Kalani Hilliker, known for her role in the reality TV series Dance Moms, has revealed her decision to undergo a breast reduction surgery due to severe back pain and discomfort. The 23-year-old dancer shared her journey with her 4.3 million followers on TikTok, offering a glimpse into her pre-operation appointment with Dr. Daniel Shapiro.
In the video, Kalani documented her consent signing, prescription checklist, and preparation for her ‘before’ pictures. She shared that the consulting process was “much easier than [she] thought,” but admitted to feeling nervous as the surgery date approached. “I’m really nervous, but also getting more excited,” she said.
Kalani confessed to feeling anxious upon arriving at her appointment, revealing that the doctors provided her with medication to manage her anxiety. “I’m just definitely afraid of doctors – that’s my biggest fear in life,” she explained. Despite her initial apprehension, the pre-op appointment helped to ease her fears. “I swear, this appointment made me way less anxious and [I’m] so excited and so ready,” she shared.
The video quickly garnered supportive messages from her fans. One person wrote, “Prayers for a great surgery and speedy recovery,” while another commented, “ITS GONNA GO GREAT!” Others shared their personal experiences with the same procedure, highlighting how life-changing it had been for them.
In a separate TikTok video, Kalani delved deeper into her reasons for undergoing the surgery. She admitted that growing up in the public eye and being on a reality TV show had been challenging, particularly due to comments about her body. “I do think for the most part, I am pretty confident in my body. With being confident in my body, this is still something that I’ve always wanted to do,” she explained.
Kalani addressed common misconceptions, stating, “Even when I lose weight, I still have very big, uncomfortable boobs and personally, I just don’t love the shape of them. I just wanna feel more comfortable in my body when I’m dancing.” She also mentioned the constant back problems exacerbated by her large breasts.
“Most importantly, I am doing this [operation] for myself. I am not doing it for anybody else. This is something I’ve wanted to do for so long and I’m so excited about [it],” she proclaimed. Kalani expressed her anticipation for feeling more confident and comfortable, especially looking forward to wearing a swimsuit post-surgery.
Kalani also shared her recovery preparation, including an Amazon shopping list with items like anti-bacterial body wash, gauze pads, medical bras, compression socks, an orthopedic bed wedge, and a pregnancy pillow.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, recovery from breast reduction surgery has two phases: an early phase lasting about three weeks and a long-term phase lasting three to six months or longer.
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