missShotcaller

Scarring varies based on genetics and how thin the skin is. In many cases, those who have been obese or morbidly obese for a long time have very thin and fragile skin. It's much more difficult to get a beautiful thin scar in those cases. My BL/BA scars are barely noticeable 1.5 years out. My front LBL is a very narrow white line below my bikini line. My arm lift scars are a bit wider but fading. My back LBL had some hypertrophic scarring and is a lot more noticeable. Not anything the doctor could have done differently. I have read research reports that taping can prevent hypertrophic scarring, but I'm allergic to almost all adhesives, so not a great option for me. I may get a scar revision on my back done some day but it doesn't bother me enough to do it right now.

Not sure which surgeon's photos you looked at, but one thing you need to know about Mexican surgeons especially is that the "after" photos are usually taken VERY soon after the procedure. It takes a good two years for surgical scars to fade. What you are looking for when reviewing photos of scars is whether they are thin, flat, straight, and symetrical, not how dark or visible they are. The dark and visible part fades with time. If they are zig-zaggy, or wide, or asymetrical, those things do not improve with time.

Second phase of surgery begins in 7 hours! I’m so excited to see what these changes will look like. Have taken lots of selfies so I can compare before and afters once the swelling has gone down. Because of my difficulties with pain control in round 1, I’m of course dreading the next couple of days even though the PS has been very attentive to my pain management concerns. Chalk it up to pre-surgery jitters!

So here I am at day 2 postop. I’d love to say it’s been a breeze but it hasn’t been a nightmare either... mostly. The surgical prep process in the clinic ran like clockwork and literally everyone is incredibly friendly and kind. I was scheduled for a vertical thigh lift, fleur de lys abdominoplasty, lower body lift, breast lift and augmentation, and brachioplasty. Included was fat grafting to the butt to give my deflated booty more definition. The surgeon estimated it would be a 12-hour procedure but said that if there were any indications that surgery needed to be interrupted, they would not hesitate to do so. I wake up from surgery and am told that because of blood loss, they were able to perform all procedures but stopped at the boob job. I don’t know how you would react to this, but I’m so grateful that I was warned this might happen and they indeed showed they have my best interest at heart. I’m scheduled for face lift and neck lift on Friday and was told they’d do the boob job then.

Recovery the next day (yesterday) was absolutely brutal. I felt that no amount of pain meds was managing the pain, had not a single position in which I was even moderately comfortable, and couldn’t sleep. They tried to have me walk in the evening but the pain was so intense I couldn’t make it out of bed. Tried for quite a while but nothing going. My inner thighs and pubis by late evening were on fire. I called the nurse who took my temp and it was elevated. For the rest of the night she brought fresh cool compresses to place on pubis and thighs every 3 hours and they added morphine to the pain regimen and gave me a sleeping pill. Finally slept in fits and starts. I was MISERABLE and in tears.

Today has been just the opposite. I managed to get out of bed on my own and walked around with nursing assistance at first then just on my own. After lunch the nurse came in and I had my first shower. It felt so wonderful. It took a long time and redressing the wounds and putting me back in the compression garment also took time so by the end I was exhausted and slept like a baby until dinner time. Now I feel like a new woman. Astonishing to see such a difference in just 24 hours.

Because it was so rough yesterday, I told my surgeon this morning that I wasn’t ready for round 2 tomorrow. He rescheduled it for the middle of next week. How amazing and flexible is that! He has also been in constant contact with me and the nurses so I feel exceedingly well monitored.

More later! Thanks for following my progress and for the encouragement and good wishes. They really do help!

Here I am right after my shower. 7 drains, 3 of which are hanging off of my pubis which is totally weird but kind of comical. I haven’t been able to stand up straight since then. Maybe tomorrow.

I had the sleeve done in Mexico with Dr Garcia at Tijuana Bariatrics in 2012... no problem and no issues other than why did I wait so long!! It took a bit to finding my new normal but with education and being prepared, I’m loving my life. I am however going back to Dr Garcia to revise my sleeve to bypass distal as I have plateaued for the past year and I’d like to loose more and my sleeve has got bigger, I’m noticing I am eating more again... this is my choice, I am learning that there are many people out there who have had the gastric sleeve and years later or going back to have it revised because it does stretch out we’re going to bypass, I wish I had just done the bypass to begin with it will cost me more money to go back and revise it but again my experience with the sleeve has been excellent and what is most important to know is that you are educated,prepared and you must have your head in the game.

I had the sleeve done in Mexico with Dr Garcia at Tijuana Bariatrics in 2012... no problem and no issues other than why did I wait so long!! It took a bit to finding my new normal but with education and being prepared, I’m loving my life. I am however going back to Dr Garcia to revise my sleeve to bypass distal as I have plateaued for the past year and I’d like to loose more and my sleeve has got bigger, I’m noticing I am eating more again... this is my choice, I am learning that there are many people out there who have had the gastric sleeve and years later or going back to have it revised because it does stretch out we’re going to bypass, I wish I had just done the bypass to begin with it will cost me more money to go back and revise it but again my experience with the sleeve has been excellent and what is most important to know is that you are educated,prepared and you must have your head in the game.

I just emailed the hospital bariatric support group coordinator and suggested one of the programs should be this very topic - have a dentist or hygienist as a presenter.