Hey there! Just posted at the Body for Life/Bodybuilding thread.
As Meg knows, on Monday 10 February, I had liposuction of the thighs, hips, and flanks. In the future (I'm shooting for January 2004) I'm planning to have a tummy tuck to remove the excess skin from my 'pooch'.
I just wrote a long passage about it at the BFL/BB forum (see the "Diet Plans" forum here). This was the first time I've had any 'real' surgery - that is where I've been put under general anesthesia - and I must tell you the only pain I felt was when the IV went into my wrist, after that the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room with my two sisters
who along with Jim took care of me that week.
My brusing is starting to fade rapidly - I've had some swelling but that's normal. For the most part, no pain except the first week when going to the bathroom (rolling up some towels on the toilet seat helps a lot). I'm having the stitches taken out tomorrow - and my surgeon will let me know when I can start exercising (and horseback riding!) again. Three or four weeks is generally the normal recommended time off. I was back at work after a week.
I'd recommend researching plastic surgeons as much as possible. With the Internet, fortunately research is not as arduous a task as it used to be - I would definitely recommend ONLY using a surgeon who is Board-Certified by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (their website is at
www.plasticsurgery.org).
Like Meg, I would stress that plastic surgery is NOT a method of weight loss. I've done a ton of research and I can recommend two books in particular - both good reads (not snoozers) with lots of info:
"Two Girlfriends Get Real About Cosmetic Surgery" by Susan J. Collini and Charlee Ganny; and
"The Smart Woman's Guide to Plastic Surgery : Essential Information from a Female Plastic Surgeon" by Jean M. Loftus, M.D.
Also a couple of great sites for info:
www.liposuction4you.com and
www.tuckthattummy.com.
Hope that helps