Body contouring/liposuction after reaching goal weight

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Hello friends,

Some of you might remember me from before, I had my VSG almost 4 years ago, but I haven't really posted for the last 2 years. For those of you who have never met me, I went from 208 to 136 (highest-lowest), and 208-149 overall. I have worked hard to reshape my body with weight training and I guess I have been very successful, BUT I am still plagued by lower body flabbiness, so I came to the conclusion that surgery was needed if I wanted any more improvement. I went to see two plastic surgeons in regards to a posterior-lateral body lift. Both were 100% against doing a medial thigh lift on me even though my inner thighs are certainly an area of minor fat accumulation and laxity. Both have talked me out of the lift because they felt that my problem was not bad enough to warrant the massive seagull scar in the back. One didn't offer anything else, but the other said he can do a lot of contouring for me. He said he can do fairly aggressive Lipo on my knees and could do gentle lipo on my thighs to smoothen them out a bit. He said he will be careful in those areas due to the concerns about creating sagging skin after. He's Harvard-trained and was strongly recommended by my GP who has 30 years experience and says she sends all patients who want excellent results to him. I am travelling way out of town and paying extra for him over a different surgeon. Because of his training and excellent recommendations, I am, of course, tempted to trust his expertise, BUT I can't help but wonder how good lipo will be in areas where I already have some laxity. It's very difficult to find stories online from people who had lipo post-WLS, it's mostly just lifts.

So, long story short - has anyone here who reached their goal weight and was lean had lipo? Did you like your results? Did you end up with more cellulite or with more loose skin than before?

Thanks!

[woo woo 872]

:{P

Edited June 11, 2014 by woo woo

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

I would ask for lots of before and after photos. I have heard of many Lipo disappointments...

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Just wanted to check in, I had my breast lift/augmentation and lower body Lipo last Monday - 6 days ago. Everything went great! I got 325 cc subglandular anatomical style Gummy bear (silicone) implants, right now my chest measures about 1" bigger than it was in a supportive bra pre-op. They look huge and round naked, but in clothing, you honestly can't tell I had my breasts done. I went to a party last night and wore a pretty form-fitting non-stretchy dress that I have worn in the past and it fit just fine! Obviously, my size will probably go down a bit in the next few weeks, but I expect to either remain a D or maybe go up to DD after this. I'm glad I won't have to buy a whole new wardrobe. But I bought a very basic sports bra yesterday and had to go for the L even though I would normally wear an M because of my ribcage width.

In regards to lipo, he removed 1500 cc total, the majority of it actually came from my hips/saddlebags, which is interesting because both of us were expecting to get a lot more from my inner thighs/knees. He even seemed a bit hesitant to go into my hips/saddlebags because he thought it was more loose skin rather than fat and he didn't want to worsen how I looked, but evidently, both of us were wrong!

I'm obviously still quite a bit swollen, but it's coming down nicely. I have lost 3.8 lbs in 5 days since the surgery even though I certainly have overeaten for a day or two. Right now, my hips, inner thigh crease, and knees are already the same measurements as pre-op, and my mid-thighs are *drumroll* 2" smaller!!! I went shopping at H&M the other day and had no problem fitting into their pants - before, the cut wouldn't work for me at all since their pants are cut for straight, lean legs. My surgeon said he was very conservative with lipo-ing my inner thighs because of the loose skin, but the results have certainly been great as far as I'm concerned!

The bruising is gnarly and I have a fair bit of pain first thing in the morning, but I've been taking Percocet for sleep and a Tramacet here and there during the day, and I'm doing fine. I've been doing all my regular activities save for working out. I went back to work today, after preloading with some Tramacet, and it was ok!

My first pre-op appointment is the day after tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to having the dressings removed and seeing how my breast lift turned out.

[Smwtwins 29]

Congratulations on the great result. Sounds like you have done a good job managing the pain. Send pics if ur comfortable. My breast lift and Tummy Tuck are tomorrow morning. I'm a bit scars but excited too!! Congrats again and thanks for sharing your story!!