Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Water-Assisted Liposuction: My Personal Experience

Being a major proponent for Water-Jet Liposuction, it was inevitable that I should get my excess fat sucked out sooner or later. The day occurred 10 days ago. The area for treatment was not decided till pretty much the last minute. I wanted all over slimming! But common sense prevailed ultimately, and my arms and abdomen were nominated for treatment.

The operation took about 5 hours. Sedation was minimal, but the amnesic effect was incredible! I hardly remember anything about the operation. It was very comfortable (and I'm known for a non-existent pain threshold). My phone rang halfway through, and I had a totally rational conversation which I kinda remember.

I was mentally prepared for pain (especially in the arms) and soiled clothes and sheets. Neither were very bad. The arms (and abs) hardly hurt at all! Seepage was just from 2 points overnight, and pretty much dried up within 24 hours. The only thing that caught me by surprise was how painful it was when water entered the incision points during showers. But that only lasted a minute.

I took painkillers the first night, just in case it was really painful when the local anaesthetic wore off. This was unnecessary. The pain never kicked in. Sleeping tablets did help for the first few nights. The initial pressure on lying down was a little sore, but just for seconds.

Overall, the discomfort is comparable to mesotherapy. The swelling and tenderness is possibly even less than meso. It certainly has only been painful when I've been whacked in the treated areas. Suddenly, everyone seems to like patting me HARD on the arm! Arghhhhh!

Bruising has been minimal from the start and pretty much gone now. Much less than mesotherapy.

The results have been very gratifying. The tummy area is flat again, and my arms are slim for the first time ever!

I'm looking forward to getting my legs done eventually. Not sure when yet, but my guess is it should be pretty soon. I need to be totally pain-free for a few weeks before I'd contemplate anything else. Having two rounds of extreme makeover within 9 days has been rather trying. Time to be sensible and take a rest!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Christine,

I really appreciate you sharing your own experience. Can you please share more details on your post-op?
- Did you wear compression garment and for how long?
- How long did it take for bruising and swelling to go away?
- It seems the oozing stopped about day after your procedure. Is that the average time for your patients as well?
- From reading reviews on Smart Lipo, patients may not see final results for a few months. Did your results improve with time?

I am thinking about WAL, but still apprehensive.

Dr Christine Cheng said...

Hi Patty

Thank you for your interest in WAL. I'd be happy to share more with you.

I was in compression garments for a month (2 weeks 24/7, 2 weeks 12 hours a day). Bruising was minimal & went after about a week. Swelling was settling by 2 weeks. Average oozing is about 24-48 hours. With WAL, the final results are seen after just 6-10 weeks.

Please call 67325527 to book an appointment with me if you'd like to find out more.

Cheers!

Dr Christine Cheng