Testimonial from Hortense
This patient, Hortense, shares her experience of WAL liposuctionunderspinal anesthesia.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Hortense, I am 22 years old, and I am a law/economics student.
You have lipedema. When did you first realize that something was wrong with your legs?
Ever since I was little, even as a toddler, I had enormous legs compared to the rest of my body, and the older I got, the worse it became. There was always a huge discrepancy between my upper body, where my ribs were visible and my build was fairly "normal," and my legs, which were completely out of proportion.
I went to see angiologists and was told it was hereditary and caused by water retention.
And one day, I sawa report on 7 à 8 with my mother, and she said to me, "Look," and I searched the internet and came across Dr. Zwillinger.
You were able to put a name to what had been ruining your life for some time, and you took the plunge and made an appointment with Dr. Zwillinger.
Yes, I madean appointmentin July for October 15 at the doctor's office, and I'm having surgery one month later. I told myself I had to do it. I don't regret it at all.
I just had surgery, so the result isn't representative of the final outcome, but I don't regret it at all! I'm happy!
You came out of surgery a few hours ago. You were under spinal anesthesia. Was that your choice?
My parents also told me that general anesthesia would be more complicated. The anesthesiologist also told me that it was a good idea because I was young, that this type of anesthesia would allow me to recover a little faster, and that it would be cool.
I took what I had been told into account. I was afraid I wouldn't be comfortable, that it might be better to sleep through the whole procedure, but in the end you don't feel anything, you hardly hear anything. It's not even unpleasant, it's over in a flash. I really have no regrets.
Did you bring your music?
I brought my cell phone and headphones, but I didn't even use them. I was fine!
How did you feel during the procedure?
I could feel something happening, but I couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't unpleasant. It was a strange sensation, difficult to describe, as if something was passing over my legs. And in terms of noise, I thought I would hear horrible sounds, but that wasn't the case at all.
Your procedure lasted 1.5 hours, followed by less than an hour in the recovery room and then a return to your room.
How do you feel a few hours after this procedure?
Well, I'm fine. My stomach hurts a little because I really needed to pee. It took me 30 minutes to pee, but I'm feeling better now. The nurse explained to me that after spinal anesthesia, it can sometimes be a little difficult to pee. But it really doesn't hurt at all, it just pulls a little, but it's okay.
I can almost walk on my own now, so things are going really well, yeah!
Finally...
A planned outing at the end of the day, and a post-operative appointment with Dr. Zwillinger in a month to see the initial results.
Exactly, at first I was very afraid of outpatient hospitalization, but in the end I realized it wasn't that difficult.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us.