4 weeks post op LBL

As some of you may know, I had LBL with muscle repair and fat transfer to bum on March 9th. I've been lucky with how easy my recovery has been compared to what I was expecting.

As a quick recap - my drain was removed at 2.5 weeks (heavenly day - FREEDOM!) and I've been back to work full time since the start of week 3 but was working part time starting at week 2. This is work outside the home - I didn't count working from home which I was able to do around day 3.

Things are continuing to progress. I still wear my binder and I like it tight! Just feels better - except when I'm sleeping. I need to have it loosed when I sleep or I find I get itchy.

That is my biggest focus right now - the itching! I use Benadryl (1/2 a pill) before bed because it seems that's when it's the worst.

My incision is closed except 2 areas that continue to weep a little on my left side/back. They look closed but I keep gauze and a bit of polysporin on them at all times because they weep a bit. Was told to do this by my PS to avoid scabbing which could impact scarring. It doesn't hurt and I change the gauze twice a day, cleaning with hydrogen peroxide and then applying fresh gauze with a thin coat of polysporin (all this as per my PS). The gauze, once removed, has a small/medium amount of yellowish discharge with a tiny bit of blood. Maybe pea sized amount on the gauze. Not sure how long it will take to close and stop weeping? I'll keep doing this and will reconnect with the PS next week if no improvement.

Still numb, especially around the sides and side butt cheeks. Hopefully that feeling comes back because it feels so weird.

Still avoiding lifting until my PS clears me, likely at my 6 week follow up appointment. Looking forward to resuming yoga!

Walking upright since week 2. Still tight (especially between the hips and groin) and my butt still hurts/feels weird to sit on.

Belly button is an outtie right now - I kinda like it lol but PS said it may just be swollen and might go down.

Swelling hasn't been too bad. There was a day when my legs were swollen but I increased my water and elevated my legs and they were back down the next day.

I shower daily independently but still need help to get my binder on. Boy do I miss my bath!

Sleeping in my bed (not the recliner anymore) and use pillows still along my sides - feels more comfortable.

I do find I get tired easily still and often have a nap after work or during the day on weekends.

Quick Facts:

Surgery date weight: 155lbs

Weight day after surgery: 150lbs (they removed 9lbs of skin/fat)

Current weight: 143lbs

I know when I was pre-op I enjoyed reading other people's experiences and post-op I would search for other posts to see what to expect. Hopefully this will be of some interest or assistance to someone.

Thanks for reading and good luck on your journey!

Are you happy with the results of bum fat transfer? I'm having that too. I haven't seen many pictures of people who had it with an lbl, so I'm not really sure what to expect. Most pics I've seen are people just doing lipo/fat transfer and chasing the Kardashian aesthetic, which is so not what I'm looking for.

Ok - honestly at first I was mortified and totally freaked out. My "butt" was so high and started almost mid way down my back and my butt crack was spread wide open. When I saw it in the mirror I almost cried and was like "what the hell is this?!" I was assured it would drop and that it was swollen. They were right. My butt cheeks have come back together (thank god) and now my "bum" is almost in the right spot. It's super hard which is weird. My hubby loves it lol. I'm finding it odd to wear clothes - pants look great across my now flat tummy but barely fits the butt! I'm exaggerating it in my head I know but I didnt have a butt before so it feels so foreign to me. It's not kardashian at all and when I look in the mirror is a subtle curve outwards - looks quite natural actually - just feels so much bigger to me than it actually is!

It's honestly been the most uncomfortable/painful part - so weird to sit on and lie on and even in the car it feels weird like there's something stuffed between me and the seat lol. It's greatly improved and I can now tolerate it and am getting used to it but I wasn't expecting it at all.

The short answer is YES - now I like it and will probably love it as I continue to heal and get used to it.

Good luck with your new bootie too!

Oh lordy, thank you for your honest answer! I too am currently buttless and I just don't want it to be even more flat (I'd be approaching concave if I get any flatter).

But some of these fat transfer pics just look outrageously large. So many of the plastic surgery pictures I've looked at of what I consider "normal" people having PS (not weight loss patients) make me think, what did you do? I'd be thrilled to have your before!

I'm glad to hear yours is a subtle curve. That's what I want. But I can imagine it feels weird to sit on... considering I can pull my all my buttoned pants down without unbuttoning, a little junk in the trunk might help keep my pants up.

I think my PS has you sit and sleep on a big foam cutout with a giant hole for your butt to hang into for a while to protect the transferred fat and keep it roughly where he put it. Should add to the drama and hilarity (much, much later) of the situation, no doubt!

Hi Cecily,

I had the fat transfer into my butt and I LOVE it. Totally not Kardashian at all, but as my surgeon pointed out to me, once he does the incision and pulls your back skin down and your butt skin up, I would be flat as a board. He used my own fat and gave me a nice little booty. I'm thrilled with it. This is me last week (I am in the black pants) and you can see there is a natural curve there, but nothing crazy!

That's so good to hear! Did Dr. Michaels use the flap of fat from your lower back or the fat injections from lipo'ed fat? Mine uses the liquid fat from lipo...

Hmm good question! I don't know what fat he used, just that it was mine. I think I only had lipo on my arm lift, in a separate surgery, so I am thinking it was the back fat!

This is what I meant by auto-augmentation vs fat transfer. Dr. M uses the fat flap.

Hahaha concave - that was pretty much me!

I am wearing the same pants I wore pre-PS but the weird thing is how differently they fit. Now my tummy is flat and my bootie takes up the extra pant room. I guess that's how they are supposed to fit lol.

Good luck - I'm sure your surgeon will make it natural looking, especially if it's a reputable PS.

I didn't get one of those cushions but makes sense and thinking about it might have offered some relief!

Enjoy!

I had the same experience with the weirdly shaped butt. Dr. M doesn't really do butt fat transfer (or it wasn't something I opted for?) but he does auto-augmentation and the first butt picture I was like what the actual **** am I looking at here? Since then the swelling came down and my butt is much more normal looking. Like the OP mentioned it's still harder in one area than elsewhere. I need to get back into squats to build up the lower muscle. My butt was FLAT. Like flat Stanley kind of flat.

Just a note, the fat transfer in my breasts appears to have mostly not worked and I think that's a risk with fat transfer in general. I'm interested in the protocol for fat transfer to the butt during recovery because with my breasts I couldn't smoosh them (in a bra, or by laying on them) for 3-4 weeks.