I had VASER lipo 10 days ago and so far all is well. I was about 140lbs, 5'5" but apple shaped so whenever I lost weight I ended up with scrawny chicken legs and my pot belly remained. I was so ashamed by my disproportionately blobby belly that I used to avoid going on holiday with people as I couldn't bear to have them see my tummy, and hated getting naked generally. I'm 29 years old. So...I decided to have upper and lower abs VASER lipo.
I picked a doctor in the UK who had good reviews, and who, once I had met, I felt understood what I was trying to achieve. Controversially, he is not a plastic surgeon, which I was concerned about but in the end decided that he had more experience than the London plastic surgeons I had met, and I felt that his previous work was more inline with what I wanted to achieve.
The procedure went fine. As I needed to drive my car immediately after the surgery they only gave me very mild sedation beforehand - I would imagine with a proper dose I would have been more relaxed. It was a bit uncomfortable when they put the anaesthetic in as its done quite vigorously and was quite sharp pain at times. But once the VASER started it was mostly fine (although I made the surgeon go back and put more anaesthetic in one area as it wasn't properly numbed and I could feel the VASER action which hurt). My incisions were left open, so once the lipo was complete, the doctor stood me up and blood-tinged solution gushed everywhere - it was almost free-flowing and i was left standing in a puddle of my own fluid which was obviously nice! But they showed me how to press areas to further drain the fluid etc. I got light-headed/felt I was going to black-out and so had to lie back down (and have some sugary drinks) a couple of times which is apparently quite normal, particularly when you are standing upright and looking downwards at your stomach.
So anyway - they bandaged me up, squashed me into my girdle (with extra padding in the mid-definition diamond areas) and once I felt a bit less heady, I drove myself off to a hotel (so I could leak in peace, without anyone knowing I'd had surgery). I decided not to tell anyone about my surgery so I spent a night in a hotel on my own. Had room service dinner, felt a bit grim but went to sleep with the help of painkillers and sleeping pills (having put down towels in case I leaked on the bed).
Next morning - pretty sore and I only just made it to the shower before I gushed liquid again (for the morning after don't take your pads off until you are somewhere waterproof like a shower!). A few more light-headed moments, but eventually managed to clean myself up, put new padding back on and then drove 4 hours back to London where I live. I was pretty sore that night, but I went back to work on Monday (after surgery on Saturday) and took a flight to Europe Monday evening for a meeting. Definitely feeling uncomfortable but it was manageable - I only took painkillers at night as my job is quite pressurised and I didn't want to be groggy or act strangely.
Now I'm 10 days on. I'm still uncomfortable (feels like I've strained my stomach muscles and stretching is a bit sore) but its fine to cope with. I wear a second, extra tight girdle over my full-body girdle to get extra compression, and I'm having massages 2 x per week with a guy who specialises in post-lipo massages. He didn't want to do ultrasound in the first week after surgery but says its okay after 10 days so I'll have my first ultrasound massage tomorrow. He says that it looks like my surgeon has done a good job (he says the only really bad jobs he has seem are with Smart Lipo?). There are definitely still knots and hard bits in my stomach, and its probably still swollen, but basically my stomach is flat and looks a million times better than it did before. I'm not really bruised anymore (but I'm not a bruiser generally). I'm hoping the knotty bits work themselves out, but I can't see them from the outside (can only feel then when I'm massaging myself).
I am aware that things will develop from now on and it may not all be good developments, but skin elasticity looks ok(not flawless, and I hope it will improve but its only been 10 days) and considering how disgusting my stomach was before, I am thrilled so far as its a big improvement. I always used to wear baggy tops as my belly bulged over my trousers, but now post-lipo, I look like a normal person with a flat stomach so I can wear fitted tops. That was quite an exciting moment. Girdle is a bit itchy sometimes, but I feel more protected wearing it (when I take it off it feels like my stomach isn't properly secured to my body - sounds ridiculously but its a very odd sensation.) so it only comes off for showering (and I have several garments, in decreasing sizes so I can maintain compression). I don't have any photos but doctor has some so if I can ask him for them I'll post them. I'm due back to have my flanks (and possibly upper back) done in a couple of months which I'm excited about given how pleased I am with the abs. I would clarify that my abs don't look perfect, but I wasn't expecting to look like a supermodel, I just wanted to look like myself but with better proportions, and a sleeker silhouette which is what I have got - I now have a flat stomach that stil looks feminine (I didn't want it looking super-lipoed and taut) and natural (I think!).
The recovery so far has been uncomfortable and annoying, but I've been at work (I have a demanding job and have been doing 80hr weeks) and have coped fine(although in the first week with all the padding and garments I couldn't get my shirts and suits to fit me properly so I looked a bit distorted). I'll do more updates and try and get photos when I go back for the flanks.
