Tummy Tuck, Chin Lipo, and Breast Lift with No Implant

It's been years since I put an update in here so I figured it was time to do my final review and rating. I am 100% happy I did this procedure. However.. my breasts are uneven. They are noticeably uneven if I'm wearing a T shirt with an unlined bra. I did follow up with them back after my last post and set up a call with Dr Earle but he never called. I didn't bother reaching out much again after that because I couldn't afford to take more time off work and go to Miami even if it could be resolved. Looking at my before and afters I definitely know that I had huge benefit from the procedures, there are just some things I wish had gone better.

My belly button also does not look right. I def have tummy tuck belly button that kind of puffs out and looks odd. Due to stress I have gained and relost weight since then and I really did maintain a great shape. When I lost the weight I didn't get the loose pouch again or all the extra skin. I'm just about the same weight now as when I had the procedure and while it doesn't look the same after gaining and re-losing, it does look MUCH MUCH better.

I'm definitely glad I went through with it, but I'm hopeful that he's set up better aftercare communication since then. Even in the ER I never heard from him. I just sat around until eventually they told me that he'd called. When I reached out to the office to ask about my breast asymmetry I sent her the same photos from my last post and was told how "pretty" she thought they looked and no one would really listen. Like I get it, you don't want to deal with this but neither did I and they are CLEARLY not even. If both breasts had turned out like the smaller one did I'd be giving 5 stars.

I will likely have to do a revision surgery on my breast lift which is obviously a major expense. I wish there had been better follow up.

I read back through these posts and noticed that after one of my very first PO appointments I typed this, "He said you seem to bruise and swell easily and that side just looks more swollen than the other. So that was a relief " This was regarding my right side being larger than the left, and I really hate that I was just blown off and never taken seriously even after it was mostly healed. If I'd been listened to perhaps we could've come up with a contingency plan in case they ended up uneven, which they did. Same with my belly button, I knew it looked wrong but kept being told it was healing. I am glad I did this and it did really change my body and self confidence, but follow through is so important and making sure everything is still right after it heals up should be a major priority. It wasn't.

It's been a while, I've been busy healing. The area under my incision no longer has any yellow slough in it. I went into the surgeon who I've followed up with since the seroma today and was told I don't have to come back. I will post a few pics of the area under the incision as it healed.
It has been a looooong and tiresome process. I remember reading reviews beforehand where people would complain and I'd just think, "I'm going to be so happy once this is done that I won't complain". And maybe you won't, but it's harder than I expected. I am definitely glad I did this surgery but the recovery was more difficult than I thought and I'm not talking about just pain.
Honestly I was terrified of having a seroma and as it turns out, it's not really that big of a deal as long as it's just uninfected fluid. I had to spend a night in the hospital but it was quickly and easily resolved.
I got through without any long term issues and now I feel very thankful for that but I won't pretend there weren't tears and anxiety at the time! Keep in mind that you're going to be exhausted, swollen, and in pain. Your reactions to things won't be as reasonable and rational as usual. The little openings on the incisions didn't look so bad to me in the Q&A but once it's on your body it feels much scarier. Every day I'd wake up and be afraid to look at it because I was terrified that more of the incision had opened and I'd just have a giant gaping wound.
I am still slightly swollen above my incision line, especially at night, which is when the new pics are from. I realized about a week ago that wearing the compression garment at night was doing absolutely 0 for it so I've quit wearing it. Really my only issue now is that my breasts aren't symmetrical. They look fine from a distance but up close you can see that the nipples are off and one side is lower than the other. I started with a slight asymmetry but now ironically the big one has become the small one, I think that in an effort to even them out the big one was made a bit smaller than it needed to be. I know that I'll just be told about swelling if I ask anyone but one genuinely feels smaller than the other. The smaller one looks better so if it comes to a revision I guess I'm lucky that I like that one more, they can always be made smaller. Perhaps they will even out in the next few months.
That being said, the level of improvement is amazing. I can't even believe how much better I feel. My clothing size has dropped and I no longer have the problem of all clothes being super tight in the waist where my gut was and loose everywhere else. I was 172 on the day of surgery and I am 165 today. I'd like to get to 157 and stay there because I think that any more and I might start hurting my results. 150 to 160 is actually a good weight for me where I wear a size 8/10 and feel comfortable with myself. I honestly feel like a new person. Sometimes I catch myself walking by a mirror or something and I can't even believe that my body is the same one from before.

I'm feeling much better today after spending 2 days in the hospital. My stomach kept getting bigger and harder and I just thought it was swelling but eventually it got so uncomfortable and my stomach between my BB and my incision was sticking out as far as my breasts. Sent pic to PS and he said go to urgent care and get an ultrasound. Well, apparently UC doesn't have those so they sent me to the ER.
The ER did a CT scan and saw a pretty large fluid collection. They admitted me so it could be drained the next day since it was late at night by the time I was seen and no one was there to do it. I was in the ER from 4pm til 7am then taken to a room. Around 11 am they called me into radiology and using an ultrasound to guide they drained 12 ounces of fluid from the hard lump under my BB and inserted a new drain. The procedure wasn't a big deal and immediately enormous pressure was relieved and my stomach went down. All together with what came out in the drain that night I've lost about 20 oz of fluid from that spot.
For some reason they made me stay that night for "observation" and I just got home this afternoon. Seeing my stomach (which is still swollen and not super flat) start to get back to normal has really cheered me up. I was beginning to think I'd just look 4 months pregnant for forever.
All of my incisions are improving although the separation under my left breast doesnt seem to be making much progress. PS said from now on I can just do the cream and gauze on the open spots instead of the whole incision. At the hospital the wound care person gave me another cream to try so I'll see how that goes too. I'm still putting the silver sulf cream on the incisions because I figure why not, I have it. I'm just not covering them.
Every single healthcare professional who saw my incisions praised what a good job my surgeon had done and said everything was going to heal up really nicely so that was encouraging! I had to leave with a new drain (different style) and I go back Monday to hopefully get it pulled. I am going to assume that this was because my drains both had to come out early, it seems very likely. I'm glad to be home, glad that my incisions are mostly healed, and feeling much more comfortable with all that fluid out of me. Hopefully it's all good news from here.