Hello peeps..

Relatively new to these forums.

More than two years ago I had a Gastric Sleeve & have lost close to 65 kilos. I live in the Netherlands but was born in Canada.

In 1 1/2 weeks time I'll be getting a Fleur de Lis TT -- and I'm a little nervous. Not sure why specifically really. Nerves combined with excited impatience too. :-/ Confusing.

I was wondering what some of your experiences have been. I know the surgery is heavy-duty. My surgeon told me it would be 3 months before I felt like my old self, but I am curious how others have felt. How long before you could walk a block or two? Climb stairs? I am hoping to SLOWLY (couple hours a day at first) return to work after about a month, but I'm not sure if this is realistic.

Anyone have any tips or suggestions? I'm all ears..

Robynne

I had a regular TT/panni, so not sure if recovery would be different.

I had expected to be completely laid up, and barely able to function. NOT the case. I was walking like Quasi-modo, and had to sleep semi-sitting, but was able to get around, care for myself, shower, climb stairs, cook, etc..... Just a bit slower and always mindful of not moving in a way that pulled on the incision. Pain was minimal.

Best of luck

I had an extended tummy tuck (almost circumferential) and my recovery was ROUGH. I was able to walk with a walker petty much right away, but only very short distances. Getting up and down was a real challenge. If you love yourself, do yourself a favor and get one of those elevated toilet seats with arms on it! You won't need it for long, but just the first few days that will make your life a little easier. I would say I could walk around the block at maybe 2-3 weeks post-op? My main issue was swelling of the soft tissue in my lower back, because fluid collected there, since it was the only place where it could travel between the upper and lower halves of my body. I had serious pain associated with that, wich caused me to miss much more than the planned four weeks of work. I would say it was closer to 9 months for me to get back to feeling completely normal. But, that was because of my complications. I would think, had I not had those issues, 3-4 months to feel back to normal would have been about right.

I had the fleur de lis (But my muscles were not touched as I had previous hernia mesh in there)

Fabulous results - Best thing I ever did having the extended one.

I had hardly any pain due to no muscles messed with - Just couldn't stand upright for a few days.

Good luck to you - Keep your eyes on the prize - And that prize is - The new YOU!

My main tip would be to wear the paper tape (Micropore tape it's called over here) over the scar for 12 (yes 12) weeks! It flattens the scar and makes it finer. I didn't do this on mine and it stretched (the scar) a tiny bit - I did do it on other scars from other Ops and the scars are much much better for it. - Also - Compression garments - Wear it for that 12 weeks also - I always looked on it as my armor, protection and it stops any swelling and really helped me in all 5 of my Ops......

The healing time is just a short time in your life and the rest of your life you will have to reap the benefits so if it seems annoying doing the above - Tell yourself that you want the BEST results ever - And three months is a snippet of life in the long run when you will have years and years to rejoice in the new you :-)

Before...

Not long after.......

Edited March 11, 201511 yr by Scamp

I will also be having a fleur de lis. Mine is scheduled for late May. I am planning a road trip that will include a lot of walking in mid-August. Now I'm worried that it might be too soon?

I will also be having a fleur de lis. Mine is scheduled for late May. I am planning a road trip that will include a lot of walking in mid-August. Now I'm worried that it might be too soon?

If you have a smooth recovery without complications, you should be fine.

I think this is different for everyone, but most people do have pain after this surgery. But, as my plastic surgeon says, pain never killed anyone, lol.

I had a lower body lift which included an abdominoplasty (muscles) and auto fat flap in the back. I also had brachioplasty at the same time, so that was a lot of surgery.The first 24 hours were very rough, and the first two weeks were also pretty rough for me. I took lots of pain meds around the clock and had help from my family. I think if it were only abdominplasty, it wouldn't have been so difficult. Anyway, I went back to work remotely at 2.5 weeks, and was back in the office in under 4 weeks. Ideally, I would have been off 5-6 weeks, but I just can't be away from work that long.

Even with all that, the misery was pretty short term for all the fabulous improvement! It was SO worth it.

Thank you all SO much for responding. I am feeling much more reassured after reading your stories. My surgeon also said: "pain - we can manage! It's your energy levels you have to take into consideration."

I don't mind being a little off for 3 months and pain I can handle, I'm mostly worried about getting back to work "on time". Work tells me to take my time, but as a temp I feel an invisible pressure to return asap..

I will keep you guys updated (if you like) and will post some before/after pics.

I will say, that despite my complications in the beginning, now that I am 3.5 years post-plastics, I could not be more thrilled with my results! Especially since I have regained all my pre-plastic weight and am now losing it again post-sleeve. I can't believe how well my tummy tuck held up through the weight fluctuation. The pain and complications are a distant memory and I am still enjoying my flat stomach every single day!

I had extensive plastics...lower body lift (tummy tuck with butt lift) breast and arms.

I didn't really experience much surgical pain. I was heavily medicated first 3 days in clinic then did ok with Tylenol.

Recovery was HARD though. Energy low, six weeks off work etc. However I started exercising about 8 weeks out and was skiing and horse back riding by 12 weeks.

@@Robynne Hazebroek-Buzanko .. Hi Robynne.. I am not being judgy, just curious.. My doctor told me to be sure I was at my goal weight before doing a TT for the very best results. I was reading your stats and see you are close, but not quite there. Do you think you will reach goal by your surgery, or is this not a concern with your doctor?

Two days to go until surgery - each day is different. Some moments of pure anxiety, others of confidence. I feel sometimes rather schizophrenic in that the logical part of my brain is constantly arguing with the illogical part. I know it's all going to be great in the end...

@ MoMo12onTheGo - my surgeon asked me to try & lose a little extra weight before he sent my file off for approval from my insurance -- my attempts actually had an adverse affect on my weight and I started to slowly gain despite being even more careful with food and working out extra. So he told me to stop and I returned to my current weight & stabilized. Over here, they are more concerned about seeing stability in your weight than having reached a goal weight. Technically, I'm still a little (I think .1) above the "desired" BMI, but after reviewing my case file the insurance company approved. My surgeon seems confident that the surgery will help push me through to my goal.

Well - nearly 6 hours post-op.

I was one of the first scheduled today, so was wheeled off around 8.30 am. Supposedly for 2 hours. Ended up taking 4 hours.

Nausea has been extremely minimal (thank goodness) and pain is also nothing to write home about. Not allowed to move much - which is why it's probably low. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt. Every twitch, every cough, every shift. But it's not horrible.

My surgeon removed 4 kilos. Which I found surprising. He was happy with the results thus far - said it was looking too tight and my drains are surprisingly empty..

After pics will follow later..

Glad to hear all went well!

I hope your procedure went well and you have a speedy recovery!

I foresee a TT in my future. I will likely wait until summer 2016 as I will soon reach my stretch goal weight and want to see how much my skin snaps back on its own first. I'm curious though why people elect to get the fluer de lis vs. a regular TT. I thought those were for patients who had lost significant amounts of weight and had very large skin bibs? The poster above who attached a picture looked like she could have had a regular TT. I'm in the beginning stages of doing my research and would love to hear why people chose the procedures they did. That's a very large vertical scar that would be impossible to hide. Did they tell you a Regular TT wouldn't work?

Edited March 21, 201511 yr by Bluesea71

The procedure went smoothly and it seems recovery is going quickly. I might even be sent home tomorrow..!!! Drains, catheter & IV came out today and I've been to the bathroom to pee twice. I've eaten and the doctor seems pleased.

He explained the Fleur de Lis, while being the more "extreme" TT procedure, delivered the best and longest lasting results. If I lose more weight, the FdL TT results will stay just as nice whereas with the normal TT there's a risk of, after possible additional weightless, the skin could hang over the scar line requiring additional surgery.....