I am seriously considering having this done and I wondered about pain, healing time, results, complications, do you have a new bellybutton? How exactly is the incision done?

Thanks!

Kimberly

ok here is the lodown.

the scar is from hip to hip....its big... just a fact.. it can be covered with undies or a bikini bottom but man that thing is huge... they remove all the skin and fat from above your current belly button to your pubic hair line... then they pull down the top part and sew it to the skin at you pubic hair....my doc also sinched up my ab muscles and they are tight and you would think i did 1000 sit ups a day for years..

they also make a little hole and pull your belly button through and create a new one... i made my doc use extra care here and i told him i wanted a "hooded" belly button in case i ever opted for my belly button ring again... it looks like a real belly button.. i have seen some that are bad and look like button holes though.

they put drains in on each side for the first week and pink juice oozes out..it is painful when they pull the tubes out... ow.. you will also be unable to stand up straight and you will be hunched over shuffling around for a week...

as for pain.. honestly it was the most painful surgery i have ever had.. i mean it hurt bad... when they made me get up to walk in the hospital the day after, i felt like i was cutting in half... oh man it hurt... the recovery was painful too but by 2 weeks i was up and at em... the day after surgery i had one of those medicine buttons that gave me pain meds when i wanted.. that was great... once i lost that i was in pain alot...

but a year later the scar is white and not raised at all... but... it is quite obvious... if i had to do it over i would do it in a second though!!! my stomach is flat as a board and it is such a blessing to buy pants and not worry that my bulge is sticking out... it is also weird to look down in the shower and see EVERYTHING... thats freaky... but great.

hope this helps.

Oh, the scar news is not good. My lap band scars are "hypertrophic" which bugs me alot--they are raised and red/purple and super obvious. Imagine me with a huge one! ugh

That is exactly the information I wanted. Did your insurance cover it? I know mine won't--about how much $$ are we looking at?

I guess they just can't do lipo-it would leave all the skin hanging.....

i am a cash payer for all my surgeries... i had lipo at the same time with the tummy tuck.. and i think it was $9000 together... you get a deal if you have more than one surgery at a time.

shop around with doctors... but make sure he is a good one... that makes a difference of course.

I've been thinking about a tummy tuck as well. However, I am a curvy gal and I want to keep some of my curves. I have seen many tummy tucks that do not look natural and I want to keep my natural look. My MIL has had one, and she's gained a little weight and she looks like she's wearing football pads because now she gains weight in different places. I don't have a lot of saggy skin...most of that is in my legs which I would probably get done before I'd have my stomach done.

I have tummy tuck question. If one hasn't had kids yet, should you wait til after? Would it streach your tummy back after the tuck? Just wondering.

Ali, if you have not have children, ps recommend that you do not get a tt until after you are done having children. I am past that stage so don't have to worry about that, my childbearing days are long gone. Thank God. I am having a tt in Mexico this summer, I will be having a tt, body liposculpture (lipo of upper & lower back, inner and outer thighs and arms and hips (back and front)) and fat injected into my butt to make it look rounder, all this is costing me only $6000. I am so looking forward to it. I am scared of the pain, so we'll see.

Estela, where are you getting all that done for $6000? I'm gonna start saving now! Thats really cheap. litenfee.com where I had my band done, now has a plastic surgeon, but it's much more expencive then that. Let me know where, and how it goes! Thanks

I am planning on a tt as well and once it's nice and healed i will have it tattooed with a band of leaves and flowers.The person who i get my tattoos from does them free of charge for women who had mastectomies.He tattoo's either flowers,birds and such or a nipple.He also covers other types of scars.

It's a good idea if your not opposed to tattooing.

He is my band surgeon, he is in Reynosa, Mexico, he has a website, but its only in Spanish, he is fluent in English though. I don't have time right now, gotta go home, but I'll get in touch w/ you next week, okay.

i have not had any children yet.. i asked my surgeon and he said that it shouldnt be a problem once i get pregnant.. he said the skin will stretch fine and will go down fine... so i went for it..

i mean i had to weigh the options... have a fat gut and not have a man to have sex to make a baby... or have the surgery and maybe then attract a man and then have kids... for me it was easy.

thats a good point. Thats what I'm thinking!!

Hi - I just had to weigh in on this. I had a tummy tuck 5 years ago. It was after I had lost about 40 lbs and kept it off for a few years. I was 30 at the time, single, and looking for Mr. Right. I definitely wanted children. But there was no way I could be comfortable enough to make them w/ my hanging, fleshy belly. I met w/ 2 surgeons. Both said that by not tightening my muscles during the operation, I would maintain my ability to have children. So 4 years later, after meeting Mr. Right, I got pregnant, skin stretched and I got a few stretch marks (which have since faded). I have a 9 month old baby, and a flat stomach! P.S. Gained all the previously lost weight and then some and had the band put on 6 months post partum!

The tummy tuck is the single best thing I ever did. It made me love my body and feel beautiful and free. It was expensive (over 10k) but priceless to me.

Does the tt leave a really bad scar? I am really thinking about this. I'm starting to save now, and maybe by the time I have enough $$ I will have lost enough weight.

just wondering what happens to your port if you get a tt after banding? i would think it would affect it somehow??

i dont know how it affects the port... good question

the scar is big though... from hip to hip straight across... mine is white now but it is incredibly obvious when naked.. you can hide it in panties or a bikini bottom... but if anybody is looking at your naked body (in the light) then it is unmistakeable... and frankly HUGE. but worth it....