Vaser Lipo Before & After Pics 2 ½ Months On

Last week i showed you my photos 3 ½ weeks after surgery.

Today I’m showing you the photos at 2 ½ months!

I figured in order for you to see noticeable changes in each set of photos, I needed to leave it longer between photos, so here you are!

L-R Before, after 3 ½ weeks, after2 ½ months

As you can see, the swelling and hardness that is evident in the earlier photos has all but gone, leaving smooth curves and a soft silhouette.

It feels like the swelling has gone completely, but given that it can take 6 months to completely settle I’m sure there are still more changes waiting to happen.

L-R Before, after 3 ½ weeks, after2 ½ months

I love that my back is so sculpted now, you can now differentiate between the end of my back and the top of my bum and it looks naturally contoured.

The same can be said about my tummy. You can see very subtle definition line in the centre of my torso above my belly button, and gentle curves by my hips.

L-R Before, after 3 ½ weeks, after2 ½ months

 

I still have some fluid and swelling in the lower part of my tummy which is completely normal due to a number of things, namely gravity, and this will eventually lessen over time.

In a month from now I’ll do another set for you, but suffice to say I can’t wait to get in my bikini this summer!

3 ½ Weeks Post Surgery

3 ½ Weeks Post Surgery

The most noticeable change now is the gradual retreat of the swelling. 

Every day I can feel and see a change in my body.

From Left- Right. Day Before surgery. 2 weeks after. 3 1/2 weeks after.

 Areas that had felt hard with swelling begin to feel softer and I’m no longer in any kind of pain.

From Left- Right. Day Before surgery. 2 weeks after. 3 1/2 weeks after.

 

I’ve still got a long way to go- they say it can take up to 6 months before your body has fully recovered and reached its final shape, so I’m in it for the long haul.

From Left- Right. Day Before surgery. 2 weeks after. 3 1/2 weeks after.

For my next post i think I’ll wait a few more weeks to see a really noticeable change.

So far so good!

Monday 2nd April- 1 Week Post Op

Monday 2^nd April- 1 Week Post Op

SO! It’s been a whole week since i underwent my vaser lipo and my current state is best described in one word.

Swollen.

For this reason i decided not to take a set of photos as they would not be a true reflection of the procedure or me. 

My body has undergone a traumatic operation and it needs time to heal and settle, so in one week from now i will begin to photograph the changes.

I’m back to work tomorrow after my 6 days off but other than some moderate discomfort, I’m feeling pretty O.K.

Not much has changed since a day ago, the pain continues to subside and in a week i will be taking my first proper set of before and after photos which I’m extremely excited about!

For now, I’m continuing with my daily massage after my showers to aid healing, I’m seeing Julie once a week and I’m using my Beauty Works Ultrasound massage whenever i can.

 

Roll on next week!

(Please note: Due to the fact that I’m aware you are all chomping at the bit to see the first set of before and after photos i will be posting these for you tomorrow so make sure you come back for the first big reveal!)

Saturday 31st March- 5 Days In

Saturday 31st March- 5 Days In

I'm not going to lie, today has been hell.

 I'm exhausted from a dreadful night sleep, my pain tolerance is waning substantially and I feel more and more claustrophobic  in my garment as the days go by.

The mr is out at golf all morning and I'm just pottering around the house. 5 days on the pain has lessened, but it's also changed. It's not so sever, but it's sore and relentless.

I can't escape it, even for a minute. My favourite part of the day is the 15 minutes I spend free from my prison when in the shower, before I'm faced with having to squeeze my sore and bruised torso back into it.

I feel so fed up, I know it's only been 5 days, but the combination of the painkillers doing very little and being tired from sleep deprivation has created a monster.

I can't get comfortable, my garment hurts like hell, the itching just won't quit and I don't feel like I can cope with it much longer.

Because I chose to have this procedure done and therefore  indirectly inflict this pain on myself I don't feel like I am in position to complain and should just get on with it quietly. Being brave is all well and good but today I'm not being brave.

I'm a fed up, hurting person who wants a hug.

I’ve managed to give myself 2 ultrasound massages so far with my hand  held body massager- it doesn't feel like it does much to be fair but I hear it's meant to be fab for you so I will continue with it.

On the plus side, I've lost 1 inch from my bust and 2 from my waist. I appreciate that this is great but at the moment, today, I can't see past the discomfort.

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Wednesday 28th March- 2 Days In

Wednesday 28^th March- 2 days In

Success, I managed to sleep relatively well last night!

I've got the hang of going to the loo in the night- which due to your lymphatic system working over time you will need to visit a lot! It's all good though, it's your body trying to help heal you.

  

I enjoyed my shower this morning, allowing the warm water to caress my bruised and sore skin- it was a delicious massage of sorts!

While I noticed I was more swollen today and the definition I saw yesterday had (hopefully temporarily) gone, I had at least lost the 5lb I gained immediately after surgery, and also a further 3lbs for good measure!

Today is lymphatic drainage massage day and to say I'm bricking it would be a lie. I am totally petrified! I can barely touch my skin without winching, how the hell am I going to cope with a massage!?

My appointment was booked for 4pm and my dad picked me up at 1 to ensure we had plenty of time to get there (You never do know with the M25)

We got there an hour before my appointment but kindly, the lady who was massaging me, Julie Bradford saw me sooner.

I have to just say, she was wonderful! Friendly, softly spoken and best still, she promised me I wouldn't feel any pain! 

 I told her I was scared of the pain and hadn't taken any painkillers since 6am that morning as I was acutely aware of the side effects of taking too much cocodamol- constipation, which when you already have a sore, swollen tummy, is never going to end well!

The wonderful Julie!

I also told her that the painkillers weren't doing much for me in any event, at which point she asked Dr Comins to pop down and see me.

He informed me that he couldn't give me anything stronger as that would too cause constipation, and in any event I should been feeling much better within the next 48 hours.

He then examined my drains (2 in the front, 1 in the back).

 I told him the back was still leaking but very little fluid was leaking from the front two, at which point he informed me he would take them out now!

So there i am, laying 1/2 naked on this bed, war wounds out for all to see, tired, in pain and scared of what was to come when Dr Comins comes back with some tweezers and sterile looking bits and pieces.

I held Julies hand and tried to be brave as he snipped away at the stitched holding the drains in.

I won't lie, yes it hurt, though only momentarily. Let's just say, it didn't tickle.

Anyway moving on to the massage- I wish I hadn't worried about it, it was lovely, if a little odd!

Julie was hooked up to a machine via wires and she placed a pad attached to wires underneath my thigh. She put on her sterile gloves and informed me that we were creating a circuit and when she touched my body, I would feel very gentle, pulsations of energy which would help penetrate my skin and kick start my lymphatic system to help get rid of remaining, excess fluid still within my tummy and flanks.

She only very lightly touched me and I found the experience entirely relaxing and the relief I felt from being out of my prison (my garment) was heavenly for all of an hour.

I'm due back on Friday to have e last drain removed and for another session, which I'm now rather looking forward to!

At home, I noticed I needed to pee a hell of a lot more and also my unquenchable thirst had come back with a vengeance, both of which are positive signs though.

I’ve never drunk so much water in my entire life these past days!

With regards to how I look- I am aware that my body has been through a real trauma and it is now very swollen.

 I am reassured by Dr Comins who keeps telling me that the results are going to be great.

He hasn't been wrong on anything else so far so I'm inclined to believe him! 

Monday 26th March- Procedure Day Part 1

Monday 26th March- Procedure Day

 Part 1

D-day has arrived and I'm excited and scared, but honestly, I’m  mostly scared.

My appointment isn't until 12pm, which leaves me with plenty of time to fret all morning!

I'm hungry and thirsty (as you can't eat or drink for 6 hours before the procedure), so I’m left chewing ferociously on gum to stop my mouth feeling so dry.

I may have also had a cheeky ½ cup of tea, to steady my nerves, naturally...

We leave at 9am to give us (what we thought would be) plenty of time, but London being London ensured we hit tonnes of traffic  but thankfully we made it to the NCP Carpark and had time for a relatively leisurely stroll to the clinic in Knightsbridge.

With my heart pounding hard in my chest, we arrive and are greeted by the friendly faces of the nurses who tell me they will be looking after me- I feel reassured and in safe hands!

Dr Comins is there, not in his usual attire but in surgical scrubs and greets me before introducing me to my anesthetist.

He asks me when i last ate or drank and I'm forced to confess to my small cup of tea, at which point I’m informed that i shouldn’t have had that and consequently I’m only just on the cusp of being able to be sedated because of that.

Whoops!

Thankfully I’m good to continue and I'm taken into a room where I read through the consent form and sign it.

 My nurse asks me general  health related questions, such as if I'm on any other medication while taking my blood pressure.

I'm weighed (to enable the anesthetist to determine how much sedative he can use) and I’m sent into the bathroom to change into a really fetching gown, socks, paper pants and hair net.

Sexy it is not!

I can see the door to the procedure room open as i walk out and in the words of Olly Murs, my heart skips a beat.  I walk over to my hubby reclining on the comfy sofa in the waiting area, leave him my bag and kiss him goodbye.

I turn around to walk into the theatre and try my hardest not to cry.

 Im petrified.

Inside, Dr Comins does a fab job of helping to lighten the mood.

I remove my gown, leaving me in just my fetching, big, white paper pants and prepare for him to take photos of me to use as reference for my before and after photos.

(I've put these photos in this post within my dedicated Vaser Lipo Diary tab at the top of my blog which you can reach by clicking HERE. I've done this in case you don't wish to see a 1/2 naked, podgy person whilst your eating your brekkie, lunch or dinner and will do the same with all my photos for the same reason. Plus, some of them are quite graphic. You've been warned!)

‘’Do you have breast implants?’’ he asks. ‘’No’’, I giggle, ‘’They’re all me!’’.

I feel far more relaxed now as he gets out a sharpie pen and begins to mark my tummy and flanks.

I’m then asked to lay down on the theatre table, where he gets me to do a stomach crunch so he can mark out the location of my muscles to help with the sculpting and definition side of the Vaser.

I’m then aware of the anesthetist sat next to me who puts me at ease and distracts me by talking to me about anything and everything as he inserts the cannula into my hand.

He tells me that I may remember some of the procedure afterwards or alternatively, I may remember nothing.

It turns out that for me, it was the latter and from that moment on I remember nothing until i wake, 2 hours later.

Thursday 15th March- Consultation Day!

Thursday 15^th March 2012

Today is the day I’m going for my consultation at The Private Clinic with Dr Mike Comins to talk about undergoing Vaser Liposuction.

In the past 10 years, I have been every size from a size 8-18 and let me tell you, there is not a single diet plan, diet pill or work out regime that i haven’t tried.
 

For the past few years my weight and size has stabilised to a decent UK size 12 (by no means huge) but regardless of my weight or size, the one (or rather two) things about my body that have remained a constant are my sizeable love handles and pot belly.

Size 14/16 in 2005 & size 6-8 in 2006

 Size 8 or size 18, they’ve always been there, refusing to budge and taunting me daily.

While I like my curvy shape, I hate having to wear shapewear all the time to try and get a smooth silhouette in my clothes and i hate the bulges that i get over the top of my jeans.

Size 8/10 in 2007 & size 10 in 2008

 

I cant remember the exact moment, but several months ago i decided that enough was enough. 

I’d always joked about having liposuction, taking the ‘easy’ way out and having the offending lumps and bumps sucked out of me while i snoozed blissfully unaware in a drug induced sleep.

Size 12 in 2009 & size 10 2010

But for the first time in my life, i was actually seriously considering it.

After spending a HUGE amount of time researching different procedures i decided that Vaser Lipo was for me. 

Size 12/14 in 2011

Vaser Lipo is  a minimally invasive procedure  performed under local anesthetic. It is less invasive than traditional liposuction and because it differentiates between fat and important tissues such as nerves, blood vessels and connective tissues, the risk of damage to these tissues is practically eliminated. There is no hospital stay involved and Vaser is said to be a walk in walk out procedure with minimal downtime.

Fab. But now, who did i want to entrust my body to?

My extensive research led me to Dr Mike Comins at The Private Clinic. 

The Private Clinic has a team of world renowned experts and specialists working for them and i loved that despite being a cosmetic surgery company, when it comes to procedures, they believe that 'less is more' .

Mike is the former president of the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors and has performed more than 2500 liposuction treatments to date, including the one featured on This Morning in the video below.

Fab credentials i thought, and so i bit the bullet and booked an appointment to see him.

Dr Comins clinic is in the heart of Knightsbridge, a short stroll away from Harrods in Hans Place, a gorgeous, sumptuous location.

While reclining in the big, welcoming chairs waiting my turn, i started to feel nervous.

Still, no time for that, before i knew it Mike was in front of me, shaking my hand and introducing himself.

I sat down in his office and answered an array of questions; Have i ever had surgery before, am i on any medication, am i allergic to anything?

Then i was asked to show him the areas i was concerned about.

Mike listened, nodded and took a look at my love handles (flanks) and tummy before informing me that he could certainly offer me a vast improvement and that he could remove a decent amount of fat from my upper tummy, lower tummy and flanks.

He explained that i would be left with several incision areas that could leave scars (albeit only millimetres); two on my groin, one above my bum, two under my boobs and two on my sides.

He sat down and without prompting, explained to me the possible risks, complications and side effects.

Photo of  a previous client Courtesy of Dr Mike Comins, Hans Place

He explained to me how this is not a quick fix and is not suitable for very over-weight individuals; rather, it sculpts the body, removing localised areas of fat that are resistant to diet and exercise, as opposed to making you lose weight.

Recovery can take up to 6 months, during which time you will need to obey a fairly strict set of guidelines that include wearing a compression garment for 24 hours a day for 2 weeks and undertaking regular Lymphatic drainage massages.

He showed me a vast collection of before and after photos of some of his previous clients and i was incredibly impressed- some of them didn’t even look like they were the same person post op!

Photo of a previous client Courtesy of Dr Mike Comins, Hans Place

 I have to admit, if i wasn’t 100% sure before, after speaking to Mike i was well and truly sold.

He was warm, friendly, informative and ever so relaxed.

I was categorically told not to make any decisions right now and i was sent away with several forms outlining the procedure and post op care. I was told to go away and think about it over the weekend, discuss it with my husband and come back to him the following week with a decision. 

No pressure no hard sell, just the sense that he genuinely wanted what was best for me and if i decided it wasn’t for me, no big deal. 

Monday 19^th March

I’m going for it. The operation is booked for Monday 26^th March, 1 week today. Oh my god, this is actually going to happen!