Dr Thomas Su Helps 40 Y/o with Too Many Curves - Tampa, FL

I'm a 40 year old female with one child who has had thick knees and love handles that I just couldn't get rid of despite years of exercise and a healthy diet. I've had these ever since my early 20's. I finally got the nerve up to try liposuction. I know that this isn't a weight loss program and I certainly can't change my bone structure, but I wanted to smooth out some of th extra pads of fat.

I finally got the nerve up to proceed with researching the procedure when I discovered that doctors were allowing and even preferring the procedure to be done awake. I have my reasons for not liking general anesthesia. I met Dr Thomas Su and his staff to review my problem areas. They have a nice clean office and made me feel comfortable - no feeling of being judged for my shape or my desire to change it. The lady I met with had lipo done in the past, so I really appreciated her honest input in how things are done and how most people feel at various stages through the procedure and healing process. There were a ton of before and after photos, many more than most offices. Dr Su took the time to show me what he could do; and, when I asked about additional areas, he was honest about ones that would make me look better verses really wouldn't help.

After making an appointment to have the procedure done, I was given a very helpful folder with things to do before and after my procedure. It was all very organized, scripts were called in to my pharmacy, pre procedure lab script was easy to handle too.

The day of the procedure -----

I went in dressed in scrubs and a t-shirt. They recommend dark baggy clothing which is a good idea as I have leaked through my bandages some and have some blood on my clothes. Also BAGGY clothes as the bandages do make clothes harder to get on. I would also recommend no elastic waistline. I could see where that may hurt.

After getting prepped/washed, I stood in front of a mirror with Dr Su as he marked up my body. We had not planned on him working on the back bra line area, but he said that he would smooth that area out as well. So he did some extra work with no added fee! Awesome!! The table I was worked on was heated .... loved it. I'm not normally bothered much by the lidocaine injections for numbing, but there were a few tender spots. It only hurt for a few seconds but the back where the bra strap typically hits was one of them and just under the buttocks. The instillation of the numbing solution was probably the most painful part of the procedure. There would be small "zingers" of pain that would go away once he left that area. He said that those were connective tissues that he was breaking up. I know that I have a lot of fibrous tissues to begin with and there were a few areas that I had a lot. Not everyone will have these areas or some may have more. Every body is different. So there was more discomfort in those areas. He was kind and took his time, would reposition and go in from a different direction if I was hurting. He added some additional lidocaine in the areas I needed it. So did it hurt? Of course, but it wasn't unbearable. The pain was short as he hit areas that were tender and I just told him when he hit those areas. He and my nurse were very calm and sweet. He did have me get up and he reviewed his work from all different angles many times during the procedure. I was really cool to see my body change. There was a spot on the back of my legs that had some cellulite (which they tell you up front that lipo does not remove), that he was able to greatly improve but he was honest up front about it.
When he was done with my one side he stopped to review his work and saw a little imperfection (maybe one tablespoon) that he fixed.

My husband was allowed back into the room (They would have allowed him to watch the whole procedure if he wanted) when I was done with one side.

I will say that I am tremendously ticklish, and that made my back bra line area probably more painful than it would be for someone not so ticklish. Even him just touching the area with his hands was uncomfortable ... but again not unbearable just a deep tickle.

I never felt hurried through the procedure, and the nurses were so nice. My compression garment isn't chafing me and is comfortable. Even with my garment and the padding on me, I can see a big difference in my outline. It's amazing. My first night post op pain was tolerable. I'm actually pain free while sitting in my recliner, and feel like I just started working out with soreness and not true pain when I get up. Once I've been up and moving, the soreness goes away. I think the transition from one positing sitting to moving and moving to sitting is the worse.

Unfortunately I'm a red head and pain meds just don't seem to work on me. I've used tylenol #3 in the past and it just made me sleepy without getting rid of the pain , and the norco #7.5 they prescribed doesn't make me sleepy (a bonus for daytime use) but it doesn't seem to change my perception of the pain either. I went from 9pm last night to 9 am this am without any pain pills and I don't feel any worse. Maybe if you are helped by pain pills you might do better with them. I just don't see a difference. I did however need some additional anti nausea pills (they offered to call in prior to the procedure and I said not to as I thought I had a big supply already at home). My husband called and the office called them in right away for me.

I don't have any after shots yet and I haven't uploaded my before shots yet. I'll try to figure that out later.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

So it's post op day #2 and I'm feeling much better. Still sore in certain spots and feel some swelling, but even with the swelling I can still see my shape is so much better than it was before the lipo. I suppose if I had a sit down job that I could go to work today or tomorrow, but my job is quite active so I'm still off work. No pain pills since 2pm yesterday - not even tylenol.

I tried on an old skirt that I had kept from 15 years ago.... it fit again! This was when I was at my thinnest. I tried on some new dresses I bought a year or so ago and thought to myself that they would look better if they were shorter! YAY! Still sore when I go from sitting to standing and vice versa. Once I'm in a position, whether sitting or moving, I'm comfortable with just some tylenol. I slept well the last two nights.

I'm looking forward to doing my abdomen in two weeks.