Surgery Sagas

Sorry to say I fell prey to a widely advertised ob/gyn surgeon, who talked me into liposuction as a "reward" for my 50th birthday. She argued that I should "treat" myself to a flat tummy.

Looking back on it I can see that I was in the throws of emotional pre-menopausal depression and very vulnerable.

No question about it. I now have a flat tummy. It also looks deformed, lumpy and totally unnatural. There was nothing artful or subtle about what was done to me.

It is three years later and, although the overall appearance has improved from grossly disfigured to just lumpy - there are still "dents" and uneven patches. I suspect that at three years I have seen all the "improvement" I am going to see.

I am in a profession that puts me in competition with every variety of Barbie doll and overly made up "spokesmodels." Even so, I am so thankful that I didn't allow this meatball surgeon to touch my face.

I may be 53 years old - but at least I look like a human being.

By the way, it's worth remembering that liposuction, especially liposuction in the tummy area - can lead to life threatening side affects. I would never, ever, under any circumstances do it again.

In fact, I'm ashamed of it.

Please don't use my real name.

This patient is a victim of botched underarm liposuction. She had a breast reduction, plus liposuction of the area under the armpits (this is done to keep fat from relocating there). The liposuction portion on the left side was badly botched. This photo was taken five days after surgery.

She writes:

The hematoma was excrutiatingly painful. My doctor told me it would go away on its own, but it did not. Three weeks later I was hospitalized for one week when it became infected. I was asked by the hospital doctors who treated me, 'Who did this to you?'

I went to a records search website and checked to see if Dr Kao had been sued. It turns out that he has been sued by a patient when he worked at UCLA and also by Ford Credit Company (I think it has something to do with a car).

That is the worst hematoma caused by liposuction I've seen on the Internet.