Scamp

My surgeon told me if after losing as much weight as I had - I went with a 'straight incision' it would leave me 'boxy' meaning I would have loose skin to my sides still. My ex and Mother told me - It wouldn't hurt any more and you wouldn't want to be upset after and hafta go get it redone so I did it. And the Dr said to to have the FDL would give me a better waist - I am very very veryyyyy happy I listened to him. In the end I did have a kind of body lift after (Butt lift etc) which I am also very happy with

Those words were the exact ones I was about to say EYES ON THE PRIZE I know how it is - I always focused on all that could possibly go wrong... These are the steps to the new YOU! <3

No I didn't use those sheets - All my PS told me about was to moisturize alot and massage the scars - But on here and trawling the net I found that to keep the tapes on flattens the scar (stops it stretching like one of mine has a little bit) and even 4yrs down the line I am still moisturizing the arm scars as they sometimes feel dry and kinda itchy so morning and night it is my regime... Just basic E45 type stuff (I use a substance called diprobase which is like a more Fluid E45 and helps to massage it in)

When I kept my paper tape on for 10 weeks my scars were so much better (You remove the tape every time you shower etc and put more tape on - The tape I found best was called Micropore, I tried lesser brands and those did not work as well, and the scar on my left leg (drugstore paper tape) is not as great as the scar on my right leg (micropore tape) why I tested this on myself I don't know - But my scars show me which tape was best LOL

Compression bra with sleeves I used and yes I would recommend them - I wore it for 6 weeks I had drains for 2 days - That's it - In UK you don't seem to have drains for ages, and I have had no ill effects from this. No massive swelling or anything. You are no allowed to drive until Dr says so - Was about two weeks I think.... All will go well :-) Just remember - Paper tape is your friend, it holds the scars flat whilst healing. Don't overdo things, no matter how great you feel... Keep wearing your compression garments - I always felt like they were protection for me - Like my shield against all ills. And finally - I reiterate the old words said to me ''Keep your eyes on the prize'' Knowing that getting through those few post surgery weeks is just a transition to the new YOU - Helps your mindset and in a matter of a week or two you will just be amazed at the new you!

I have noticed through all my Ops that pain in the skin alone is negligible - The worst op was inner thighs - Arms and boobs was a breeze

Pain = none at all So little pain I went grocery shopping them remembered I had just got out of hospital and should not be carrying potatoes home - Had to call my son to come get me to make sure I didnt damage myself (and I had breast reduction at same time and still no pain) My only suggestion would be to put things in kitchen etc lower down - You don't wanna stretch up alot - Hafta be careful of your incisions (unlike I was as I am bad lol) You are supposed to keep your scars out of the sun for a year, as the sun can make the scar change colour or something. I would make sure I had an overshirt etc - And have clothes that don't go over your head to put them on for a while, just ones that do up in front.... Luckily I trained my daughter to do my Bra up at the time lol, my compression garment could be done up in front and back (combined garment for breast reduction and arm surgery) Using bathroom = All ok, lol before = (Hope these pics show) Just after = and later = I was left with a red line for a long time - Now (4yrs later) it is just a white flat line, wider than I would have liked but - I am still very happy :-) Looked everywhere for later pics - They have gone AWOL - These two are in May 2012 (Two years after) So are even flatter now - Just haven't takes pics in aaaaaaages... One thing I did remember lookng back at these pics that I did not know then is - Keep your micropore tape on these scars for 10-12 weeks - your Doc may tell you not to - But - After having 5 Ops now I know that the ones where I kept the micropore tape on the scar for 10-12 weeks - Those scars are finer and flatter - I believe the tape supports the skin until it is healed all the way through and the scar does not stretch. I wish I had know this trick in the first few ops... *EDIT* OK - We just took some pics though only on my phone as cameras battery not charged.... These pics are taken 4 years and 2mths post Brachioplasty... Which was done at end of April 2010... And the best ones = It shows you that you will always see the scar but it is pale... And put in a place where you would hafta be putting your arms in a certain position to actually see it..... I can only see it in certain lights, and to be honest when I compare the heartbreak I had when a photo was taken of myself and two friends and my arm was all hanging and twice the size of my friends - This is just amazing and I am happy :-) I do hope that my utter babble and rubbish helps in some way...

Yes my scar goes right into my arm pit...... It is ok though, alot of people have no hair growing in armpits after as that section is removed - I have a tiny tiny bit there that I need a microscope to track down in order to shave it LOL

I had breast reduction in April 2010 - No pain (had brachioplasty at same time no pain there either) Love love love the results :-) Before = Not Long After = Maybe a week or so - Still in dressings so can't be long after... Hope that helps some

I cannot say whether the people you mentioned re good or bad but - I felt I had to say this... You said ''seems like a waste of money at this point in my life.'' Why is it a waste of money at this point in your life? You are 57 - Not 97 - Even if you were 97 - Why do you feel that your own feeling of self worth is not worthy? The reason I had my plastics was for ME. I felt like a thing, an alien - Worthless as after all the work losing the weight (126lbs lost now) I STILL felt like a nothing. The reason I went for my plastics was to find that elusive thing ''normality'' Now - I feel like I am normal - Yeah I have like 162inches of scars but they are the roads on my body showing the journey I have been on - It has been a long journey but mentally I believe it has made me a stronger person, a better person - I feel I lost myself back then and I had to lose myself to really FIND myself again. I cannot say my journey has been all roses there have been many many rocky roads along the way - But I have changed as a human along those roads...... So they have taught me so very much. I have met many people along those roads - Some who were only in my life for a short time but each of them have imparted things that have toughed me and helpd me so when I think back and remember hem I have things like the words they gave to me (Keep your eyes on the prize) and just little things that have helped me along the road to who and where I am today. Today I am 126lbs, having lost 126lbs - I am half the person I used to be yet in that same breath I am twice the person I used to be - Emotionally, I am so vastly different....... Plastics gave me a gift that in many ways money cannot buy.... Even though it kinda did as it was bought with money....... But the gift my surgeon gave to me is just so amazing - His gift to me was a part that will always be close to my heart as he gave to me - ME! A me I never knew. So I say - You ARE worth it! And nothing that helps you both mentally and physically is not worth it at any time of life - If you feel you will gain from it - Then go for it! OHO - (Only here once) And you hafta make life something you wont look back on and say 'I wish I had' - yeah there will be I wish I had nots - But - Life is foe living...... And you are worth it - It is worth it and I think yoiu are worth anything and everything <3 One day I hope to get my face done as losing all that weight has made me look 134yrs old LOL Just had to babble that - lol

I agree with the above, it would stretch the scars out - I dread to think what they might end up looking like - Also - In a normal TT they sew the stomach muscles together with a permanent stitch... It makes me wonder how a pregnancy after that would be - If the stomach muscle not stretching at that point anymore now it is sewn together - How would that 'be' when you are say 9mths preg? Would your body stretch out sideways? Would it rip where the central stitches are internally and leave you with a hernia to deal with? I also have 3 kids and they streeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch your body all over the place and - Kids are fabulous - But to spend all that money before - Knowing you would have to do it all over again - I feel (for me anyways) I am glad I did not have any of that type of surgery until after my family was complete. Good Luck :-)

I had an umbilical hernia done - Twice actually as No1 didn't work (they do say it can split right by the suture line - Second time I had it done with mesh) Anyways - When you have a TT they stitch the stomach muscles together with permanent sutures. This is very similar to a hernia repair. So as said above - They very commonly do this with a TT as they are already in that area and doing a similar thing. This is why - When I did go on to have my own TT 3yrs later - They didn't touch my belly muscles as they were all meshed up (lol) So I am assuming that a TT and hernia repair at same time would - For the patient - Feel very much the same as a TT with muscle repair (But obviously I don't know this 100% as mine were done separately)

Those words are SO TRUE! When you start losing weight you are all overtaken by the numbers - When you get to your goal and look in the mirror and see an Alien in front of you - Skin hanging everywhere - It is like being an outcast all over again (Even if only to yourself) The joy of losing weight is tainted by the reality that you are STILL ABNORMAL. Reconstructive surgery gave me a gift that nobody else could ever give to me. No amount of diamonds or jewels could give me that one thing I was always searching for, and eventually found.. I found........ MYSELF. The REAL me I never knew, or never truly knew...... Yeah I am covered in scars - They tell the story of the journey I have been on.... But - I actually do like my scars - We made friends. For without them - I would not be the Me I am today.... We may all go on with our lives, may never speak again - but we all hold one thing in common - Our Journeys are slightly different - But we all know how it feels to just wanna be...... ME (us) Well done to everybody who has been on such a life changing and amazing journey!!

I had a fleur de lis I am VERY happy I had the fleur de lis or I would have looked 'boxy' Before... Not long after...

I can safely say - I do believe it depends on the surgeon in many ways as I only had real pain on the inner thigh lift, and ONLY until I was in compression garment - After that it was like all was protected and held snug and no more pain. Breast reduction and brachioplasty = No pain Inverted T tummy tuck (no muscles touched tho, which is why I believe it wasn't painful) = Discomfort in back by being pulled forwards for a few days but nothing I consider pain and dreadfulness. Inner Thigh lift = PAIN! On first standing up and going to the bathroom, it was dreadful, but 20mins later when in compression - All was well and I wanted to go home when 20mins before I had said to them 'You can't send me home like THIS!' So they kept me in another day. Outer thigh lift / butt lift with a tiny amount of lipo = No pain but ouchy to try to lay on my side to sleep and when first driving - Couldn't lean forward to reach choke on old car I had then. 2nd outer thigh lift with long line scar - No pain at all considering my outer thigh was cut from top to bottom. I do believe my design veronique compression garments gave me the feeling of security, and were great to wear and they did their job well, when I bought them I was shocked at the price but after I decided they were worth their weight in gold. But - I think preparation is key - If you prepare for the worst, prepare as if you will be completely incapacitated by this - Then anything better than that is a bonus. The worst thing I dealt with was myself. Fear of the unknown and of what would happen, how much pain I would be in, and whether I would regret my choices. A poster on here said the words to me 'eyes on the prize' and I have carried those words with me ever since, I got my son to repeat them to me every time I started worrying about things. And now - Years after the beginning of the plastics journey. My only regrets are :- Not allowing him to redo the end of the inner thigh thing (cos that was the only pain and it freaked me out) to tidy up the end, and for myself not keeping the paper tapes on long enough - The first two ops I took them off when the Dr said at 6 weeks. BUT - The next 3 ops I kept them on for 10weeks then 12 weeks - And those scars are much much better, the scars aren't really really stretched or anything. My TT scar is slightly stretched and that annoys me and I wish I had kept the micropore tape (The only tape I would ever use as I noticed lesser tapes are nowhere near as good and for some stupid reason I tested this on myself and my left leg inner thigh scar is nowhere near as good as my right leg inner thigh scar - one had a lesser tape on it and the other had micropore tape on it - Micropore tape leg scar is far far superior to drugstore tape leg scar) on far longer. It seems like forever to say keep your tapes on for 12 weeks, but - when you think about the money you put in - The time you will 'wear' this new body you are creating - 12 weeks of taping is a small price to pay for finer, flatter, thinner scars that heal better. Good luck to you And keep your eyes on that prize - The prize my Dr gave to me is worth more than any money I could have ever given to him as emotionally and psychologically - I am a totally new me!

Someone who used to be on this forum a long time ago said to me just before my first surgery - ''Eyes on the prize'' I took those words with me - And I told my son to repeat them to me if ever I was 'having a wobble' - Which he did. So many times on the journey I though 'Am I crazy' but I can safely say now - Years afterwards - That I was NOT crazy - Some ops were harder than others, but - In the end I am a new woman. someone I don't think I would have been able to become whilst carrying the burden of all that skin around with me. I shall always be grateful for those few words - As they (the words) Held my hand through it all. I know you will do great - And can't wait to see your transformation

Personally I would say to not get the binder - I had both and the binders used to move and were so uncomfortable. I had an inverted T tummy tuck in 2010 and in the end because of previous surgeries the tummy muscles were not touched but - I had the swimming costume type compression garment from design veronique Once in the garment - NO pain...... Ok so my muscles werent touched but - as soon as you are in compression it stops all that swelling and makes you feel protected.... I would always say it is the best Looked like this (But mine was black) http://showcase.designveronique.com/designveronique/index.php/shop/postsurgical/mid-body/zippered-torso-brief.html Good luck to you - We are all with you holding your hand and will wait for your return (EDIT: That's what you get for going to answer the door - By the time I returned you had answered - lol) I am sure you will be fine either way - Fab!

It was mainly skin - When removed it was far lighter than I thought it would be.... I wish I had thought of getting them to photograph the removed skin like some people do.....

Op1 April 2010 Op2 August 2010 Op3 April 2011 Op4 July 2011 Op5 Feb 2012

You can see some info/pictures here http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/161233-body-lift-with-fleur-de-lisanchor-vertical-abdominal-incision/ before = and after =

These are the ones I had - Design Veronique - Worth their weight (and more) in gold. When I bought the first one I thought OMG - cost..... but now after having 5 ops - I would always buy these ones no matter what - You feel protected and comfortable in them and you actually want to put them on.... (I always got the black ones as they look nicer ) http://www.designveronique.com/ Get two if you can - Then one for in the wash and one to wearing.... I only had one and a binder thing that I wore whilst it was drying - But I wasn't comfortable in the binder so after one op I kept that one for when next Ops one was in the wash (Here they give you the compression after your operation - I only had to buy them for Op1 and 2 - then they started providing them)

It was fine - No pain at all! (Yes I was surprised by the lack of pain also) The swelling was annoying at bed when trying to sleep on my side, that was about it. I kept my compression garment on for 6 weeks as my PS said. I wish I had kept the tapes on longer as over the 3yrs I had these surgeries I learnt by testing on myself that the longer the tapes are on for - The less stretching your scar might get... After Op2 (tummy) I had it stretch a little - Op3 I tested two different types of paper tape, my left leg scar is not as good as my right leg scar which had the paper tape the hospital used and not the drug store own brand tape Op4 (butt/thigh) I put the paper tape tightly in a ring round my waist for 12 weeks! And the scar is much much better for that. I wish I had kept the tape on longer on all the surgeries as the scars heal flatter, finer, and paler. And - 4yrs post arm lift I am still putting moisturiser stuff on twice a day.... My PS is also a micro surgeon so the scars from breast reduction are virtually invisible and were so pale from the beginning I think the best thing for scars is compression. The longer you can keep that on the better - If you hafta live in the compression garment (mine were by design veronique) the better you will feel and the better your scars will be for it. I figured - Living in compression for 3mths was small fry when I am gonna be living in this skin forever. So the better the final result - The happier I will be..... :-) The worst of he recoveries was the day I stood up after Inner thigh lift - OMG I thought i would be in bed forever but - half an hour later I put on compression garment - and all of a sudden - no pain - no bother - and I only came out of compression garment to shower or see PS - Then I was straight back in until I decided to come out of compression (PS said I didn't hafta stay in it after 6 weeks but - I decided it made me feel protected - So - with my compression/armour on I felt I was a normal person - From the moment I put it on......)

It really depends on how much fat there is under the skin. Skin itself doesn't weigh as much as you would think. When I had my belly done - I was so sure it would be like 6lbs or more - But was a measly amount in he end - But the results were dramatic and fantastic! But looking back 4yrs on from Op1 - I think the most important thing that this gave to me was......... ME! It gave me the gift of myself. My surgeon gave me multiple gifts better than I could ever have imagined. Yes I am covered with scars - But they are a small trade off for the wonderful feeling of being smaller than I was in my teens! Before I had my first child I was 140lbs. Today I was 125lbs! (EDIT- Forgot to say at my heaviest weight I know - As avoided scales for many many years - But the heaviest weight I know definitely via scales was 252lbs) The closer you are to goal the better your results will be as you won't have anything coming loose again after the Op... I was 3lbs from my goal of 140lbs at Op1 - I had 5 ops in all - I can't remember Op5's amount but that was very little (Maybe 1lb)as was just a line of skin but the other 4 ops went thus..... Op1 - Brachioplasty and Breast reduction = 3.96lb (1.8 kilos) Op2 - Tummy tuck = 2.42lb (1.1 kilos) Op3 - Inner thigh lift = 1.06lb (0.485 kilos) Op4 - Outer thigh/butt lift = 2.899lbs (1.31 kilos) Total = 10.339lbs (4.689 kilos) Removed in Ops 1-4 I only had a tiny bit of Lipo on outer thighs and that was in grams on each leg - I will hafta search out where I put my list of amounts. The amount of fat removed is small fry when you think of how fantastic you will feel afterwards when you can wear clothes you could never wear. I never thought about the afterwards. I didn't believe in myself enough to know I would be able to get here. But - I would say to anybody - If you are able to get as close to goal as possible - the surgeon will be able to give you a better result as the skin will drape across the body better when they re-attach it - Without anything in the way etc (If that made any sense at all lol)

I would say have the full Tummy Tuck - I think you mean the mons lift when you say puboplasty? - My PS did that one (Mons lift) for free with my TT (full anchor / t incision) Though I did not have the belly muscles touched as I have hernia mesh in there Without my belly muscles tightened I had no pain at all - Just a pulling forwards for a week.... I reckon the pain all comes from them doing the belly muscles as when they did my hernia - That did hurt alos - I didnt have a pain pump - I took pain killers for the first four days without missing them, - Hopefully someone else here will help you out on that one I wish you good luck with your procedure :-)

I guess there are many - And I do hope you find an answer to it! I can still now feel the 'strings' that are in there (I think they are attached to colles fascia ligament or something if I remember rightly) Sometimes it feels kinda weird, but not enough to be of a problem. I know though that my surgeon was going to go in again and lift the right leg scar a bit - I told him NO! cos it hurt like billyo just afterwards so I decided it being a tiny bit lower than anticipated was not enough of a problem to me - It has not moved (touch wood) since then so hopefully it will stay put forever! - I pray. I remember a long time ago I measured how low the scars were so if they ever moved I would know - Of course I have no idea where I wrote that so I would hafta find that first - LOL - I have so many weird photos of me through this journey... I guess I am weird like that - lol... In so many ways it is like the old me is someone I kinda remember but don't really know any more - A whole different chapter of the Me that I am today. I remember before my first Op I was worrying myself silly and a lovely lady on this site said to me 'Eyes on the prize' and I kept those words close to me all the way through and that really helped me to keep going to the end of the reconstruction, that and a wonderful surgeon who would even work for free to help me to get through (We paid hospital fees) edit - info on the holding up sutures here I just found http://cosmeticsurgerytimes.modernmedicine.com/cosmetic-surgery-times/news/modernmedicine/modern-medicine-feature-articles/techniques-anchor-inner- (reading tyhat makes me glad I didnt know anything at the time - lol) I really pray that you can find an answer to this (((Hugs)))