The Attempt to Remove the Spare Tire - Sacramento, CA

I am actually a relatively small person, but all my fat is in my abdomen. I'm 5'4", 150 lbs., and pregnancy obviously took a toll on my body. I am terrified of plastic surgery and never thought that I would ever have any procedure, but I'm just so tired of people thinking I'm pregnant :\ I decided to go ahead with SmartLipo because even when I'm 125 lbs., my stomach is still big, and thus, I came to the conclusion to have the procedure now instead of theoretically after I lose the 25 lbs. I'm hoping to share my upcoming experience with those that need encouragement, will listen, or offer advice.

Also, I wanted to mention that there are a lot of great ways to finance this procedure through credit cards. The cost of the procedure is $6700, but I will only pay $5100, no interest over 21 months. To do this, I will be using the following credit cards with cash rewards: Chase Saphire, Citi Dividend, BofA Cash Rewards, BofA Rewards, Discover 21 month no interest. Let me know if you would like more information.

The big day is quickly approaching. I'm becoming more and more excited, anxious, and fearful. Today I started worrying about lidocaine toxicity and found myself googling to find out how many people have had issues. I also know that there is a 5 liter max fat removal and my doctor had told me that he would be removing 5 liters and possibly needing a second surgery. Then I read more on realself and many doctors say that 5 liters is considered a "large" liposuction procedure which then has increased risks. Sigh. I'm just afraid of something going terribly wrong...and me passing away...I can deal with any other complication but that one.

Well....I called the doctor's nurse today and expressed some concerns i had with potential lidocaine toxicity and she was very reassuring and even had the doctor call me later that day. The doctor was really assuring so I am feeling much better about tomorrow's procedure. OMG IT IS TOMORROW! Please pray for a safe procedure and recovery!

Today was the day! I was in pre op from 130-230, surgery from 230-530, and post op 530-600.

While I was in pre op, the nurse reviewed my current medications, took pictures, and explained what medications she would be giving me: ativan, antibiotic, and anti naseua pill. The doctor then came in and chit chatted for a bit, administered a demoral shot and rigt after the shot, he had me stand upto draw on my body and explain to me what he was going to do. Just about one minute into this exokanation I told him I was really tired and somewhat dizzy and he said that was the demoral kicking in and to sit back down. Let me tell yiu, demoral is good stuff!

I then went into the surgery room where they got me comfy and even asked what kind of music i wanted to listen to. Dr. S gave me a numbing shot where he was going to make a port hole, then cut a hole, and then inserted a stick-like instrument, not the cannula I believe because this was seemed smaller, and began to inject the tumescent fluid. Many other reviewers mentioned that this part hurt the worst, but I didnt find this very painful at all and he did this a few times during the procedure around my body. Initially, he only numbed my abdomen area because I was getting a low dose of lidocaine which meant that it would weara off more quickly. So Dr. S started on the stomach and then went to one side of my body and then to the next. I wasnt in much pain, a little oain here and there because I was on a reduced dose of lidocaine and I told him that I could handle it because we didnt want to run out of lidocaine bc I couldnt get any more. There was one spot that hurt like crazy, a tiny spot, so of course he used more lidocaine. He did this for a few other spots as well. The cannula tickeled in some places which is such a weird feeling, and it also hurt more around the rib bones. The smartlipo part, the laser, was very short and not painful at all, lasting about 2 minutes.Honestly, I was in surgery for 3 hours and never once did i think that it was taking too long and i also dont remember a whole lot which means that I must have been sleeping. I remember the doc saying a few things, mostly he was so excited for me and the results. I highly recommend demoral! He took out 5500cc but i believe that includes the 1500cc of tumescent fluid.

In post op, the same room, I was bandaged and cleaned from blood tinged oozing. Then the nurse helped me get into a compression garment and a binder. I need to wear the compression garmet until tomorrow which is when i can change the bandages and shower. After that I can wear spanx but I still havento wear the binder for three days.

My hubby ordered Cheesecake Factory food to go and we picked it up on thenway home. yummy! during the ride home, he tells me that i asked 7 times if i had called my mom, where the baby was twice, windered if we had picked uo the food yet when we had, etc. Yes, I was happily in lala land.

Once home I ate a bite or two in bed. I used the bathroom which took a lot of energy to stand up. I slept for a few hours and then woke up around 11pm and asked for the antibiotic and vicodin and used the bathroom, which again, took all the strength out of me. I then went back to sleep immediately. Then woke up at 3am for bathroom, gatorade, and yogurt and began typing this review.

As if now, I cant stand for long periods of time without feeling an overwhelming urge to sit down. I have leaked thriug thr garmet and binder in some areas and im sure there will be some more significant oozing when I shower in a few hours. Im actually afraid to shower bevause i am certain that i will be light headed, but i hear this is totally normal and also my hubby will be there with me. As for pain, Im not in a lot of pain. My tummy is sore so it is slightly painful to get out of bed but not horribly. My c section surgery was definitely a lot more painful than this, that is for sure. Please excuse the typos...Im still slightly drugged and also typing this from my tablet. I think I am going to be alrigt :-)

I'm posting three new pictures today- 2 days post op. I think my side profile improved but the back view looks more swollen. Or perhaps it's the light...you decide.

I went from awful (pre op) to awesome (immediately post op) to WTF happened? My upper/lowe abs are swollen and they make two big bumps from the side view. I'm also hard as a rock! Ahhhh!

Added updated pictures for day 11- I'm really swollen. This is officially proof that I went from a huge difference to no difference between day 2 and day 11.

Day 21- new pictures uploaded. The swelling is going back down!

5 weeks post op and frustrated. my new bidy is in thee somewhere, right?

3 months post procedure- still swollen and the swelling still gets worse at night. I posted new pictures taken in the morning.

Today I added two new pictures- 6 months post op. I have an appointment with the doctor on Wednesday and my hope is that we will be discussing a touch-up surgery. I'm happy with my results thus far, but believe that a second surgery would be beneficial to further shape my body. The second surgery should be covered at no additional charge and the nurses and doctor are already knowing that I will be requesting one.

Yay! It's official! I have a touch up surgery scheduled for March 17th! I've maintained my weight, but theoretically I should have lost weight after the fat was taken out the first time. So, this time I will continue to lose instead of maintain after the procedure. I didn't think Dr. S would do it originally, but after I told him how much I have exercised and dieted to maintain, he believed that I was trying and in it for the long run. I must have struck a soft spot, because he's doing the touch up at no charge!