Surgery Day
1 week post-op
3 weeks post-op
6 weeks post-op
Surgery Day
1 week post-op
3 weeks post-op
6 weeks post-op
DISCLAIMER: there are some graphic photos at the end of the post
If you are a long-time reader over here you may remember that I had two kybella treatments with a different plastic surgeon down in Palo Alto over three years ago. The surgeon originally suggested that I get at least three to five treatments but after two extremely painful treatments with long painful recoveries, I put the brakes on the treatment and decided to walk away.
Flash forward to today and I am cruising around San Francisco with a weird fat pocket on my chin and a ton of scar tissue from the two kybella treatments in 2017. This has been something that has bothered me for YEARS and something that shows up in nearly every blog photo.
If you take away anything from this blog post please let it be that I HIGHLY suggest that you SAY NO TO KYBELLA.
I did not meet Dr. Judge in person until the day of my procedure.
We had a virtual consultation via zoom a couple of weeks before my appointment. I ended up taking the zoom call outside on my patio with natural light and no makeup to ensure that Dr. Judge got a real look at me and any problem areas I wanted to show her.
From the moment Dr. Judge jumped on the call I felt like I was chatting with an old girlfriend. She made me feel very comfortable and listened to all of my concerns and previous treatments over the years (botox, kybella, and filler).
I was most impressed with the way she went about explaining everything to me. Not only was she able to come up with a treatment plan I would have NEVER even thought of, but she was also able to educate me on each step of the plan.
At the end of the call, I felt well educated on the treatment plan, excited, and ready to go!
Based on what I shared with Dr. Judge during our virtual consultation I asked her to share how she came about my treatment plan:
Creating a treatment plan is definitely individualized for each patient. For you, you described the areas of your concern: forehead wrinkles and expressed concern over the fullness of the area below your chin that had not responded well to Kybella after two rounds. You also mentioned that you did not have a great experience with under eye fillers and desired correction of these areas. Based on the failure of traditional injectable treatments for the fullness under your chin and the creases under your eye, I needed to create a plan that did NOT involve fillers or kybella.
Doing the same thing and expecting different results is insanity. So a more permanent solution to correct the failed kybella and under-eye hollows, I opted for liposuction and fat transfer. This was logically the best way to give you the results you desired with predictability.
My surgery wasn’t until the late afternoon so I had plenty of time to take a shower and to remove all make-up, and jewelry. They told me to plan to wear something comfortable like sweatpants and flat shoes, so I wore sweatpants and flat shoes. I went straight to bed when I got home, so I wore clothes that I could comfortably sleep in and my favorite super-soft Spanx bra.
Dr. Judge had me snag Vitamin C and oral Arnica tablets before the surgery.
Vitamin C is necessary to build and rebuild collagen throughout the body. Vitamin C is also a powerful antioxidant that supports the immune response. I took 500mg twice-daily three days before my surgery. On the day after surgery, I began to take Vitamin C twice daily for the next two weeks.
Arnica is most commonly used for pain caused by osteoarthritis, sore throat, surgery, and other conditions. Arnica is also used for bleeding, bruising, swelling after surgery, and other conditions. I started the Arnica a week before surgery and will continue it a week after my surgery.
Dr. Judge also recommends a low salt and high protein diet. The goal is to be healthy and immune boosted in a natural way. Balancing your body before and after surgery is the best way to expedite your recovery.
I asked Dr. Judge to describe my exact treatment ->
We did botox to your forehead and glabella which softens the use of the muscles of the area and as a byproduct, the skin overlying smoothens out.
We also did liposuction of the submentum (that’s the area under the chin that gives a double chin look) and then took that fat and placed it under your eyes to fill out the tear troughs (that’s the creases under the eyes).
Liposuction is a controlled method of fat removal that can guarantee your results. I can feel and see all the fat that is being removed so you can know for sure that the results we expect are what we will achieve.
Fat cells don’t replicate, so whatever we get rid of is gone…you cannot get that big in that area again unless you go on an all cheesecake diet (if only). Therefore liposuction is an ideal method of predictable fat removal.
Then, since we had that fat, we can inject it into those creases under your eyes to fill out the hollowing that gives us an aged appearance. 50-80% of the fat cells that we put in a new location will survive, and those that do…are there for life. So now we have utilized your own natural tissues to correct a defect of age to keep you looking youthful. And this treatment has the longevity you were hoping for.
1.1.2020 update:
I am about a week out from my surgery and feeling really good. My surgery was last Monday at 4 pm and was home by 6:30 pm. I went straight to bed Monday night and woke up feeling good Tuesday morning. I have been managing pain with hydrocodone, ice, and arnica (topical and oral). The swelling around my chin is NOTHING compared to what I looked like after my kybella treatment. The area under my eyes has gone from purple to a light yellow/green color now and is honestly not too bad.
I am going to see Dr. Judge tomorrow morning and will continue to update this post as I continue my recovery.
Scroll down for all the photos from the surgery at the end of this post.
Dr. Judge prepping me for the surgery and explaining every step of the procedure to me.
When the valium hit. I was awake for the entire in-office procedure.
After the surgery checking out my new chin for the first time…slightly frazzled but feeling good.
More before and after photos to come.
I have a video of the entire procedure, but I am still too afraid to watch it!
drop them in the comments and I will partner with Dr. Judge to answer them
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shacket – tank – joggers – uggs – hat
a shacket is a shirt thick enough to be halfway between a shirt and a jacket—
an ideal, year-round layering piece
and
quite possibly the most annoying new fashion term I added to my vocabulary in 2020
shop some of my favorite shackets below
My experience traveling to Hawaii 11/24/2020-12/1/2020
this is JUST my experience with travel to Hawaii during COVID – please reference this website to ensure that you are following the most up to date restrictions
The State of Hawaii has a 14-day mandatory self-quarantine in place for U.S. Mainland or International travelers arriving into the state, as well as for inter-island travelers arriving in Maui, Kauai, Lanai, Molokai, or Hawaii Island.
Starting Oct. 15, the state launched its pre-travel testing program, offering guests traveling from the U.S. Mainland to Hawaii the option to forego the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine.
Step 1: Register with the State of Hawaii Safe Travels online system. I would do this before you even book your tickets. The restrictions to the state’s pre-travel testing program are updated daily (ex. Kaui is no longer participating -> All incoming trans-pacific and inter-county travelers to Kauai will face a mandatory 14-day quarantine) and this website is where you will upload all of your travel info.
Step 2: Find a trusted testing travel partner and schedule your test ASAP based on your travel days/flight info->
IMPORTANT: The state of Hawai‘i will ONLY accept Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab test results from TRUSTED TESTING AND TRAVEL PARTNERS: American Family Care (AFC), American Samoa Department of Health, Atlas Genomics, Bartell Drugs, Capstone Clinic, Carbon Health, CityHealth Urgent Care at Oakland Airport, Clarity Lab Solutions, Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii, Color, Costco/AZOVA, CVS Health, Diagnostic Laboratory Services (Hawaii), Discovery Health MD, GoHealth Urgent Care, Hawaii Pacific Health, Kaiser Permanente, Minit Medical, National Kidney Foundation of Hawaiʻi’s Consortium, through an agreement with the City and County of Honolulu, S&G Labs Hawai‘i LLC, University of Washington Medicine, Urgent Care Hawaii, Vault Health, Walgreens, WestPac Labs, and XpresCheck (as of 11/20/20).
I am located in San Francisco and have you used Color testing for COVID-19 regularly. They have a drive-through service on the Embarcadero that I find VERY easy to use, but appointments are very limited right now. If you are traveling on United to Hawaii it looks like they have a partnership here.
For this trip, I used the Vault Health service. Vault Health is an at-home FDA-authorized saliva test with real-time audio-visual supervision via Zoom. Tests available for ages five and older. Tests are mailed with accurate results in 72 hours or less. Information and costs can be found here.
Use this chart to ensure that you order and take your test on the correct days before your flight.
We traveled on a Tuesday and if you take anything away from this blog post it would be to NOT travel on a Tuesday or Wednesday to Hawaii! It is next to impossible to get your test results in a timely manner with the Vault Health testing due to UPS not shipping on Sundays. I took my test on a Saturday, ran to the closest CVS that had a Saturday pickup from UPS before 2 pm and my results didn’t arrive until 3:30 am Tuesday morning before my 8 am flight!
THIS WAS VERY STRESSFUL and I would suggest avoiding it at all costs.
Some additional tips from Vault Health for travel to Hawaii during COVID
FOR PASSENGERS TRAVELING ON TUESDAYS & WEDNESDAYS: Due to no Sunday UPS shipping and an increase in UPS holiday traffic, we encourage passengers to look for a local testing solution if traveling on a Tuesday or Wednesday for the remainder of the year.
Make sure to take your test over zoom in the morning and deliver your test to your local UPS store before the last air pick-up time for the day. Please make sure that your test is dropped at a verified UPS store, not a dropbox or 3rd-party affiliate. Click here to find the closest UPS store to you.
If you are taking the test on a Saturday, please verify with your local UPS store that the store has Saturday UPS Air Pickups.
We advise that you order your test at least one week before you plan on taking it.
Shipping to/from Maui, Kauai, Hawaii Island, Molokai, and Lanai may require an additional shipping day which may lead to results being provided outside of the 72-hour testing window. Please plan accordingly or consider a different testing solution.
Step 3: Upload the pdf of your negative test results to your Safe Travels profile.
Step 4: 24 hours prior to departure, log into Safe Travels, and complete the Travel Health Questionnaire and receive your QR code upon completion.
You will use this QR code to board your flight to Hawaii. They did not let anyone on our flight without a QR code.
Once we landed in Maui we went straight into a Safe Travel control line. The airport was staffed with a ton of people in yellow shirts guiding us through the process. It was almost like passport control, but the lines were shorter and the process was very quick and efficient.
We had to show our QR codes one more time when we checked into the hotel and then we were good!
Step 5: Grab a Mai Tai and enjoy beautiful Hawaii!
Remember to pack your mask and/or facial coverings in your carry-on luggage.
Masks are mandatory in Hawaii and must be worn in public.
shop my favorite swimsuit here
How to order the Keto Pink Drink [ 5g of carbs ]
VENTI iced sugar-free passion iced tea
more keto tips, tricks, and recipes here