Post weight loss - tummy tuck/excess skin removal experiences?
Replies
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melissa6771 wrote: »I've lost 100 pounds as well and have terrible loose skin. I had a vertical tummy tuck with a small horizontal cut also, and had my arms done at the same time. I had no problems like the above poster did. I went back to work in 8 days and I'm a hairdresser. I'm having my thighs and bum done July 31. Last but not least I will go in January for my boobs. I love it. I love how flat my tummy is. I will definitely wear a bikini, the scar doesn't bother me and it's faded a lot. Looking forward to doing that next summer. I'm also happy to answer any questions. Feel free to message me as well.
Good luck on your upcoming surgery--you must be SO excited!
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JulieSHelms wrote: »melissa6771 wrote: »I've lost 100 pounds as well and have terrible loose skin. I had a vertical tummy tuck with a small horizontal cut also, and had my arms done at the same time. I had no problems like the above poster did. I went back to work in 8 days and I'm a hairdresser. I'm having my thighs and bum done July 31. Last but not least I will go in January for my boobs. I love it. I love how flat my tummy is. I will definitely wear a bikini, the scar doesn't bother me and it's faded a lot. Looking forward to doing that next summer. I'm also happy to answer any questions. Feel free to message me as well.
Good luck on your upcoming surgery--you must be SO excited!
Thank you Julie. I'm so excited, and scared. I have a feeling this one is going to be much more painful and more recovery than the other. That said, I have hated my thighs for 20 years! And my bum looks much like yours did before your surgery, probably worse. Lol... looking forward to seeing the results. I'm going to look like I'm out of a criminal minds episode, like I was stitched together. Haha4 -
@pastelcarly
Update:. Home from surgery. Feeling pretty good (Valium + Tylenol 3). Back is sore from lipo, but nothing worse than bad back pain from period crap. Surgery went very well (according to my doctors). So hopefully I will have a great and speedy recovery.14 -
Download the app real self. Has tons of before and after a, real experiences etc.0
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@VUA21 Hoping for a speedy recovery and a nice outcome for you
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I had two surgeries within the last year - got a 360° Bodylift to remove the tummy-back-area. I lost over 300lbs in total and it was medically necessary and paid by my insurance company. In March i got a upper-body-lift removing the skin from my breast/back/arms. I just submitted my application to my insurance company for removing my thigh-skin. Wish me luck.
For me i would wait for at least a year after maintaining weight, because your body/skin can do more than you will expect. Especially if you're young and the weight loss is not extremely high.
Concerning the surgeries i had some troubles with them. Because of the bad-skin-quality (due the many years and the extreme high weight i had) the seam torn and i had to have an emergency surgery. After that i had some more problems concerning not healing wounds, which will give me much thicker scars in some areas. All in all it took about 3 month for all wounds to be closed. Luckily no inflammations. My belly button ripped and was lost within my stomach.
On the second surgery i had some similiar (but not that worse) problems. Some open spots closing slowly took about two month for healing. And hey - they found the bellybutton and put it back in place. Healed fine. Nevertheless i would do both of the surgeries again, because i like the result and it was definitely necessary in my case.
@VUA21 I wish you good luck and a fast healing. Give it more time, than you expected and the result will be fine ;-)7 -
Day 5 recovery update. Saw doctor today, healing very well. Babying the wounds, and trying to put as little strain on my abdomen as possible.
@felixg1109 Thank you. Sorry to hear about your mishaps and glad that you recovered well in the end. Yes, I always double the time that I expect. Took 3 years to lose the weight and give myself time for skin to shrink as much as possible before surgery.
Here's my day 5 recovery photo:
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Here's my 1 week recovery photo. Also, if anyone is interested my surgery video is on YouTube, I'll post the link as well.
https://youtu.be/C2RZD5pXPLg
I have one drain left in, the bellybutton bandage is now removed. Most of the bruising from surgery is gone. I am still sore, but no pain. Walking around pretty well - even went to the grocery store, did use the cart as a walker a bit, but managed to get around pretty well.14 -
Wow I can't believe how well, and fast, you are healing. Just goes to show what good nutrition and a healthy body can do.
Thanks for posting the video too.
I am not sure I can watch it. I can watch medical stuff in the abstract, but I kind of know you, so I think I may become a little squeamish.
Maybe I will sit with smelling salts at hand
Cheers, h.6 -
I watched, he was very thorough in his explanation.4
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I watched, he was very thorough in his explanation.
That is one of the reasons I went with him, and I scouted every local plastic surgeon and had consultations with those I felt were the best. He is very thorough!!! In every conversation and appointment I've had, even via emails and calls. Definitely on my Xmas card list along with the entire staff!5 -
Fascinating video. Thanks for sharing. I was impressed how little blood loss there was. Congratulations again.2
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I'll share my experience. I have been overweight my entire life, up until 2 years ago. I started really paying attention to myself and lost a lot of weight. I had excess skin in my abdomen and some fat still. In August or September of 2016 I got a tummy tuck. The first day/night was terrible, the surgery was outpatient and I was back home in bed by early afternoon. I had taken my pain medication on an empty stomach (bad idea) and also needed to go to the bathroom. Upon trying to come back to my bed, I got super light headed and dizzy and ended up passing out. My family had called an ambulance, when they took my blood pressure it was 50/20. They didn't even give me the option to go to the er, they said there was no choice. The doctor was concerned a blood vessel was leaking or something had come undone after having the surgery and removed my binder and bandaging except for the tape on my incision, said everything was fine, pumped me full of fluids and gave me food and morphine. They chalked it up to a bad reaction to the medication and told me to stop taking it. They recommended I call Dr. Dorner for a new prescription that wasn't as strong. That's what made the first night terrible, no pain meds. I called Dr. Dorner the next morning at like 5 or 6 am on a Saturday, explained the situation and he was upset that I hadn't had anything for pain since the evening before. He said he couldn't call in anything besides Tramadol given the reaction to percocet. Once the Tramadol was filled and I had it a few days, the pain was significantly better and I was off of it pretty quick and just taking regular otc pain meds. The drain was a pain in the butt, overall everything healed well. I did have to go back in for a second incision over my right hip with a local block due to a dog ear at the end of my incision (a small flap of skin). Dr. Dorner did that at no cost, said he should have went further around on that side of my hip. Recovery was okay, it was several weeks before I could stand up straight, 4 weeks before I could return to work. I do have some areas of numbness that I doubt will ever come back, mostly along the incision under my belly button and one side of my belly button. If you're interested at all, my whole experience is on realself, from the day I confirmed my decision to the very end of having my baby and beyond that.6
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Here's my 1 week recovery photo. Also, if anyone is interested my surgery video is on YouTube, I'll post the link as well.https://youtu.be/C2RZD5pXPLg
I have one drain left in, the bellybutton bandage is now removed. Most of the bruising from surgery is gone. I am still sore, but no pain. Walking around pretty well - even went to the grocery store, did use the cart as a walker a bit, but managed to get around pretty well.
Thank you so much for sharing this. 3 -
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us, VUA21! That video was absolutely fascinating!1
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I don't see anything wrong with thinking about it and perhaps talking to a plastic surgeon about options, costs, and recovery periods. At my age, I know that plastic surgery will be in my future. I don't think there is a cut and dried answer about whether you will need it or not, and in the end it will be about how you feel about your body. But I think a consultation with several plastic surgeons will give you insight and answer your questions. I don't know if you are in the U.S., but the magazine "New Beauty" frequently talks about plastic surgery and even has recommendations for plastic surgeons.2
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Here's my Day 10 recovery progress:
Most of the scabs have fallen off, 95% of the pain and soreness is gone. I am finally able to stand fully upright. The post-op compression garment is now the most uncomfortable part of recovery, I have 5-7 more weeks wearing some form of compression gear.
I have been given the okay for light exercise: slow walks (preferably on a treadmill in case of anything, I can just stop), light upper body seated exercises (dumbbell curls, presses), and some leg exercises that don't put stress on my abdomen (calf raises, standing leg curls).
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Looking so good!2
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2 week recovery:
Still swollen on my abdomen. I can feel the distention on my belly. Doing pretty good. Still walking around slowly, but getting better every day. All my drains have finally been removed and I no longer need to wear the compression garment from the hospital. I can now wear regular compression garments (Spanx, compression tights/shirts, post surgical wraps) which are much more comfortable for the next 4-6 weeks
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I have considered surgery. In my research, you lose collage as you get older that is why older people skin doesn't shrink back as fast as younger people. I would probably give it time to see if it would shrink and do weight training to try to fill in some areas. But its a personal decision. I would definitely get to my goal weight before any surgery.2
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I have considered surgery. In my research, you lose collage as you get older that is why older people skin doesn't shrink back as fast as younger people. I would probably give it time to see if it would shrink and do weight training to try to fill in some areas. But its a personal decision. I would definitely get to my goal weight before any surgery.
I'm 42 and most of my face and arms shrank back. My stomach - nope! Thighs, about half. But yes, the older you get the less your skin shrinks back. Per my doctor, you should actually be 5-10lbs above ideal as excess skin has weight initself. My total tissue loss was nearly 4lbs from my tummy-tuck (I had a lot from losing 180lbs - most people average 1-2lbs).
I also recommend maintaining weight for a year before surgery. 1. It gives time for skin to shrink back. 2. You know that you can maintain your weight post surgery. (Known people to spend $15,000 on surgery after WLS weight loss, only to gain the weight back - so basically $15,000 was wasted).8 -
After losing 50 lbs and 50 inches, I had a TT June 26th. It was the absolute best thing I did for myself. The first time I saw myself without the skin, I cried. The recovery was pretty easy - I was off work for 3 weeks. I had 2 drains that were only in for a week. Feel free to ask questions [image removed by MFP moderator]
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2 week recovery:
Still swollen on my abdomen. I can feel the distention on my belly. Doing pretty good. Still walking around slowly, but getting better every day. All my drains have finally been removed and I no longer need to wear the compression garment from the hospital. I can now wear regular compression garments (Spanx, compression tights/shirts, post surgical wraps) which are much more comfortable for the next 4-6 weeks
Hi - I'd love to see an updated before/after your tummy tuck. I'm scheduled for my surgery in two weeks, and would love to hear an update on how you've been feeling and how the scar looks.0 -
@yaryrosa VUA21 hasn't been around for a few months
Hopefully she's off having fun! Here's her thread with lots of post-surgery updates, though:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10687999/tummy-surgery-after-180-pound-weight-loss-warning-some-graphic-pics/p15 -
@yaryrosa VUA21 hasn't been around for a few months Hopefully she's off having fun! Here's her thread with lots of post-surgery updates, though:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10687999/tummy-surgery-after-180-pound-weight-loss-warning-some-graphic-pics/p1
Thank you!!!!!0 -
@pastelcarly - how is your weight loss journey progressing?0
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I am so thankful to you all for this discussion. I am 43 and have lost 55lbs with about 15 to go. My arms are my only issue with lose skin. It is terrible but they keep changing and looking different. I am hoping it gets better in time but constantly worried. Your comments in this discussion give me some hope.3
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I am so thankful to you all for this discussion. I am 43 and have lost 55lbs with about 15 to go. My arms are my only issue with lose skin. It is terrible but they keep changing and looking different. I am hoping it gets better in time but constantly worried. Your comments in this discussion give me some hope.
Just my two cents worth but give your body a year or two to recover before doing surgery. Although I did the tummny tuck I've noticed my other areas have improved quite a bit over the last two years. I know my stomach would never have been right because of the really bad hanging skin but if yours isn't really bad I would give it some time.3
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