I wanted my body (the body I had before having children) back!

I have always been in shape and had an above average body, which I am thankful for. But then I had three children. The weight gain I experienced with pregnancy was not excessive. After my children were born, my hips and love handles did not return to their normal size, even though I returned to my pre-pregnancy weight. Even with continued exercise, my love handles and hips did not get back to the way I wanted them. This made me unhappy, and self-conscious. I had to select my pants very carefully to avoid looking “hippy”. And, I didn’t even feel comfortable in my underwear in front of my husband. I know this is a common problem that some women experience after pregnancy, but I did not want it to happen to me. I wanted my body (the body I had before having children) back!

Several years went by, and I became increasingly frustrated. But then, one day, a friend and I were discussing clothing styles, and one thing led to another, and she mentioned that a friend of hers had liposuction of her stomach. She said her friend was very happy with the results, and spoke very positively of the experience. I wasn’t sure that surgery was for me… But I thought about it every day for several months. Then I finally decided that I might as well have a consultation, what did I have to lose? But if I was going to do this, I wanted to make sure that it was done right, and by a good doctor. So I started searching the internet. I learned about liposuction, looked at before and after pictures, and researched doctors. I became more convinced that liposuction might help me. I had narrowed my search down to two plastic surgeons in Milwaukee.

My first consultation was scheduled with Dr. Dembny. His consultation was very thorough; he listened to my concerns, reassured me that I was not the only woman that had this problem, answered my questions, discussed the surgery and the recovery, and eased my anxiety about having surgery. He agreed that liposuction of the flanks, inner thigh, and outer thigh would improve my shape. Although I wasn’t ready to sign up for surgery right after my consultation, by the time I got home, I decided to cancel the appointment I had with the other plastic surgeon. I called Dr. Dembny’s office back and scheduled surgery.

I did second-guess my decision a few times prior to the day of surgery, but I knew that there was no other way I would be happy. I was nervous the day of surgery, but the staff was very kind and kept me calm. They reassured me that I was in very good hands with Dr. Dembny. When I woke up from surgery I had some soreness in my thighs and lower back, but it was not too bad.

The next two days were pretty painful, but the pain medication did help. And the compression garment really helped hold me together and feel better. I’m glad that Dr. Dembny warned me that the first couple days might not be a piece a cake. I moved very slowly and carefully for the first several days. It was the change of positions that hurt the most; but once I was walking, sitting, or lying down it felt better. After about the third day, things improved a little bit each day. I had more bruising in my hips than in my lower back, and it took a couple weeks to go away. I wore my compression garment for six weeks and then switched to a much lighter compression garment, which I continued to wear for at least another month.

It is now been six months since my surgery and my results are fabulous! I don’t have a muffin top bulging above the waistband of my pants. My thighs are much slimmer, and I don’t have to be concerned about what pants I buy. Sometimes I can even wear pants that are one size smaller than I did before. Several people have even commented about how skinny I look. I am no longer self-conscious about how my body looks, and I don’t mind standing around in my underwear in front of my husband.

I don’t regret having had plastic surgery, and I am proud that I did it. I have no idea why I waited so long. I can’t thank Dr. Dembny enough for giving me my body back! I trusted him to do good work, and he did even better. If anyone ever asks, I would definitely recommend both liposuction and Dr. Dembny.