47 Year Old with Lipodema - Life Changing Exerience with WAL Liposuction - Beverly Hills, CA

In September, I wrote Dr. Jason Emer asking about cellulaze in conjunction with some liposuction - my aspirations at this point were simply to smooth some severe cellulite and contour irregularities - hips and thighs WAY out of proportion to the rest of my body - so that I could feel more comfortable in workout clothes as I continued the fitness plan I'd begun several months earlier.

Dr. Emer responded immediately, and soon thereafter I was in for my consultation. His patient care coordinators, Deanna and Melissa, made me feel at home right away. Dr. Emer's energy was immediately likeable. He asked me some questions - did I experience any pain in my legs? Did I have other female relatives with disproportionately large hips and thighs? I didn't have the pain, but definitely had an aunt who was otherwise thin but had gargantuan hips. Dr. Emer told me he believed I had lipodema, a condition that causes fat cells on the lower half of the body to swell. It's a progressive condition that can become severely disfiguring and can interfere with one's normal way of life.

Weight was something I'd struggled with my whole life, but well into my 40's, it was not just my metabolism that slowed down. Dr. Emer recommended WAL (Water Assisted Liposuction) of my abdomen, back, flanks, arms, hips, and all of my thighs, down to my knees. This was more than could be accomplished in one surgery - he actually recommended three. Financially, it was a lot more than I'd anticipated, and I left figuring I would move on the hips and outer thighs first and sort things out from there.

The next day, I got a call from Deanna saying that Dr. Emer had had a patient cancel surgery for the following day. If I could come in, he would perform the work detailed in two surgeries in one day, saving me about $6000. I decided to go for it.

We did my upper and lower abs, flanks, back, arms, hips and outer thighs. Dr. Emer took as much fat as could safely be removed, then used some of it to fill some of the cellulite dimples and smooth the contours of my butt (sort of a butt lift).

We learned that I have a high tolerance for the pain medication given during the procedure, and a not so high tolerance for pain! I remember it hurting, but with zero regrets.

I was swollen and bruised and sore after the procedure, but almost immediately I could see a difference in my body.

My clothes fit better. I had a waist. In my tight compression garment, I still looked like a big girl, but I was a big girl with smoother contours - a little bit more hourglass and a little less pear.

This only served to fuel my motivation to eat right and work out. And the lbs continued to drop.

I went on to have two more procedures. The second addressed my legs with another fat transfer to fill dimples. The change was extraordinary.

I was able to buy jeans in the regular women's section instead of plus size. And they looked good. :-)

Because I'd already been losing weight, people who didn't see me regularly would just comment that I kept looking better and better. A few people asked me for my trainer's number. (My trainer is GREAT, but I'm glad I get to sing Dr. Emer's praises HERE!)

My last procedure was one Dr. Emer did pretty much for free (I paid for OR costs and some fat transfer); I still had some "saddle bag" protrusions under my hips (mostly because of the limitations of how much fat you can remove safely in one procedure), and he wanted me to be as happy as possible with my results.

I'm actually still recovering from the last surgery, but already I can wear dresses that aren't necessarily a-line because I AM AN ATTRACTIVELY-PROPORTIONED WOMAN. I'm still losing weight, and will continue this effort for another 20 lbs, but I'm at a point right now where I don't feel like I have to camouflage my hips and butt

(actually, with 2014 being the year of the booty and all, I'm even kind of on trend!)

For me to feel like a normal woman , wear normal clothes, go to the gym without worrying about what my butt looks like (not to mention, simply having less abdomen getting in the way) and to know I dodged a bullet by addressing my lipodema quickly and thoroughly is absolutely priceless.

Yesterday, I was back in Dr. Emer's office for my one week post surgery follow-up and everyone agreed the results are looking great!

I do have some skin laxity on the front/inner thighs and had some swelling on the anterior thighs we addressed with Venus Legacy treatments. I will write a separate review about this, but just wanted to say here that it is helping.

I realized I'm actually at my 3 month mark from my first procedure. I will post some before and after pictures soon...