Not Sure Yet If Liposuction Was Worth It--What Do You Think? - Portland, OR

I wanted to write this review for all the bigger girls out there who are considering lipo. I see a lot of photos on this site of tiny little girls who really don’t need to change a thing having this surgery, and while it’s totally their right, their results are going to be different than mine and girls of my size (160lbs, Size 10) I had my surgery on about a month ago—standard tumescent lipo under general anesthesia for my abdomen, flanks and both inner and outer thighs. No laser or ultrasound or any other bells and whistles, just the “gold standard”. The doctor originally let me know I was not the best candidate since I am in my mid-thirties and he did not feel I would have good skin retraction, and he suggested a TT. In no way did I want to do that surger y, so we moved forward with the lipo despite me not being the “ideal” candidate. I told him I didn’t want to look like a bikini model, I just wanted to look better in my clothing.

While I do think I’ve had some results, I am in the same size clothes as pre-surgery (10), have the same measurements, am the same weight (which I expected) and my results generally aren’t noticeable by anyone but me, which is why I’m not giving this surgery the thumbs up just yet. The doctor said that he removed 3000 CC’s total for all four areas. When I asked how much of that was the tumescent fluid that he injected, he said about a quarter, the rest being fat. So more like 2250cc’s of fat was removed. So far I cannot see one bit of difference on my thighs, either inner or outer. I didn’t really care much about my thighs and didn’t initially want them done, but the do ctor convinced me I should do them too. I hope I am able to see some results eventually.

I was told by a friend and read several reviews that said the pain after surgery was similar to having achiness from having worked out very hard. This was not the case with me. I had significantly more pain for the first week. It was very difficult to get up from the couch or bed from a laying position, difficult to straighten up while walking, and generally difficult and painful to move around. When lying still, I had no pain whatsoever, but I didn’t have anyone helping me so not moving was not an option. Plus, due to all the fluid, I had to get up to pee about every other hour for the first couple of days. I returned to my (primarily) desk job five days after surgery and for the first few days it was painful and difficult to sit for 8 hours. I would swell up some thing fierce throughout the day and it was uncomfortable, sometimes painful.

The worst part, however, was that none of my clothing fit. I had gained 8 pounds (of fluid and swelling) immediately after surgery, and there was no way to get my work pants to zip or button. I had to buy 3 pair of bigger pants as this went on for 1.5 weeks. It was very discouraging to hear my friends say I looked bigger and to weigh so much more. It took a month to get back to 160, my pre-surgery weight and to fit in my clothes again. I had read this could happen, but only a couple of pounds for a couple of days. I really didn’t see any changes for the first three weeks and wondered if he took anything out at all. I still am swelling up in the evenings and suspect I might off and on for months to come. After two weeks, I started back just walking slowly on a treadmill. I have since ramped up my exer cise and revamped my diet in the hopes that I’ll see more significant results. What do you think???