Would not recommend

Hey y’all! I’m a wife and mom of 4 and after years of careful consideration and research, I have finally made the decision to go through with it. I had my first consultation and everything went well. My pre-op appointment is in a few days and I have a list prepared with a ton of questions that I forgot to ask during the initial consultation. I am opting to have a tummy tuck with hernia repair, a BBL, and lipo. There are a few reviews that have made me nervous, but overall, Dr. Awada has some of the best reviews and before and after photos that I’ve seen when researching these procedures. And believe me, I’ve been doing a lot of research and have waited a long time to get this done. I first met with the coordinator, she was very pleasant, although I did feel like she was trying to sell me every procedure in the book. However, I know what I want, why I came, and stayed firm. Dr. Awada greeted me thereafter, examined me and gave her opinion. I appreciated her candor when giving recommendations. I will be documenting my journey both via video and through here, if anybody is curious to follow my journey and experience with Dr. Awada. My surgery is scheduled for July 15, 2019. I’m ready to get rid of this mom-bod lol!

Alright guys, so let me start by saying Dr. Awada and her staff were absolutely amazing from beginning to end. Dr. Awada explained everything to me prior to going into the operating room and asked me what my expectations were and what I would like the end result to look like. Her assistants and nurse anesthesiologist were all great and personable. I was really nervous and they’ve helped tremendously to calm my nerves. I’ve received 3 or 4 phone calls asking how I’m doing since I’ve been home recovering. My 1 week post-op appointment is tomorrow. I’m really excited to see how I look underneath the garment. From what I can tell, my arms and bbl look great so far and I have a tiny waist. I have 4 drains (2/arm and 2 lower abdomen). Honestly, I’ve slept like absolute garbage. I can’t get comfortable and the arm drains are the worst. I think if I didn’t have them, things would be much easier, but I keep telling myself it’s only temporary. But really hope they come out tomorrow lol. My back hurts SO bad from being hunched over - so lower back and arm drains are easily the worst parts of this entire journey. I stopped taking my pain pills because I still haven’t had a bowel movement and I know they are probably constipating me. So obviously, I’d be more comfortable if I took them as directed. But I am taking all of my other meds as directed.
That’s it for my update for now :)

This review is honest and 100% mine.
I’m conflicted.
I’ll be 4 months post-op on Nov 15th and I’m not very satisfied with my tummy tuck. For reference, I had a full tummy tuck with hernia and muscle repair. 
From the very beginning I was concerned about fluid build up and I was assured there wasn’t any. However, I have had some kind of lump above my belly button since my first post-op appointment that was dubbed as “swelling” that has never gone away. It has made my belly button an odd shape, like its pressing against the top. You’ll see in the pictures. 
There hasn’t been much reaching out by the doctor or her team afterwards either. In the beginning, I did get checkEd up on and I did have a few post-op appointments scheduled, but I’ve only seen Dr. Awada once (maybe twice but I’m not too sure) at my post-op appointments. Also, I haven’t had a post-op appointment since I was about 2 1/2 months post op. It is true the medical assistants do everything at the post op appointments from removing your sutures, to your drains, to cleaning your incision. I’m trying to remain optimistic and give my body the full 6 months of healing before being completely dissatisfied with my results, but I’m very skeptical. My swelling hasn’t really subsided at all since surgery, leading me to believe I have fluid that needs to be removed. Dr. Awada is more expensive than many surgeons I have researched before choosing her, and I’m really hoping I didn’t make a mistake. 
I’m attaching pictures of my stomach in its current state so you can see how much loose skin is still there, my bellybutton with the lump above if giving it an odd shape, and the “swelling” that has yet to subside in the least. I am also going to attach pictures of how my stomach looks when I bend over. Although a decent amount of skin was removed, it appears more should have been. 
I will say, though, she did an amazing job on my incision. I’m very pleased with the incision line.