the morning or at night when I apply my Neoporin fresh out of the shower, just when I apply in the middle of the day.

3. Arnica

This is a cream to help with swelling and bruising. I was very swollen and bruised and this really help soothe me. It was hard to rub it in during the earlier days as I was so sore to touch, but I did my best to put on my stomach, sides and back both morning and night after my shower. I have finished the one tube I bought, and although I still have some bruising and such I do not find it necessary to buy another one.

5. Anti-Bacterial Wash

Not infecting or irritating your incisions is very important. I am not one to use scented body washes anyway, but I felt it was best to get an anti bacterial body wash to use while my incisions are healing. I just got the Dettol original soap one because it is cheap as chips and I trust the brand.

6. Wee Wee Pads/UnderPads

These are used to stop blood and fluid from leaking onto your bed, sofa, car etc. I bought wee wee pads instead of under pads because I found them on sale, but they both work the same so get whichever. I pretty much stopped bleeding and leaking after about four days, so only used about 50 pads. I ones I bought were 60 x 60cm.

7. Tissues and Wet Wipes

These are just handy to have on hand.

8. A vomit bucket

In case the pain meds they give make you as sick as they did me, it is very wise you have a bucket by your side at all times. I had it both next to my bed and in the car when I was with Dara just in case. It need not be a full on big bucket, even one of those dish bucket things that go into the sink to soak stuff will work. Or maybe even some of those sick bags that they give on the plane. That might be a better idea instead. Or some plastic bags. Either way have something. You do not want to be struggling to run to the bathroom in your fragile state if you need to be sick.

9. Towels and Bedding

You will need a fair few towels and bedding if you do not have access to a washing machine. I was lucky to be in a hotel with staff so so nice about washing items that got blood on it. Sleeping with the wee wee pads meant there was very minimal blood leaking on the bed. Double stack your pads and make sure you cover more area than you need to in case you shift in the night. Also cover your pillows as somehow blood ends up there. Then between you and the cover you put over yourself, put pads with the plastic part facing up, then a towel THEN your cover. It seems like a lot to do but anything to not ruin stuff.

10. Plastic bags

I would not advise disposing of things with blood and fluid directing into the bins...it just does not seem clean to me. I would say to put it into a plastic bag, then into the bin. The same way you would put baby's nappy into a nappy bag first, not just directing into the bin. You can put your used pads, wipes etc in there.