51 and Look 21 - San Francisco, CA

Before my surgery my MD sent me a packet of information that was sooo helpful. It described the exact swelling I would have with timelines, and even a mood timeline that described how my moods would be affected by the swelling and how my moods would get better as the swelling abated at about 1 month. He leaves you with no illusions or questions which is super helpful. But when you do have a question he and his staff are there to comfort you and answer your questions.

On day three we removed my garments for the first time and I was tiny. Not only was I tiny and my rear view was gorgous, but my skin on my normally cellulite ridden thighs looked as smooth as glass. I'm 51 years old and had cellulite on the back of my thighs and bottom, and that cellulite is GONE. My MD uses endermologie during the liposuction surgery which is a cellulite treatment that he uses as a standard treatment during liposuction to deliver the best possible results. I really was in shock, in a good way when I saw my photos yesterday because they look so great and will only get better!

I had 3000 + cc's of fat removed from all areas. Not sure how much more but my girlfriend said he filled one 3000 cc canister and went into a second one! That also made me happy because I asked him to be aggressive since I cannot really say my weight is stable in menopause.

It was not until day 4 that I began to swell (which he made very clear would happen). I swelled up alot between day 4 and day 7 and now each day since then my swelling reduces slightly. I think patience is tantamount to having a good experience. You must realize that your swelling will go down but it's different for everyone. The Bromelain and arnica tablets, morning and evening vitamins and arnica cream that were in my kit and included in my surgery cost, are really helpful. I have very little bruising and what little bruising I did have is going away super fast.

Be very careful when you remove your garments for the first time, I passed out and my husband wasn't home so I ended up taking a trip to the emergency room by amubulance. Apparently it's very common to pass out so have someone with you when you remove the garments. My dizziness did not go away until after 8 days post op. I also had contracted pancreatitis which the emergency room diagnosed and helped me deal with.

Next week I have my stitches removed and begin lymphatic massage. My doctor includes one lymphatic massage and one microdermabrasion for free with the cost of the surgery...so I'm excited! I will be 2.5 weeks post op which is really long to wait to have stitches removed, but because I'm so sensitive and pass out when I'm in pain I wanted to wait until my skin was a little less sensitive. What I like about my doctor is that he makes himself available daily if I have questions, and he let me know that everything I'm experiencing is normal. Not everyone passes out, and not everyone experiences pain the way I do, but I'm not that unusual, I am normal, and that was nice to know.

Yesterday I put on my red skinny pants that I hadn't been able to zip before the surgery and they fit like a glove. I even put them on over my garment which adds extra girth.

About the compression garments. If you order Vedette garments you will be very happy with the look and construction, but they run 1 to 2 sizes small. I had to return my medium which was one size up from where their sizing charts said I needed to be, and ordered a large which fits perfectly. I found my Vedette on ebay for 1/2 of the store price through the Vedette Outlet. If anyone wants me to post photos in my garment to see what I'm wearing I'm happy to do so. I had to buy a garment with sleeves since I had my arms done, but it's actually a really attractive garment and doesn't look like heavy hardware like alot of the garments out there. You cannot see it under clothes and they fit like a second skin. The hook and eye closure takes a few minutes but other than that they are terrific.

Merana compression garments are more expensive but the F-5 certified fabric is really soft so if you are itching or your skin hurts this might be the best garment at first. I've heard alot of folks say their doctors did not recommend a garment, but that seems a bit crazy. The garment not only helps you recover, holds you in, but actually makes it easier to sit down if you have your thighs lipo'd.

I will update every week or so until one month then I'll do monthly updates. But I am already absolutely certain that I'm happy with my results.

I had lymphatic massage two days ago and again I'm shrinking. Even my compression garments are loose in my upper abdomenal area now. I'll post updated photos soon! Tomorrow is the end of week 3 post surgery. Very excited about my results.

I'm adding photos even though there isn't a huge improvement from day 12. I am still swollen and numb on my hips, pelvis, inner thighs and lower abdomen with significant swelling still there. IN one week, at one month I'll re-photo. These photos were taken a little closer so it's hard to see the drop in size...anyway I'm still thrilled with my results. Also, I got on teh scales and I weighed only 1 pound less than before my surgery so I was kind of depressed about that, but my shape is totally different and that's what I was hoping for!

It's May 15th, I waited longer than anticipated to update my file due to some swelling on and off. I wanted to show you the true results. It's been 5 months and I could not be more thrilled.