Dr Thomas Su Helps 40 Y/o with Too Many Curves - Tampa, FL
1 1/2 years later ...
Pre lipo:
1. I definitely prefer the no sedation lipo.
2. Arrange your living/sleeping space: pillows (lots of pillows for comfort), back scratcher, item picker upper, water jug, I think the recliner was the most comfortable place to be for day and night for a good week after surgery. A side table with all your needed items.
3. Loose, dark clothing for surgery and afterwards .... no elastic waistband if you're getting the abdomen done. Flip flops or shoes easy to slide on (or a helper there to help dress you)
4. Pillows for the ride home in the car
5. FOOD! The day of surgery, CARB OUT before surgery! And grab some carbs on your way home or have a sugary snack waiting for you. And this is coming from a low carb diet person.
Right after surgery:
1. Pain pills, nausea pill rx were given prior to the day of surgery. Have them readily available.
2. Expect to do nothing the day of surgery. Go home and rest.
3. My doctor's office provided disposable protective covers to keep blood off of stuff. Very useful.
The days after surgery:
1. Keep clothes from rubbing the incisions. Some incisions that rubbed on my clothes, bra strap, etc got more irritated and are still visible (although not bothersome). I used some silicone patches to help cover them until I developed a bit of an allergy to them. Even a band aid can help protect the incision site. At 1 1/2 years, most of my incisions are almost invisible. Some you can't even see. The ones that rubbed by clothes and my bra are still a bit red but improving.
2. I might have gone over board, but I used neosporin on my incisions. Kept them clean and free of infection.
3. The pain is less if you either keep moving or keep siting. Changing from sitting to moving or moving to sitting just plan hurts!
4. Take enough time off work - how much depends on what you do and what area was done. The abdomen was the slowest to heal in terms of pain level; the arms the quickest.
Cost:
The cost varies from area to area and person to person. I think there is a differential based on the amount of work needed. Take advantage of the specials they offer and follow on facebook or just plain ask.
I love my new look and have been very happy with the results. Dr. Su and his team were amazing, and I'd still recommend them wholeheartedly!
scubaRN's provider
WoW! I have a cute butt now :-)
Replies (5)
I'll compare this procedure to the one I had two...
25 Jun 2015
- 1 day post
I'll compare this procedure to the one I had two weeks ago on my bra line/waist/flanks/outer thigh/ and knees (procedure #1).
The abdominal lipo procedure itself was a lot easier than my first procedure. Less pain during the procedure, and he already knew that I don't respond well to lidocaine and thus needed more lidocaine than the average person. Therefore, he was better able to numb me up before starting. I still, however, had one resistant area that he was so kind and understanding and he was able to finally get it numbed.
I felt that the abdominal lipo was much, much easier than my first procedure. I did lots of crunches and heel lifts, and I did get up during the procedure to have him assess the smoothness of the lipo. I can definitely see where if I had been under general anesthesia that I would not have been able to get such great results. Each time I stood up (until the last time), you could see small areas that were hanging a little funny or had a little fat hiding. He taped up the areas he was worried about the skin reattaching smoothly and he applied my foam/compression garment himself. I'm going to my follow up visit in a few hours and I'll update again later.
I will say that the immediate post op pain with this procedure was sooooo much more than my first procedure. I was crying with pain. I'm a non-responder to codeine and it's derivatives (about 7-10% of the population does not respond due to lacking the enzyme to convert the medicine to an active form in the body). Dr Su made sure I had a different pain medication (straight morphine) for recovery. Since I never had it before, I started low and had to go up to 60 mg to go from a crying pain level to 7 out of 10. After a second dose of 60 mg (every 6 hours), the pain was down to 5/10, and finally after my third dose I am at 2/10. For those of you hurting after the procedure, please talk with your doctor. Yes these procedures hurt, but a different type of pain med may be required for you.
Eat lots of carbs before your procedure (if you're doing it awake). I had a hearty breakfast before my lipo and it definitely helped. I also found that taking zofran before my procedure made it easier on me as well. I was nauseated during the first half of my first procedure and took a zofran at my break. That made the second half of the procedure much easier. This time I just took it before and had no nausea at all. Zofran is a miracle drug in my book!
I have one more procedure down the road (my arms), and I'm so looking forward to enjoying my new "sports car" body. :-)
Replies (3)
Did you have to have massages done?
Hi,
Going to have my abdomen done this week. I had my upper arms done and had unbearable pain and had vomiting the first night after the procedure. I took tramadol and think this may have contributed to my vomiting in addition to the pain from the procedure. Thereafter I only took tylenol which was not enough for the pain. I suffered too much than I think should have.
Now trying to get a better plan for pain management with this upcoming procedure. What do you suggest for pain ? The morphine you mentioned was it a pill, liquid or shot? Was it demerol, vicodin, percocet, tramadol?
There does not seem to be a lot of options for pain management particularly if these opiod based medications cause you to vomit which then makes the situation worse ( to have vomiting and excruciating pain). Please help with any suggestions.
Replies (5)