r/tummytucksurgery

Starting weight: 370 lbs
Current weight: 160 lbs
Total lost: ~210 lbs
Height: 5ft 7in

I am 6 days post op from a FDL Panniculectomy and had my first follow up today! Everything is healing well, except the belly button… I may end up losing it… hopefully not!! But it is what it is. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of it, next time I can I will!

The nurse originally had me standing and I almost passed out when she was trying to get the rest of the dressing off.

Had one drain (right) removed and that was something else … 0/10 stars do not recommend 😂

Honestly I am so blown away by the kindness of strangers on the internet… my chosen family showing up for me has been incredible. 🖤🖤

My after and my before. Jesus looking at these side by side and thinking just 3 months ago I had something that was really messing me up mentally.

I’m so happy I made the decision to go through with this surgery. It changed my life for the better.

Despite the cellulitis infection I caught 32 days post op, and despite the challenges that were along the way… getting this done was a hundred percent worth it.

Seven weeks post op today and this is so bad I preferred my stomach before my surgery it’s like a front bum crack 😭😭😭😭

A small update on Minxi’s recovery — we’re now 9 days post-op after her full high-tension tummy tuck and 450cc breast augmentation.

Recovery is going really well so far. Her pain levels are now quite low, and she’s completely off the stronger pain medication, only taking Paracet (paracetamol/acetaminophen) when needed.

She’s still wearing compression garments both top and bottom, and all of the incisions are taped. We’ll continue with the tape and compression as instructed while everything heals.

There’s obviously still plenty of swelling and a long way to go before we can judge the final result, especially with the implants still needing time to settle, but at Day 9 we’re really happy with how smoothly the recovery is progressing.

Here are a few pictures from today for comparison with our Day 4 update. ❤️

Next update coming as the healing continues!

My surgery was 7/27. My scar is starting to heal and belly button is healed pretty much. Swelling is going down. I'm pretty happy with my results. For reference I got the skin removed, I didn't need MR and opted to keep my flanks. No lipo.

8wpo from TT, LIPO, MR.

I only wear my compression about 6 hours a day.

Happy with my results! Although I’m 10lbs heavier than before surgery I’m having trouble losing it! Starting my diet again to get back down.

I’m 8WPO from a tummy tuck with 5cm diastasis repair and flank Lipo and fat transfer to my breasts. Super happy with my tummy and it’s very flat but my shape is not the same. My curves are gone. My waist is about 1-2 inches bigger than before surgery. Hasn’t budged! I’m also about 5 pounds heavier. I know it’s probably from the flank Lipo and I’m just wondering when people started noticing their waist coming back?

***Reposting with updated NSFW tag as my last post was removed***

Hi guys! I'm currently one day post op for a mommy makeover so in case it's helpful to anyone (and because I have time while i'm in the hospital with no kids around me!) i thought i'd document everything, with pics, so if you're about to embark on this too (even just the tummy tuck), you can hear a play by play experience. Let's start with what I had done:

- Full tummy tuck (hip to hip, incl removal of c-section scar)

- Muscle repair for a 5cm abdominal separation (diastasis recti)

- Breast lift

- Breast augmentation

For my BL/BA I opted for 300cc Mentor implants, I thought I had chosen moderate profile, but now that I'm seeing the boxes they seem to be high profile, and I'm NOT MAD about it - there are some interesting things on this i'll share. But first let's start with the before:

I'm 166cm tall (5'4) and weighed 52kg (114 pounds) on the morning of the surgery after a 12 hour fast. My reason for doing this was that I have 3 kids, with my last pregnancy being twins, and I carried them to FULL term. they came out at just over 6 pounds 6 ounces (3kg) each. They just turned 3 recently, and over the last few years I've tried everything non-surgical i can - from dry brushing the loose skin to going to the gym 4x per week with ab focus (after i very gently eased into it that first year after the twins) to even laser skin tightening!! Incredibly painful btw, and all to no avail.

Ultimately it started to get to me that I always had to wear high pants and whenever they'd move down (or my kids would pull them lower on my abdomen), i'd have all this loose skin overhanging. With my weight I honestly didn't have much fat at all, but so much loose skin. I've attached a photo as a baseline for the loose skin.

Let's start with my packing list:

- Protein shakes pre-made (you're really not very hungry after but so important to get protein in)

- Multivitamin + a probiotic

- Collagen jelly pouches + the collagen that goes in my coffee (these have 15g of protein in each)

- Comfy button up PJs, button up long sleeve shirt, button up jumper

- Slippers

- My book (currently reading Think & Grow Rich for Women by Napoleon Hill)

- My phone, charger + laptop

- Giant 2L water bottle (honestly get a massive one as you don't want to get up all the time and i didn't want to feel like a nuisance constantly asking the nursing staff to fill up my water bottle)

- My surgeon already had my compression bra + compression underwear that goes all the way up to the breasts. This is the Marena brand, which came very highly recommended.

- Electrolyte sachets

- Toiletries - facewash, face masks, under eye patches, hairbrush, etc. Honestly i didn't bring anything to wash as I didn't expect to take a shower here for a few days.

I should add, my husband isn't with me as he's at home with the 3 kids, while still working full-time from home. He's an absolute angel. He's also not going to visit as we don't think it's necessary to bring the kids to hospital where they can pick up bugs, nor do they need to see me with drains coming out. My surgeon said i'd probably be here 2-3 nights depending on how things are going, including the drains.

***SURGERY DAY***

Okay so this was yesterday, and it started with my shower where i washed my hair, and did my second antispectic wash that the surgeon gave me. I did the other one the night before. I didn't shave my underarms or anything as that was recommended against.

I checked into the hospital at 8am and laid out all my things at hip height so I never had to bend too much to reach anything I need.

Did my markings with my surgeon at 9am, and went into the OR around 10am. The anaethetist offered me two options alongside the general anaesthetic: a spinal tap which keeps working for 24-48 hours after the op, or getting hooked to a morph drip which is self paced and requires you bring hook up to IV. I asked what he recommended and he said the first would be more comfortable. I was nervous about the spinal tap but he said he'd first give me some sedation prior to the spinal tap so I wouldn't feel it much and he was 100% right. I remember him putting something into my IV line when I was still laying down, and then i was asleep for what felt like a few minutes, and the procedure was done!!

And because of the great sedation, honestly night one was super comfortable. I could walk almost standing up straight and I barely had any pain. I also had minimal swellling around my abdomen last night, it feels like the swelling only really kicked in today. I called my mom, my husband + our kids, and my best friend. The worst part of night one was the nausea and dizziness. The nurses said that's completely normal given the amount of sedation still in the body. I had to get an anti-nausea shot at 6am, but that's the worst of it.

Also here's the interesting part: my surgeon recommended for the first couple of days I don't wear my stomach compression, to help the blood flow in the area. I put the compression on today and honestly after that was the first time I actually started feeling the swelling, I almost wish I didn't put on the compression and could see what happened haha.

***DAY ONE POST OP***

Aside from the ani-nausea meds, a few interesting things happened:

1. I couldn't pee! Lol. It was like I couldn't control my bladder but in the way that I couldn't let it out. I had a catheter in overnight, and after they took it out, I drank a solid liter of water over the next hour or two, and then couldn't get anything out. I had some more to drink, waited a couple more hours, and then was able to pass a few drops of urine. A few hours after that, I could pee properly.
2. The abdominal swelling really started today. Like I look much bigger than even with the loose skin haha, but I know that's normal.
3. Breasts - I believed I'd have a lollipop scar below the nipple and they marked out a nipple repositioning, but when I look in my surgical bra, I have no scar going down from the nipples, and my nipples haven't been touched! There is a scar beneath my breasts on the breast crease and I definitely have the implants in, but it looks like the surgeon may have founder another way to do the lift, maybe due to the high profile of the implants?? I honestly have no idea, the surgeon is coming later today and I will ask then.

I should add, the breasts aren't painful at all. They feel full, tight and uncomfortable, but honestly it's not pain. I can also feel some muscle soreness around them (I went under the muscle for implants) but the feeling is more comparable to doing a super hard workout. Whereas my abdomen is feeling that bit more 'tender' today, I'd say 3/10 though, honestly not too bad. I'm aware how quickly things can change though!!

4. My belly button - this has probably been the thing I've been most worried about, because at the moment it's one super hard firm mass beneath my dressings, and there is brown on the dressing. At first I thought this was blood, but now there is yellow around the edges of the dressing, which makes me think (or hope really) they packed it with gauze and iodine, or something. But if they didn't, I might cry lol as it feels like a genuine pebble.

I've just taken a photo of my abdomen as I write this - they haven't removed the dressings yet but I'll take a photo as soon as they do. And maybe a side shot of the swelling today so you can know what to expect. I hope this helps someone! I'lll update tonight after I've seen the surgeon and hopefully have had a look at the scar + belly button.

5. The drains - mine are empty! I added a pic. There is a little blood/yellow fluid in the line that goes to the drain, but it hasn't moved past that, and it all seems to be from yesterday. I wonder if that means I can get them taken out today. Will let you know, as when I was researching the majority of people had drains in for 4-5 days.

***UPDATE AFTER SURGEON VISIT AT 1DPO***

The doctor came in as I had walked over to grab my button up jumper, and he said he was very happy to see me up and about and walking. He didn't remove any of the dressings yet, he says that will happen around day 4/5 given there don't seem to be any issues (unless I wanted to, but i don't really mind) but did say I should start using my belly binder now to help with the swelling. It's the Marena one with the zip up the side.

My drains are still in, and now there's a small amount of fluid in them, literally maybe 10-15 drops, so he recommended leaving them there for another day. I'll have another dose of IV antibiotics tonight, and tomorrow will move on to oral antibiotics.

He confirmed all the swelling is normal, but also that I was quite bloated which is why my stomach feels/looks quite distended. Which I had noticed I'd started passing some wind earlier in the day actually.

He also gave me the go-ahead to use a stool softener tonight to help get things moving in this department.

The compression makes everything feel quite tight which makes it harder to breathe/move haha, but having it off did mean I could do nerve simulation by trying to touch the skin all around my tummy and over the wounds every hour or two. Apparently that can help reduce the numbness and bring sensation back faster.

He also confirmed that once he put the implants in, they were sitting well and if he'd gone ahead with the plan as marked (to do a full lift), my nipples would have been sitting too high, which i completely agree when I see the markings, I think they're in a good spot now as is, and the bonus is less wounds/cuts to worry about managing. I think it also means my procedure may be cheaper as he didn't have to do a full lift?! I'm not sure haha. Hoping the night isn't too eventful and I can get some sleep! It looks like i'll be in hospital for tomorrow too, and head home the next day, I think. I miss my kids a lot but probably also don't feel ready to head home yet as it's quite difficult to rest with three little ones.

Pics of tummy swelling/bloating attached!

***DAY TWO POST OP MORNING***

The compression binder did it's thing and I'm definitely not as swollen/distended but BOY am I starting to feel more pain today. My chest is incredibly uncomfortable, I wouldn't say painful but 7/10 discomfort for sure, i can feel my incision a lot more when I move, even when I lay down. Even just having to sit/lie down all day in this hospital bed is getting to me, my neck muscles are sore from awkward sleeping positions (I'm going to do gua sha massage on my neck shortly) and I'm starting to understand the start of this back pain that everyone talks about, even though I feel like I'm far more upright than most people I watched in Youtube vids or on IG. I'm def close to upright, not hunched over, but am hunching more today to reduce the likelihood of pain as I'm just feeling everything more. The binder is super uncomfortable I wish i'd gone for the larger size, even though i got it properly measured at the clinic.

I took 2x laxatives last night and can feel movement, but it hasn't delivered on it's promise of relief in 6-12 hours. So i took one more tablet an hour ago but still nothing. I'd really like to have a bowel movement by the end of the day as I'm trying to eat/drink a lot of protein.

I'll update later today but I'm definitely wanting to get home, get a looser binder, sleep more comfortably, get my drains out, and have a bowel movement. I feel like it's going to get worse from here before it gets better... :(

Let me know if you have any questions!

Let me start by saying, I’m only 3 weeks PO as of today so I’m pretty sure I’m in my head way more than I should be. Also, I DO NOT WANT TO BE WASH BOARD FLAT, I just don’t want to look pregnant. Does this seem like swelling or am I going to be like this forever? I look like I should should start thinking of baby shower themes 😩. My incision is slightly open, hence the bandages(superficial, no holes or anything) so massages are a no go right now but I am going to try hyperbaric oxygen treatments starting later this week in hopes in helps with the incision and swelling. My doctor didn’t take any pictures as soon as he closed me up and I didn’t see my body until next morning of the 28th( I was the first surgery the morning of the 27th) so I don’t know how flat I was immediately after.

I'm 4W PO and I absolutely hate my TT. I had a lot of excess skin after losing 45kgs.

Prior to the surgery, I went through what I was looking for with my surgeon and explained I don't want wash board abs but we looked at things that we thought were achievable.

Just before the surgery (in the OT), another senior surgeon explained that I will still have skin sagging as it is coming from my sides rather than stomach and I have poor elasticity so they will do their best. I felt so anxious going into the surgery that I almost pulled out.

Once of the things I said to the surgeon is that I dont want there to be any rolls, I want it as smooth as possible but that's not what I got. We discussed doing lipo and she said she will decide during the surgery but told me that i didn't need it because I didn't have much fat, just the skin. They removed over 1kg of exces skin.

After my main surgeon told me that she's really happy with the result and that lying down it looks great, but I dont live life lying down!

I know i am still swollen but it looks awful to me.

I cry every time I go for a shower because I feel so upset about how it looks.

First 2 pics are my befores

Please be kind

Update from OP

Spoke to the surgeon today, explained that not happy with the skin sagging still at the top of the bellow button and still being so much of it.

She went through the surgical plan with me and explained that she fully understands that I'm not happy with it and has offered me a completely free revision, either with the current surgical team or with another doctor.

She explained some of the decisions made which did make sense to me, especially as my blood work was borderline and I needed to ensure I was fit to fly back within the time frame I had given her for healing.

I would be happy to go back to her because i know from my brachio that it can get to what I want it to be.

Thank you all for commenting and giving me some comfort that i wasn't being crazy.

I do see the progress, especially with the bottom part of the stomach and not having any overhang but the top part will definitely need redoing. Reading your comments gave me confidence in speaking to her and raising my concerns which she took on board.