LASER/VASER Lipo - I decided to stop putting my life on hold and do what makes me happy

I'm a 37 year old woman, 2 months away from turning 38. I've always been athletic (19 marathons in the last 8 years) but always had a stomach pooch. I'm 5'3 and my weight tends to hover around 135-140lbs, no kids. Given the pandemic and being less active, I gained about 10 more lbs and all of it went to my stomach. I've always known I wanted a mommy makeover after I have kids but since it's not looking like that's happening anytime soon, I decided to stop putting my life on hold and do what makes me happy.

I began my research in late February 2021. I had several virtual and in-person (COVID safe) free consultations with some well known, board certified surgeons mostly in the Bay Area where I live. I kept a very detailed notebook with questions, my interactions with the doctors, impressions of them, how they answered my questions, etc. I'd initially wanted an abdominal lipo with fat transfer to the breast but after more research and talking to the doctors, I decided it would be a waste of money for me given that I have tuberous breasts and about 50% of the fat does not survive anyway. I plan on implants later in the future. I was turned off from the other surgeons for several reasons - some were too pushy, too expensive, some focused too much on the cosmetic aspect without including the medical implications, some had zero personality and appeared bored, etc. I knew Hoffman was my guy as soon as I met him. While he's the consumate professional, he still has a sense of humor but was also honest with me and didn't try to sell me an unattainable dreams. I just wanna lose the gut and have my natural curves show through. Since I wasn't planning on fat transfer, we decided on LASER/Smart lipo. LASER kills the fat so it's not suitable for transfer but VASER doesn't and I believe is more expensive. Dr. Hoffman did say that he does keep the VASER in the OR and could use it if he comes across a particularly tough area of fat during the surgery. My consultation with him was on 3/17/21 and I decided by 3/19/21 that he's my guy. I paid the $500 fee to reserve my surgery day/time for 11:30am on 4/20/21. I also have to give a lot of credit to Karen and the rest of the staff for being so responsive to all my questions and filling out all the paperwork I needed for my job in order to take time off. I had my pre-op appointment on 4/7/21, 2 weeks before my surgery. I did all the paperwork, went over everything with Hoffman and his staff, took pictures, was given instructions on what not to do before surgery, made my final payment in full, etc. The day before the surgery, a nurse and the anesthesiologist called me to confirm my appointment and go over any last minute details and questions. Due to some scheduling issues, my surgery time was moved up to 12:30pm - no big deal, and was told be at the surgical facility at 11:15am. Since you can't eat or drink after midnight, I ate my last meal around 11:30pm the night before. I'll make another post about surgery day and my 1 week update, stay tuned....

Sorry I’m late with my update. I apologize in advance for being so wordy, I try to be detailed as possible.
Surgery day – 4/20/21: Prior to entrance into the surgical facility, I was given a rapid COVID test even though I’m fully vaccinated just for the safety of everyone involved in my procedure. Upon negative results (took about 15 mins), I was ushered in. I was given a pregnancy test, my a$$ would have been sent home if I was pregnant. LOL. A nurse took my vitals, checked my hemoglobin levels, went over family history, and other medical stuff. An IV fluid was started on me to keep me hydrated since I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since the previous night. The anesthesiologist came in and went over everything with me again. I was to be put under general anesthesia. Given the large area (upper abdomen, lower abdomen, sides/planks) being liposuctioned, it’s recommended that you go with general anesthesia so the doctor can really go in on you without you feeling any discomfort and to avoid them trying to manage your pain at the same time they’re operating on you. And frankly, after reading all the horror stories of people being in pain during their “awake” procedures, I was completely fine with being fully knocked out. Dr. Hoffman then came in and marked me up, and I was then led into the OR. Versed was injected to my IV and I don’t remember anything else after that. I woke up tired and drowsy, with my compression garment already on me. I must say I’m impressed that they were able to strap me into that thing while on the operating table. It took about 30 mins for me to be fully awake and hold my head up. They helped me get dressed and I was wheeled out in a wheelchair to my waiting partner. Side note: Wear loose-fitting clothes like sweats or pajamas and a zip shirt for ease. No jeans or leggings because you don’t want anything rubbing up against your body.
I wasn’t in any pain for the first 2 days, just super sore and uncomfortable because I had to sleep with my head propped up. Thanks to all the other posts on here, I was super prepared with puppy pads and dark towels (which I ended up not using at all because I never leaked through my 3 incisions – 1 in my belly button and 2 on the sides, they were sutured), Bromelain for inflammation, lymphatic drainage supplements, Anica gel and tabs for soreness, and Miralax (which I also didn’t need, I pooped normal on day 2). I also got an extra compression garment and waist trainer from Amazon so I could use when I washed the one they gave me. I got my first LMT on day 2, no pain whatsoever, they just worked on my lymph nodes. From day 3 onward, Lawd have mercy! I was so freaking miserable and swollen like a pregnant cow. I had a few breakdowns because I was convinced I’d wasted my money to look even worse than I did before. Not only was my stomach swollen, so was my face, butt, thighs, back, and pubic area. The pubic area pain was the WORST! It was so swollen and ached that even sitting down or touching it was torture. Had my 2nd LMT on day 6 where they really worked on my abdominal area. It hurt but it wasn’t unbearable. I found that walking helped me feel better. After laying/sitting for a while, I was always in more pain and super sore. I had my 1st post-op apt on day 8. I felt like sh!t but I was assured that all the swelling was perfectly normal. They took pictures, and compared to my pre-op pictures. There was a difference even though I still looked pregnant. LOL. I was given a firming gel to start using on my stomach. 3rd LMT on day 10 – they worked on my pubic area and it felt SOOOOOO much better and less swollen. I had another LMT on day 14 and that also felt good. Even though my swelling is taking forever to go down, I’m physically starting to feel better. Patience is not my strongest virtue so this waiting period is hard for me but I’m hanging in there and trusting the process.
I’ll continue to update you all.

My body is so up and down, it's been fluctuating. I find that I'm less swollen when I wake up and super swollen and bloated by the end of the day. I actually started taking a diuretic but I was told not to so I've since stopped. From the front, it doesn't look too bad but the side is like whoaaa! I'm also marathon training right now so while I'm not necessarily gaining fat, I'm gaining more muscle so I don't know if that's affecting me. I've also noticed that my stomach has gotten more itchy and sensitive in the past few days, my massage lady said it means that my nerves are waking back up. She also says that she can feel all the fluid still inside me. I'm now wearing a super tight waist trainer, seems to be helping but I'm not where I wanna be. I'm approaching my 3 month mark and I've been told that I would see 80% of my results by then but I'm honestly scared and worried. I wish I could show you guys a pancake flat stomach but this is my reality.