I had liposuction while awake, AMA

[Yellowandoranges]

I had it a couple of years ago, I was awake and conscious throughout. AMA

Did it hurt?

Which area of your body did they treat?

Was it done in this country?

Happy with the results?

@perfidiousAlbion

Did it hurt? - nope, slight discomfort when I had the injections first but aside from that I felt no pain

Which area of your body did they treat? - upper arms.

Was it done in this country? - yes, in London - I would never have gone abroad for surgery personally, I was far happier paying more and having peace of mind!

Happy with the results? Yes, x1000 it’s changed my life quiet a bit, because they were so out of proportion from the rest of my body (despite being a healthy weight, gym goer etc!)

Was it expensive? Does it last forever or do you have to get it redone at all?

@caramel78 yes it was pricey, around £4.5k.

It lasts forever - the fat cells in that area have been entirely removed, so even if I were to gain any weight in the future, my arms would stay the same shape.

Do you have much scarring?

That’s very expensive for upper arms.

Is the result smooth? No divets or bumps?

@Caramel78 If you were to look closely, you can see tiny marks of the ‘entry points’ for the cannula, but they aren’t noticeable at all - I just checked and it took me a while to locate any!

I had ‘microlipo’ which results in less scarring than traditional lipo.

@PerfidiousAlbion yes it was a combination of the clinic (London) and it was pricier than traditional lipo under general anaesthesia, but I weighed up the pros and cons at the time.

The result is completely smooth and normal looking.

I am seriously considering arm liposuction when I’m finished losing weight. I know that however much I lose, my upper arms are always fat and I hate it.

Can I ask if it left scarring?

Would I have to lose all the weight first - will they only do liposuction on someone who is a healthy weight with a stubborn bit of fat in a specific area?

I have a tattoo on one arm - I’m wondering if that would be distorted by the procedure?

I would pay whatever the cost if I could finally get rid of this arm fat forever!

Has fat settled in different areas of your body now it can't be in your upper arms?

Was there a chess skin if the fat was removed? If it "shrunk" how long did that take?

@CaptainBrickbeard I had the exact same problem - even at a BMI of 22, and exercising regularly including lifting weights, I still had what my sister jokingly referred to as ‘dinner lady arms’. I felt really uncomfortable wearing anything sleeveless, it’s so lovely now to wear dresses/vest tops and feel confident.

The scarring is minimal and not noticeable at all. I’ll try and get a photo tomorrow in natural light and post it on this thread. At first there were quite pink dots where the cannula had gone in, which faded quite quickly - by one year post surgery, they were the same colour as the rest of my skin and unnoticeable

At my consultation I mentioned that I wanted to lose a bit more weight - the doctor said it was still fine to go ahead, it’s only if you have masses of weight to lose or are obese, he said then it’s better to lose a bit first.

Re the tattoo - I don’t have any so can’t comment on that but the doctor I had was very skilled, I don’t doubt they can work around tattoos

@Pyjamasarethenewblack

Has fat settled in different areas of your body now it can't be in your upper arms? - no, I track my weight and measurements every now and then and there hasn’t been an increase in fat elsewhere as of now. But I do take care to eat healthily most of the time, and stay active.

And how do they prevent loose skin? I’m so interested! I have worn sleeves since I was a teenager at every weight I’ve ever been because I was always so self conscious of them. Now I do go sleeveless but still wince a little at photos!

How long did the op take please - and was it just day surgery rather than overnight?

@daretodenim

Was there a chess skin if the fat was removed? If it "shrunk" how long did that take?

- I didn’t have any excess skin at all! I expected there would be at least some which would need ‘toning’ up, but nothing noticeable. They removed a large volume of fat too, the doctor was quite surprised how much was in just my upper arms given my normal BMI.

Did you get bad bruising after

@CaptainBrickbeard my doctor mentioned something along the lines of ‘it’s not just much about how much fat is removed, but how much to leave behind’ for the best results I think a skilled surgeon can assess your own body and judge the best way to do the surgery. I really know how you feel - I’m so glad I had it done, it has been worth every penny.

@BBCONEANDTWO
How long did the op take please - and was it just day surgery rather than overnight?

• it was day surgery - I went in late morning, I was out by 5pm.

@Caramel78 Did you get bad bruising after

• nope. I had some discomfort and had to wear a compression garment for just a few days. With my particular clinic, they leave the incision sites open, which allows any remaining fluid to drain out naturally. I think that, and the fact it was using micro cannula rather than regular cannula meant I had pretty mild recovery. I went back to work two days after and felt fine

Sorry to ask something else - and you might not want to answer - how were you when you had the operation.

Can I ask why you decided against a general anaesthetic? What's the advantage of being awake?

Was this for Lipedema fat?

@

Can I ask why you decided against a general anaesthetic? What's the advantage of being awake?

• it’s less risky, avoids any potential issues with the general (although they are very safe nowadays) and meant I could leave quickly. I’m not sure if they actually offer this type of micro lipo under general. I also felt more comfortable not being put to sleep

@ghislaine

Was this for Lipedema fat?

• no, I have never been diagnosed with lipedema, but my arms were really abnormal looking so maybe there was some kind of medical reason. There was a HUGE shelf of fat starting from right above my elbow which didn’t match the rest of me at all