mrgrta

Wow! You look amazing. I cringed when I saw the bruising on the arms though. That must have hurt like hell! You must be very proud.

Tracymom- I do still feel tight at times. Laughing, coughing, and sneezing are still pretty painful at times. It feels like everything is going to come loose! I have noticed a big difference in tightness from week 2 to week 3 though.

I have a few before and after pictures up. The quality is not very good because of the flash and resizing of the pictures, but you can get a good idea of the results so far. I am 3 weeks post op as of yesterday. I had a circumferential tt with lipo, fleur de lis, and hernia repair. When you click on the link, you will have to put in a password of tummytuck. http://www.makemeheal.com/pictures/viewAlbum.php?albumid=9049

Joanne, I'm glad to hear that everything went well and you are feeling ok. I had a catheter during the surgery and then they took it out in the recovery room. I'm glad I didn't have to go home with it in! Rest up and keep us updated.

I also forgot to ask if it is possible to do a breast lift (no implants) under local anesthesia with iv sedation?

Well, I had my post op appt. on Friday. They removed 2 of my 4 drains and said I might get one more out tomorrow. I also got my belly button stitches removed. The ps could not get over how well I was doing with minimal pain and how well my incisions were healing. He was very proud of his work, and rightfully so! I have had very little swelling. I know it will probably get worse, but so far, so good. I am planning to take pictures once I get all of the drains out. It is such a good feeling to put on a pair of underwear without having a large belly spilling over the top!

Dr. Schulman, I am about 11 days post op from a circumferential tt with fleur de lis. The surgery turned out great and my results are amazing! I have noticed that the top of the vertical incision (which sits right under my bra) kind of sticks out and looks puffy, almost like a dog ear. Same situation goes for my backside where the two ends of the incision stop (they stop about an inch from eachother). Is this something that usually evens out within time, or does it stay puffy forever? I know I'm still early out, but I'm just curious.

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow!! I'll be thinking about you. Let us know how you're doing as soon as you're feeling up to it.

I know exactly how you feel. I worried for the entire 4 months after booking my tummy tuck that something was going to happen to me and I would end up leaving my two little boys. My ps was very good about reassuring me that everything would be ok and that he had never had a patient die from complications. When you look at all of the people that have ps every single day and they come through it just fine, that will hopefully provide you with some comfort. It was a hard decision for me. So was the Lap band. I even canceled my Lap band the first time because I was so scared. I am now 8 days post op from having my tummy tuck and I am so thrilled. My body has never looked better!

Josiebies- A fleur de lis is a vertical incision that goes from my breast bone down to my pubic bone (it meets my horizontal incision that wraps around my body.) I had a lot of upper abdominal skin and I also had a nasty old scar from a previous splenectomy, so my ps was able to get rid of that. The midline incision was stitched up so fine that once it heals, it will hardly show. It took 5 inches circumference off my waist so far and another 5 inches off my hips! I believe lellow and Juli had the same thing done.

Tracymom- I can't believe you only have 2 more days to go! I'm anxious to hear how your surgery goes. My ps called me at home today to see how I was doing. I didn't get a chance to talk to him after surgery because I was so out of it. He said he removed a total of about 12 pounds between the excess skin and lipo. I weighed myself this morning and I'm down exactly 12 pounds from the morning of surgery. I weighed myself one day after surgery and I was up 2 pounds. My ps says that in another week or two I'll be down even more once my body gets rid of all the excess Fluid. I figure I'll be able to exercise again around 4-5 weeks post op so I'm not too concerned about weight gain. I've been eating lots of Protein, fruits, and veggies and trying to stay away from the bad carbs. I have another 15 pounds until I reach my goal weight. Suemagoo- I think you are going to do great with your surgery. I'll be following your posts closely. Lellow- I hear ya on the extra hip padding. I've had that for so many years that it is like looking at a different person in the mirror when I see myself without that! How are you doing?

Josiebies- I'm getting excited for you and Sue! I did not by a toilet riser or a wedge pillow. I've been sleeping in a recliner ever since the surgery though. I can't imagine trying to sleep in my own bed yet. We just moved one of our recliners into the bedroom and I pretty much live in it! Getting on and off the toilet has been a breeze for me, but I'm only 5'3". If I was a lot taller, it might be difficult. I agree with Juli, if you've been doing a lot of squats or leg exercises, this won't be a problem. I too was very worried about blood clots. It seems like anywhere I could find really bad complications from TT it was related to blood clots. My ps had me wear compression hose (TED hose) and the compression wraps on top of that. He had me keep the hose on for 24 hours post op and told me to keep moving my calves often while lying in the recliner. I also made sure to get up and move regularly. This keeps the blood flowing through your legs. I'm sure you will be just fine. If you have any other questions, ask away! I promise to post some pictures soon. I can't get over not only how flat my belly is, but my hips and butt have shrunk several inches!

I am feeling very good. My pain pump lasted about 3 days. I removed it myself yesterday morning and as of yesterday, I switched from the narcotic pain med to plain Tylenol. Today I haven't taken anything for pain. I can honestly say that I'm just a little sore, but nothing that I can't stand. My c-sections hurt more than this and labor pains were by far the most misery I've ever experienced. The nice thing about this surgery is that I don't have to get up every two hours to feed a newborn. I can sleep when I need to. I am 4 days post op and today I was able to fold and put away a couple of loads of laundry and I was able to put some clean dishes up. My dh has been cooking, feeding kids, driving them to school, etc. I have done very minimal around the house, but I do make sure to get up every hour to walk. I've been drinking my Protein shakes and drinking about 80 oz of Water per day. I am going back to see my ps on Friday and I'm hoping that I will get 2 out of the 4 drains removed. To anyone thinking about doing this surgery: it is TOTALLY worth it. Every time I see myself without my binder on I get a great big smile on my face.

Traceymom- The hardest part for me was the waiting before the surgery. My doctor said everything went as perfect as he expected. It is an emotional roller coaster though. I'll be thinking of you Thursday. You'll do great.

Congratulations on your recovery. I can't believe you are spinning already. I hope to be back to some kind of exercise routine in a few weeks also. All of this sitting around has me worried about weight gain. I bet you look fabulous in your new clothes!

I had my surgery yesterday. It lasted 6 1/2 hours. I had a circuferential tt with fleur de lis, lipo, muscle repair and hernia repair. I ended up having 3 hernias instead of just one. That is where the majority of my pain is. The incisions don't hurt too bad. I went home around 4 in the afternoon and when my husband got me into the house, I fainted! It was pretty scary. I was cold and clammy and turned white as a ghost. I have a pain pump that wasn't working last night because it was clamped off. Once I figured that out, I unclamped it and it is working now. I've been up and moving around the house a little today because I'm paranoid of blood clots. Other than that, most of the day was spent in the recliner. I followed up with my doc today and they removed the bandages and put me in a compression binder. I have 4 drains in place. The doc said he removed around 8 pounds of skin and removed more through liposuction. From what I can tell so far, my belly is pretty flat. Just wanted to give you all an update.

Thanks for the well wishes. I'm officially scared sh__less right now! I will try to get on here and post some of the details on Friday or Saturday.

Juli, sorry to hear about maybe getting a drain put back in. It sounds like you are doing wonderful other than that. My doctor said to pretty much expect a seroma. If that is the only complication, then I can deal with that. Size 10 is wonderful!!! It is probably where I will end up too. Take care.

After losing 85 pounds in 18 months and having 2 c-sections, my body is ready for this! I am scheduled for April 30th at 7:30am for a circumferential tt with fleur de lis, muscle repair, hernia repair and lipo. Surgery is supposed to last around 6 hours and my doc is letting me go home the same day with a pain pump. I will be following up with him the next day in the office. I plan on posting before and after pics soon. I just want to thank all of you for sharing your experiences and pics. I also want to thank Dr. Schulman for his advice, opinions, and time to this forum. Cathy

Julie, thanks for keeping us updated on your progress. Reading this thread has really help to prepare me for what's to come. Hope you're feeling better.

Lellow, congrats on your recovery and your progress. You look amazing!!! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Dr Schulman, I am scheduled for a circumferential tt with fleur de lis, lipo and hernia repair next Thursday. My surgery is supposed to to last around 6 hours. I don't know why I can't get the thoughts of blood clots out of my head, but this has been my biggest concern about this procedure. I do plan to get up and move around as much as possible after surgery to avoid blood clots, but I'm still concerned. Can you tell me how common this occurs after this type of surgery? Thanks for your time.

Hi. Congrats on your upcoming surgery. My tummy tuck is scheduled for April 30th. I'm getting excited and nervous. When I went for my pre op appt., I met with the nurse educator. She went over everything that I needed to know pre and post op. She showed me the compression binder, drains, etc. and showed me how to take care of them post op. She also went over a list of meds that I should not take prior to surgery and told me to shower with antibacterial soap the night before and the morning of surgery. Then I met with my surgeon so he could go over anymore questions that I had and also to make sure we were on the same page as to what was being done. Then the nurse came in and took my before pictures and I got my prescriptions to get filled prior to surgery. He gave me an antibiotic, pain med, and nausea med. I didn't have to go to the hospital for pre op. They are supposed to call me a couple of days before surgery to go over my history and they are going to do bloodwork the morning of surgery. I was not told to eat calcium, Iron or bananas, but I have tried to increase my Protein intake. It is supposed to help with wound healing. I would let your surgeon know about the rashes. I don't know if that would be a problem or not. Good luck!

I had a pretty easy time with Aetna covering my lap band, however, a tummy tuck is not so easy. They only cover a panniculectomy, not a tummy tuck and even with that, you have to have documentation of rashes, treatment, etc. Your pannus also has to hang to a certain level below your pubis. I just gave up and decided to pay out of pocket.

Lellow, sorry you are having to deal with all the drainage. I met with my ps today and he said that seromas are actually not that uncommon for this type of surgery. If that is the worst thing that happens, I could deal with it. A small price to pay for having a flat tummy I guess. Hope you are doing well. Keep us updated. Cathy