Liposuction Part 1: Lipo of Entire Middle - Before and Afters Posted - Miami, FL

01/21
Sorry in advance if all of this is such a jumble. I didn't realize how much I had to say until I finally got around to coming out of my stealth-mode and spilling it all at once.
February 8th CANNOT come soon enough....I'm so excited for this procedure! I've been thinking about it for several years, and as last summer was winding down, I started doing research. Finding this site was amazing, and REALLY, THANK YOU to all the people who are giving detailed reviews, updating, and great before/after pics. It's so motivating, and such a comfort to have insight on what to expect.
I'm 28, 5'5", about 205 lbs. Several years ago I was even heavier, I got up to 285 :P I got to my present weight mostly with low-carb dieting (if any of you want coaching in regards to that, feel free to message me). 5'5"/205 doesn't sound so great, but I'm at a point where I'm at a stable weight, and I'm happy iwth my size and basic shape, I jusdt want some rolls to be smoothes out. I'll post before pics soon, I promise.
Seeing other girls who were a similar size as me going for the lipo and getting great results was my deciding factor, so Thanks again, RealSelf ppl :) I chose my Dr because there were a lot of girls my size who went to him, and had great results, great hourglass shapes.
Soooo I have offiially looked at EVERY SINGLE before and after Dr posted picture of lipo on RealSelf. Obsessed much?! I've even been checking out a bunch of BBL photos 1) because lipo is a part of that procedure and 2) because my Dr has preformed a lot of them, and I wanted to check out ALL of his work, and patient happiness levels.
As this process began, I went to a consult w/ a Manhattan Dr who was willing to do my back and inner knees, but wanted to give me a tummy tuck. I know that most Dr.s would want to do that, because on my lower tummy there is a fold of skin/fat....but I just can't bring myself to do it. I have no kids yet, I don't want that scar, I can't deal with that recovery time, I don't want a fake belly button, and the thought of that whole procedure being done to me jsut makes me cringe. No offense to any who have done it, I just CAN'T, call me a hypocrite. Oh yeah, and I can't afford it! In my opinion, most Dr.'s won't do the lipo on the abs when loose skin is present because they think the results won't be up to their standard. However, I used to be 80 pounds heavier, so the fact that I look the way I do NOW is great, I wouldn't mind a little more loose skin to look awesome in clothing.
Dr.'s in NY are also significantly more expensive than other parts of the country. So I started looking into other options, at which point I found, among others, Dr. Perry in Miami. Like I said, his before afters are awesome, and he doesn't just get out as much fat as he can, he smooths the bulges and the valleys to a nice final shape. I e-mailed (This was in early December) him with a bunch of photos of myself, explaining that I'd like to get my full back, a little of the abs, and maybe inner thighs/arms. He e-mailed me back later that day (!!!), or should I say later that night. He agreed with me on the areas to be lipo'd (which were more areas than the NY Dr.'s, and for a few thousand $$s less) and suggested we have a phone consultation. I hate to sound snotty, but his grammar wasn't great, and also he spelled "waist" wrong. I'm an editor, so it's my field and I notice these things...but I told myself to stop being an a****le, because, hey, I didn't go to med school, I'm not a board certified plastic surgeon. People have different weaknesses and strengths, and I'm not contacting him to give me grammar lessons!
He didn't actually set up an appt. per-se, he just said he'd call me ASAP. So a week later (I did e-mail him a few times to remind him, and he e-mailed me back apologizing for not calling yet. He's very prompt to resond to e-mails, which is AWESOME, and important to me) we talked on the phone, and he seemed very nice and personable, and knowledgeable. We agreed to leave my thighs alone for now, and we would concentrate on my back and flanks especially, and a little bit on my abdomen and arms. My flanks and back are really what bothers me, the back bulges (upper and lower bra), and right above my butt is this fatty area that makes my butt look flat and NOT SEXY, so I was extra happy to hear him voice my own opinion that this would be the most effective area to concentrate on. Also, that my stomach would be given SOME attention, because I would like to slim it down just a touch, but not so much that the skin is completely compromised. Thankfully, it's a pretty flat shape already, so I think concentrating on my abck will make my profile nicer. I wanted to do my arms as well, because I definetely have a "bat wing:" thing going on that I'd like to improve. My legs were not as important to me to have improved, they're actually pretty nice - chubby and a little cellulite, but I still rock a miniskirt and get checked out :) so I'm happy to leave them as-is.
The only thing that makes me nervous about not doing my legs is that I'm not telling anyone at work that I'm getting this done, and I'm a little nervous that it'll be weird if I slim down my entire torso, but my legs stay exactly the same. I'm hoping that the entire silhouette being improved will just distract everybody lol!
Annnnyway, at this point I became a serious RealSelf stalker. I researched all of Dr. Perry's (and many other Dr.'s) "Dr. Answers", looked at ALL of his before/afters, read every review that even mentioned his name. I had a lot of mixed emotions about the whole thing for the entire month of December. I would be incredibly excited, the next day (or hour even!) I'd get nervous and second-guess. What if my skin looks weird, what if it doesn't feel as soft, what if I get the ropes/lumps in my final result, what if my shape is changed in a way I don't like, WHAT IF I DON'T WAKE UP?!?!!, what if what if what if. I was still convinced I was going to do it, but definetely more apprehension began creeping in. And then of course other times I'd be incredibly excited, trying on clothes I own that are a little tight, or don't fit quite the way I want them to, looking at myself in the mirror, covering various places to see what it would look like if they weren't there. As I've read on many reviews, this is very much an emotional roller coaster.
Norma, Dr. Perry's assistant called me about a week after the phone consultation. She gave me the exact address, explained that she would need lab tests from a doc in NY no more than 20 days before the Sx. I would also have to fly in the day before surgery for a pre-op appt. I would have to get several "massages" (These dreadful things that I've read about from oh-so-many Perry reviews...literal HORROR STORIES - this is one of the aspects of recovery I'm most scared of), and have someone with me the first few days. She also gave me available dates (AAAAHHHHH!!!) and I chose Februaty 8th. I was so happy I'd only have to wait a month and a half!
After speaking with her, I e-mailed Dr P to let him know, and that I was happy and excited for February to come. Once again he promptly e-mailed me back saying he was happy for me, and looked forward to meeting me. I REALLY like his quick and courteous answering of e-mails.
The past few weeks - The more I looked at before/aftersand reviews of girls my size, and especially his patients, the more I feel as if I will be happy with the procedure. I'm getting more excited and happy and less anxious each day! I'm taking 12 days off of work (2 of which will be spent flying to and from Florida) so I hope that's enough. As I said, I've been reading reviews like a madwoman, and I began to have a LOT of q's for Dr P to answer. On Jan 16th, I wrote him an e-mail with a ton of questions about areas being lipo's, amount being lipo'd, a few wish pictures, anesthesiests, garment use, what kind of clothing, follow-up appointments and massages, travelling, a few of my "what-if" questions....He again answered less than 12 hrs later....skirted some questions, but really, considering the essay I wrote him, pretty thorough :)
I have to say that the returning e-mail I got from him really set my mind at ease. So ladies, if you have questions or concerns, VOICE THEM, because I felt sooo much better afterwards, so much more confident in my decision to have the procedure done, and done by him.
Bump in the plans came a week ago though - Feb 4th father is having hernia Sx and my mom is going to have a hard time getting off work, so I think I may be staying with Dr. P's recommended nurse, Miriam. I def. need someone there, and this might be for the best anyway, as that way I don't have to travel for massage the first few days. Also, massage and meals are covered in her fee. I'm a little nervous about it anyway, as I just read a reveiw which mentioned ehr house as being....not an ideal living situation. However, I don't know if I'll have another choice. I'll be staying at a hotel from the 13th and the 18th. I'm undecided as to whether I should rent a car, or just take cabs around during the hotel portion. What do you guys think?
Girls, any advice as to little things I should have on hand for recovery in FL that you don't think of until you need them...arnica gel/tablets? Heating pad? Tampax pads for absorption? I don't know, I think I have BASICS covered, but any input would help.

Sorry if I dumped it all out at once - now I see why girls start theirs as soon as they talk to a Dr. I was going to wait until the day before Sx when I arrived in FL! Glad I finally sat down and did the damn thing TODAY!
Okay, well, I'm spent. I'll update with before pics soon. Again, ANY advice, comments, warnings are welcome!

01/30
I wanted to check out one last doctor in NY last Saturday, jsut because it would save so much effort, rather than going out of state. Based on the before and afters, he seemed comfortable with bigger girls, and the fact that he maintained a really nice curvy hip-to-waist ratio in the before/afters on the website impressed me.. I went to my scheduled consultation, and the office was a little grimey...the other girls waiting were really nice and informative (2 BBL girls! I think dos who do BBLs regularly are 1-very practiced with lipo and 2-understanding that it's not about sucking all the fat out, it's about mainting a nie shape!). They warned me (also read a couple reviews on this site who mentioned it) that his wait times were TERRIBLE. You could have surgery scheduled for 7 pm and he wouldn't see you until the next morning! Some of them ended up sleeping in the wait room! WHAT?!! No, I'm sorry, I don't care what your pictures look like, that level of unrprofessionalism and disregard for my time does NOT bode well with me.
So he lived up to his reputation, my consult was scheduled for 5 PM. 6:40 rolled around and I'm being told he's not even in the damn office yet. YEAH. So I left, and it re-confirmed my decision to go with Dr. Perry. I KNOW he an give me awesome results, and the only reason I even looked at this other guy was location. So I'm decided, SUNNY MIAMI, here I come!

Took my labs today. Norma faxed my do the scripts. When my Doc fouond out what the surgery was for, he was so nice and supportive, I was afraid he would try to talk me out of it, elective surgery and all. But yeah, he was so supportive, told me he would just basically give me a physical so my insurance would cover everything, I only had to cover my co-pay (35$). I love my doc, as I was leaving, he patted my love handles and said "I'll say goodbye since I won't be seeing them again" Haha, he's a trip.

Feeling soo good about tis surgery! The closer it gets the more excited I am, and my anxiety about it is actually decreasing! We'll see if that lasts, I hope so - I don't want to panic the night before or something. Well, over and out ladies! Keep updating, if there's others like me, I read updates every day, even if I don't post! I lvoe to hear how people are recovering! Goodnight

02/06 – Having internet issues, so I’m typing these posts in Microsoft word and will post as soon as I have access. Thank you to those of you who commented and PMed, I’m sorry I haven’t been able to contact you back for a bit.
Having terrible second thoughts, on Monday night (02/04) came down with a terrible cold/fever. I was congested so badly I couldn’t inhale through my nose, which resulted in my throat being really raw and dry. I kind of freaked out…I started thinking that it was a sign, I shouldn’t go through with it. I talked to Norma, who said that all could move forward as long as I didn’t have a fever.
When I told my father how I was feeling, he was really comforting. He said “I know it feels like it, but it’s not a sign, it’s just unfortunate timing. You want to do this, so go ahead as you planned and if you still have a fever and can’t have the surgery, then you can think of what to do moving forward.” Thank goodness for his level-headedness, it was so comforting.
It sucks having this fever though, surgery or no. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since Monday, I wake up sweating, fall asleep for an hour, then wake up with chills, tossing, turning, sweating, clammy, and the sinus pressure is painfully uncomfortable and miserable. This is definitely putting a damper on my excitement.
As Pops said, we’ll see.
02.07 – Plane ride was this AM was okay. Felt slightly more healthy. I woke up (crack of dawn, 5:45 AM for a 8AM plane ride), sat nice to these really nice guys who were ready to hit up South Beach! I wish my visit could be spent on that kind of activity too :/ They were also really nice about me being sneezy and coughy next to them.
At the hotel! Still writing for now on Microsoft Word. Tried to connect to the internet here, can’t seem to, and nobody’s picking up at the front desk. Oh well, it’s kind of a crappy hotel, I figured for one night I can do it. Went to the gas station next door and the cashier was behind bulletproof glass and steel cage door. Am I in freakin’ Washington heights here?!
Already spent more than I thought on cab fare, cab from the Airport to hotel , then from hotel to Dr. Perry’s, then back to the hotel. 150 dollars already. Had no idea how big Miami is. Luckily, only one more cab fare (to surgery) and then Miriam is going to be picking me up and dropping me off to the dr.’s.
My pre-op apt with Dr Perry was a very pleasant experience. At one point he was sewing a garment himself for one of his patients! He said he couldn’t find a garment that did EXACTLY what he wanted, so he edited the ones he had.
In the office we went over what areas he would attack hardest (back and waist) and what all the areas would be. Entire back (armpits down), entire front torso and sides, behind arms and inner thighs and my chin. It’s a lot ? but I’m happy, as I said, I love my shape, I just want it to be smoothed out and accentuated, not just a bunch of fat sucked out of one place, which he gets. He showed me before and afters (which I had studied already on Realself until I could sketch them by heart already :D ) and we took my before pics. He really is a pleasure to talk to, very personable. I have a lot of faith in him.
Still, I was sniffling so badly, and sounding so stuffy (I felt so bad using Norma’s pen and phone, I felt like I was infecting the entire office!) that he gave me a script for antibiotics. He said “start these IMMEDIATELY, take Vitamin C, Zinc, drink tea, anything that could help. As long as you don’t have a fever or productive cough”-meaning coughing up stuff-“we can go forward with the surgery”. I filled out a whole bunch of paperwork.
Good news though, the sickness has prevented me from having any cigarettes, which honestly probably would not be the case if I wasn’t sick.
02.08 –
6AM Morning of! Called the cab, they should be here in a half!.For the first time in 4 or 5 days, I actually got a decent night’s sleep! Still very stuffy, but much better. Due at Dr P.’s at 7:15. EXCITED ?

02.09 One day post op.
Surgery experience – I got to Dr P’s on sched, we had a little chat about his car (I love Nissans, and he’s got an old school 300Z). We went in, and did a quick review of what I wanted. He marked me up – we compared it to a topographical map. His marks are very artistic, it looks like he’s sketching you. Gave me a robe, “shoes”, hair cap, compression tights. I asked him is we could smooth out my “saddlebag” area, just because I feel like that would be in keeping with the shape I have now. I wanted to keep my post=op shape as similar as possible to my original shape, because I’m happy with it, and it’s me, I’ve come to love it, and also I would like to be able to tell people I jst lost a lot of weight. I know, I know, I shouldn’t have to answer to anybody, but I have to see these people everyday. Anyway, I decided not to, I hope I’m happy with the decision. I know I’ll be extra curvy, I just don’t want to be UNNATURALLY so.
Nexr, talked to the nurse, she basically asked me generic questions – medical allergies, areas being lipo’d, blah blah blah.
Talked to the anesthesiologist (he was a strapping young buck lol) basically just formalities, explaining the anesthesia procedure to me.
Dr Perry came back in, and said that because of my congestion, it would be better if we didn’t do the chin. I was very disappointed, it obviously isn’t a key area, but I was really excited about it once it was decided on it. However, I’m glad he considers safety first, so it is what it is.
Went into the surgery room, and laid out on the bed. I felt my nerves acting up big time at right about this point. I They pretty quickly had me out though, because next thing I knew I was in post-op room. I remember I had no clothes on, and there was a mirror next to me. I was covered by a blanket, but I picked up my arm to touch my hair or something and MY ARMS were slim and sexy looking. I grinned when I saw that – I may have tried to say something, I don’t really remember, but I remember I was really happy. I laid around for a while, awake but just feeling worn out. I guess I was talking because I remember Dr Perry saying I was awfully perky for just coming out from general anesthesia. I was with it enough to ask hi how much he took out because I always want to know how much other people had done, and a lot of people forget to ask. He said something along the lines of “we were pushing 5000 CCs”.
Also, they gave me something AMAZING for my sinuses, because as I woke up, I could breathe like nothing was wrong with me!
Eventually I was helped up to put on my garment, and they said I drained a lot in the bed because I didn’t splash too much when the garment was put on. I got on my garment, sweats and tank top. Miriam and her daughter came and got me, I think it was about 1 or 2. They’re both so pretty. Miriam apparently just got lipo done 3 days before me, she’s all bruised up and swollen, wearing a garment as well.
Got back to the house, it’s sooo pretty, they’re like classic Miami town houses, the back door looks out on a little lakeside patio. HUGE TV. HUGE. I have a huge TV, and this thing is twice the size.
I don’t remember too much of the first day, I was put in my little room, given vicodin, water and lentil soup as I was warned about by many Realself people. It was actually really tasty, so I can’t say I had any complaints. The vicodin had me KO’d pretty much for the rest of the day, I just slept and pee’d every couple of hours. Getting in and out of bed was definetly rough, but It was more stiff/sore pain, like I’d heard about. I think I was still feeling the tumescent anesthesia as well.
In the evening, iwatched a Dexter marathon on Showtime for a couple of hours. Miriam’s son watched it with me. He was really really nice. I think maybe some people would chafe at the lack of privacy, but for me it’s kind of nice to have company. I don’t know if I want to be alone with my thoughts, I don’t want to start second-guessing myself at this point during recovery. Again, after I went ot bed, I just peed and slept, peed and slept. Getting out of the bed took careful maneuvering, just because I’m so stiff, and I felt, if not pain, at least the promise of pain. Didn’t hurt too much, but that’s probably because of the meds. I’m trying to be careful not to overdo myself just because I don’t feel the pain immediately.
Today, this AM (02/09 – 1 day post op) Woke up and just kind of dozed. Miriam came in soon with a plate of fresh papaya and more lentil soup, both of which were delicious. Congested again however ? So damn sick of this cold.
I’ve got to say, I’ve heard a few things about experiences at Miriam’s that made me really nervous about staying here, but so far, so good ? I’m glad I have sympathetic people around during recovery. I got my first official massage in the morning!! I think maybe I was still feeling the tumescent anesthesia, and also the 2 vicodins, because the massage was uncomfortable and slightly painful, but it wasn’t the horrific murder scene I expected. I HOPE that it remains that way, but I know that it definitely may not.
MY face, hands and feet were really swollen this morning, my eyes looked like I was having the worst allergy attack. They were swollen, swollen, swollen. They went down, but my hand and feet are still a little puffy. As for my body, I look almost exactly the same, if not a little bigger, than before surgery. I knew this could happen, I’ve heard a lot of people say this happened to them. I kind of figured that it wouldn’t be the case for me because so much was taken out, but it definitely is. I have a lot of swelling in my lower abs and my vag(SUPER SWOLLEN) and my love handles. It’s weird though, even though I feel the swelling in my lower abs, with the garment off it’s the only place I see a difference. Otherwise, looking inb the mirror, I just look like myself wearing a smoothing garment, even slightly bigger right above my butt.
I’m sorry I’m not posting pictures, I want to wait until I have PRE op pictures before posting Post-op. I PROMISE I will.
Om another note, It is definitely a hassel making sure I don’t pee on the garment, even though the hole is pretty generous. I think it’s really the swollen vag that’s making that happen. Next time I take it off, I’ll try to remember to look at what brand it is. This AM, Miriam washed my garment and sweats, I leaked like crazy as I slept. I’m going to get another garment as backup ASAP. I really need one that goes down to my knees, it’s really bothering me having this seam biting into my thighs. I don’t know if Perry’s office has knee length ones, I msy have to buy one at a garment store. Miriam knows of several.
As the day has progressed, I’m starting to feel more pain, especially in my flanks and tummy. My neck is stiff, even though it wasn’t touched in surgery. The pain in my torso is more stiffness than sharp pain, but very uncomfortable, especially getting up and down. It gets more and more painful the longer I go without the pain meds, but the vicodin knocks me out so hard, I want to try only taking it for sleep and massages. Nervous about getting hooked! I have extra strength Tylenol, so I try to take that instead of Vicodin all of the time.
Speaking of addiction, I didn’t have a cigarette all day Thursday and Friday ? it’s been years since I’ve gone a day without one cigarette! Granted, it was probably because of the cold, but still. I admit, I tried to have one today (Sat), but it tasted so bad, like poison, which it is, I guess. I’m a little ashamed I had even one, I didn’t even really crave it. Well good, now I know how crappy it tastes to me.
Miriam couldn’t take me to Dr. Perry today because nobody was around to drive, and she still can’t because she’s on pain meds, but tomorrow I’m going to insist on it. For late lunch she made me steak and a sweet potato. A very pleasant surprise! I’m a little nervous about my eating habits because for years I’ve been eating VERY low carb, and I feel like I swell and gain weight when I eat carbs, so I was definitely nervous about Miriam’s feeding me. However, even if I’ve been eating more carbs, it’s been very high fiber stuff, so hopefully I’ll be okay. Also, Even though I’m not craving cigarettes, in the past, whenever I don’t smoke I tend to eat more. It’s scary not knowing what will happen to your body. I’ve always been used to myself, I know what makes me gain and lose, and controlled it through my own choice of eating habits and exercise.

Okay, I’m signing off. Sorry if this is just a dump of random thoughts, I’m kind of medicated up today. I’ll try to keep it a little more medical and consistent in the future. At least now that I’ll have access to the internet for a few days. Talk to you all soon!