has anyone got a tummy tuck before they had kids? i'm 27 have not had any kids yet...i've had fertility problems so who knows if it will ever happen...i had the surgery to help my chances. anyway i can already tell that i'm deflating and am going to have all kinds of loose stomach hanging out...any advice...suggestions? anyone done it before they had kids?

i hope to let you know in about 7 1/2 months... :smile2:

so I kinda got my answer today...so i thought i would update this

i called my ins company to see if it was even a possibility, which they said it was and then gave me some names of plastic surgeons that were in network.

when i went to my first seminar it was with a group that my ins actually didn't cover but these people said that they refferred their patients to the plastic surgery center down the hall...so that's who i called since i knew they would have experience with wls patients.

so the nurse called me back and said that there's the surgery where they go in and tighten up all your muscles which i think is an actual tummy tuck? and then there's the surgery where they just go remove all the extra skin...which is the one that insurance is more likely to pay for...in her experience anyway...this one is a panectomy...or something like that =)

she said you probably wouldn't want to do the muscle tightening one due to the fact when you get a big belly from being pregnant it will just stretch them all out and may undo what you had done...the one where they just remove the extra skin would probably not have too big of a noticable difference after being pregnant.

so that's what i learned today...

i now know something about the process i will need to go through once i'm totally deflated! =)

yeah, a panniculectomy (or panni for short) is an option, i didnt choose a panni cause of the 'ledge' factor. they basically chop off your gut from the belly button down. didnt want that option for myself.

carefully look at before/after pics of the panni.. really decide what you want.

The fact is you can be lucky in pregnancy too. What is your basic body shape?.

I'm tall, and with care during my pregnancies, I did not gain lots of weight, um, I think 20lb for my first, about 25lb for my second and 10lb for my third. Being tall and having nicely sizede 7 to 8lb babies, I didnt get big during pregnancy. I got no stretch marks from pregnancy. I have stomach muscles that are rock hard now, I never got any muscle separation and although I have a little bit of looshish skin courtesy of the weight loss, my stomach is flat as a board.

I know someone who had a full tummy tuck prior to pregnancy and it still looks fine afterwards - like most women, she doesnt quite have the stomach she did before pregnancy, it stretched out a little, got a few stretchmarks etc but in no way was the work "undone".

There is no reason to totally let yourself go in pregnancy, if you're little and you have a big baby, you cant do a lot about that, and you cant help the way you carry. But without the massive weight gain that really isnt necessary for you OR the baby, you dont have to do too much damage.

If I were you and unsure whether it would happen, or when, then I would go for the stomach I want NOW. With your band and your new habits, you wont pile it on in pregnancy if you're careful.