Dec. 29, 2015 Lipedema, Liposculpture of the whole leg - San Antonio, TX

Have not had this done yet, I am preparing for surgery. I flew to Houston to meet with Dr. Fisher and I am very excited to be having this finally done. Dr. Fisher feels I am a good candidate to have this type of procedure done and that I should have a great outcome. It has been a long road to get here. Here is a little background on me.
Two years ago I went to Mexico and had several procedures done after losing 100 lbs, at that time the surgeon suggested I also get a lower body lift. He also said I should have the veins in my legs fixed first. So I had my veins treated and although the surgeon assured me they were all closed and no longer a problem, they now looked even worse. It would take a year for them to be dissolved. In the meantime I scheduled my lower body lift and thigh lift at a different clinic. One that had beautiful results as far as scars so I went there. At the time when I made my decision to go I did not know that my age (being over 50) would cause me to not have several of the needed procedures done. So even though my lower body lift turned out fine, I was unable to have any liposuction done on my stomach or my saddle bags. Also when the surgeon saw my veins he did not feel comfortable doing the long thigh lift, so I ended up with only a inner lift which did little or nothing to address my problem. So after going though all of that I still had the major issues I had before surgery. I would go back to the same surgeon and have more work done only it's my age that doesn't qualify me for any additional work to be done by him. A good friend of mine who had all her work done by Dr. Fisher told him about me and he said to have me call that he was sure he could help me. So I went to Texas to meet him. He is wonderful and said I am a good candidate to have the long thigh lift and the lipo to the saddle bags. He goes my a patients health rather than age.
So now the hard part, I am working on losing as much extra fat on my thighs as possible before surgery to help make the best out come available and now am in the process of resaving the money to have this surgery redone. Although I really liked my surgeon who did my lower body lift, I should have researched more and found out about the age thing as it was not a good choice for me at my age. I am shooting for the end of Aug. and I have told Dr Fisher I could take a last minute opening as I have a pretty flexible schedule. Please don't ask price as I do not feel comfortable discussing that as each person is so different. But I will say that Dr. Fisher's prices are really good, in fact the same or lower than what I first paid... I will be posting some before pictures, when I get the courage up to do so, as now after having the body lift the thighs (saddle bags) look even worse...ugh

Seems like things have changed a little recently....still planning on the long thigh lift, BUT I just recently learned I have lipedema, which is a condition that causes a one to have a very unusually larger lower body...Hello!!! It's a condition that is only treated by a water assisted liposuction, which needs to be done all over the leg. From the thighs down to the ankles. Since this is a medical condition insurance companies are now willing to pay. But with that comes time of getting the needed letters of the experts and making sure that your surgeon of choice is in the network. I am in the process right now to make sure Dr. Fisher is. Then I can proceed with the complete leg lipo, and then allow that to heal for at least 6 months and then go for the long lift as I know it will be greatly needed by then. Now that I understand it's a condition rather than simple abuse of my body, I feel a little better, as it has not been easy trying to figure out why my legs looked so bad after losing my much needed weight. I will update as I know more....So one thing I do know for sure Dr. Fisher will be doing the long thigh lift as that is not covered by insurance (oh darn!)

I just finished up having my varicose veins ablated this week so I could be a good candidate to have the tumescent liposuction on my whole leg from the thighs all the way down to the calves as this is the only known treatment for Lipedema. The diseased fat cells must be removed before they break down and leak causing bad leg swelling and pain...Actually just glad to finally get a diagnosis of what the heck was wrong with me. I've always known that I was much bigger than what I ate or the life style I lived. Plus the bad pain and bruising of the legs, which I always thought was normal. Just waiting to hear back from Dr. Fishers office on what the cost will be and how many procedures I will need so I can make plans. Insurance seems to be more of a pain, but I will attempt to get them to cover it or some of it since this is considered a medical procedure. After I get the whole leg lipo, (tumescent which is a water assisted form in order to be lymph sparing) I will need to heal for 6 months then finally have the long thigh lift... In the last month I have gotten in to see the most renowned expert on Lipedema, Dr. Karen Herbst from the University of Tucson, who was able to set me on a path of healthy eating and proper exercise for Lipedema.