Revision of Botched Vaser Lipo - Sat 7th. 2013 - United Kingdom, GB

I had Vaser Lipo to my lower & upper abdomen, lower back and flanks 8 months ago. Somehow I knew from the start of my recovery period that something was 'not right' in my stomach area but patiently waited for "the swelling to go down" as they kept telling me to. It took 6 months to realise that there was no swelling left, and that the disgusting lumpy grotesque pot belly I had been left with, was basically my final result and what I was stuck with. It was a shock to take in - that this deformed, scarred (due to a seroma I developed and not treated properly, hence it ended up deforming and disfiguring a large part of my lower abdomen), disfigured, lumpy mess was now my new stomach. I was devastated. Apart from a bulge on my lower abdomen, my stomach had always been smooth, I didn't even have a single stretch mark or blemish on it. All i wanted was the lower ab bulge removed and some stubborn fat from the upper abdomen removed, so I could have a flat stomach for the first time in my life and which I had never been able to achieve since childhood despite dieting, being active and within perfect range of BMI most of my life. At first I was very reluctant to have this revision, but I am desperate to get something done about this mess --- it's not just the aesthetic side that is so upsetting but it has, since the operation, caused me enormous discomfort, to the point of being unable to eat properly or even go to the toilet 'normally'. It's insane. A normal balanced meal is now a thing of the past, I can just about handle small portions of food, hence am severely lacking important nutrients as a result, which makes me feel even weaker; if I have a meal, (we're talking scrambled eggs with a tomato here) , my stomach will be swollen painful and distended for hours afterwards. I wanted to write this review because I haven't seen many reviews about lipo revisions, so I thought I'd share my experience in case anyone is thinking about doing the same thing. I have no idea what I am letting myself in for, I just know I cannot stand having this huge protruberance that has amassed itself around my belly button. Apart from the vaser, I am also having a fat graft as the surgeon had left a huge dent just above my buttock, and again I have no idea how that is going to turn out so I am just keeping my fingers crossed and trying to keep positive. Will post photographs at some point - My 'Before' pics from the original operation, and the ''After' photos of the final, botched result. I will then hopefully keep on top of this review/blog with current, updated photos of my progress, as I go through the recovery period after my revision. I have heard and read many times, that trying to 'revise' or 'improve' lipo is a bad idea and usually causes worse results but I have been in such harrowing deep despair, shame and depression and mental agony for too long now, I have been virtually bed bound because of how negatively this has impacted on my life - i.e. my job (not possible to do anything in my line of work while I am in this present condition), sex life or rather lack of; plus I am single, and any chances of ever having a new relationship are nil, since I know not one man would want to touch me with a barge pole once he saw my vile disgusting stomach. So despite all the bad press about lipo revisions, I am willing to take the risk. If it does not work out, then I will to go on to Plan B. But for now, fingers crossed. The zero dollar cost is not a typo as it is free; the clinic has offered and is paying the anaesthetist, theatre, all aftercare treatment (lymph drainage massage etc) and the surgeon is waiving his fee. Yes, it is the original surgeon who will be doing the revision, as crazy as that sounds -- we have been through several meetings and discussions over what can and should be done and what I can realistically expect, plus we discussed how the amount of care and attention was severely lacking from him the first time around, and will be hugely improved. Any comments, queries, or good luck wishes would be gratefully received. Thank you!!

Having woken up from wonderful nap, sleep being a very rare thing for me nowadays, what with worrying about the whole botched operation since I realised my final results around the 6th month were atrocious, and then worrying about the revision op, and once the op was over and I got home, I was just way too uncomfortable to sleep, due to the tight compression garment, abdomen binder 3D vest, and a lot of pain in back and abdomen, and just weirded out by the whole thing --- mostly I think, the realisation that the mental torture that has lasted 8 months is finally over - so basically didn't get any sleep at all Sat night except a couple of 2 hour naps.

Anyway, now with the op being over, I would have liked to do a proper update - i.e. details about the operation itself, my post-op drinking/eating/sleeping/medication-taking, etc., but it's very uncomfortable and painful to sit in an upright position, for very long, so this will have to be a quickie, to be updated with more info as I start to feel better. And I have managed to take a very crummy picture, to upload, which is just to give a general idea, but I will post better ones soon.

Today I went back to the clinic - they want you there the day after the operation, to clean you up & change your bandages & help you put on clean new spare compression garment so I could wash my other one when I got back home, and check how you are getting on. The appointment, just like last time, was with one of their excellent nurses (I'm seeing my Plastic Surgeon on the 12th,so that's just 5 days post-op, which is a VAST improvement compared to last time .... which is good since i'm just about done complaining about anything else now!!) The nurse removed my compression garment and my bulletproof police vest, as I affectionately like to call this instrument of pure torture (3D state of the art supertight foam vest with a stiff board inserted over abdomen). Nurse's reaction was very positive and complimentary about the results. I couldn't really see properly, as there were no mirrors in the room and I was lying down anyway so i just lifted up my head slightly and saw ...... a flat stomach for the first time in my life (well since probably I was 3 years old I guess) and then had to lie down again, as my back and abdomen are in a lot of pain and discomfort. Last time I had the operation, I remember that I didn't see any good result even on post-op Day 1, and was told it that was due to my swelling up very quickly. ....... I now realise that the job just hadn't been done properly. This was a very different stomach than the one I saw last time around. A million trillion times different.

When i got home after the clinic, I removed everything so that I could have my shower, stood in the mirror, and was ... amazed. It was post-op Day 1 in the evening, and already I could see that suddenly... No MORE Great-big-monstrous-potbelly Frankenstein-creation-Lumpy-Bumpy-Scarred Disgusting-Freakshow-Stomach ... all gone .... and replaced by .... OH WOW ... Flat stomach -- no bumps or lumps, almost... perfect??? .... must be dreaming ... -- that was in the short space of time that I was able to take my garment & vest off to have a shower last night. I didn't look at myself for very long as I was so worried about putting back on properly the whole damn kit and kaboodle of bulletproof vest (that fastens at the BACK, of course, just to be super awkward !!) and compression garment (try squeezing those hooks together when it's got a nappy underneath to catch drainage fluid, plus a big foam 3D vest!!!). So I didn't take any other pictures, but shall hopefully be able to take more in next few days.

I shall try to upload the one I took - it's not very clear and is a mess of bandages and nappy parts so, not terribly attractive, but when I put my 'Before' picture up next to it tomorrow, or as soon as I can, you hopefully will be able see the difference. So far, it's been tiring and painful but if my stomach stays as it looked today, no scars lumps or bumps and all flattened out, then I will be able to say this has been a successful revision. But it is super early days yet, so all of that is yet to come. Fingers crossed!

Oh and if someone can tell me how to put paragraph breaks in revisions and comments, I'd be most grateful!

Oh and I seem to have worked out the paragraph thing, miraculously. Much easier to read now, was a positive eyesore before.