Tummy surgery after 180 pound weight loss [warning - some graphic pics]
Replies
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I am beyond impressed! First that you lost 180 pounds, and second that you braved the surgery. Your tummy looks fantastic now -- who knew they could make such a fine looking belly button?!4
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You look fabulous. When all is said and done, you are going to have a killer body!2
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Thanks for sharing this. I know I will need an arm lift and tummy tuck when I reach goal. I have a double flap for a stomach. The top flap is skin folded over a double hernia repair scar and I have a lower abdominal flap too. I'm starting to see tricep development but skin folds hang over my elbow when my arms are by my sides.
My biggest issues are scarring because I tend to keloid and get dark scars, and pain.
But seeing how well you're healing and how you're taking shape makes it worth it. Wishing you a smooth recovery.3 -
New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »Thanks for sharing this. I know I will need an arm lift and tummy tuck when I reach goal. I have a double flap for a stomach. The top flap is skin folded over a double hernia repair scar and I have a lower abdominal flap too. I'm starting to see tricep development but skin folds hang over my elbow when my arms are by my sides.
My biggest issues are scarring because I tend to keloid and get dark scars, and pain.
But seeing how well you're healing and how you're taking shape makes it worth it. Wishing you a smooth recovery.
@New_Heavens_Earth
Thank you and best wishes for your future surgery.
One thing I recommend for abdominalplasty that isn't on any doctors recommendation list: strengthen your arms as much as possible, especially your triceps. The ability to lift myself off of chairs/toilet/bed with just my arms has helped immensely - very little stress put on my abdomen. Also, strengthen your core as much as possible. The fact that I didn't have to have my rectus abdominus (6-pack muscles) stitched back together means I don't have the additional stress of having sutures on muscle tissue. Over time and with core training, those muscles can move back together where they should be - years of obesity can cause them to separate.
Talk to your surgeon about keloiding issues. As far as scarring goes, I know I would rather have massive scars than the excess skin that got in the way of just being able to go for a run (my stomach got bad enough to where I had to wear compression gear or risk sores and possible infection just to go for a run). Besides, my surgery scars for removing the excess skin as my battle scars.14 -
Day 10 recovery.
Some of the scabbing is starting to shed. 95% of the soreness is gone. Went for a slow walk today, it felt good to get back to being my normal active self. Even if my activities are still very limited. My "workouts" are limited to slow walks, seated upper body workouts and calf raises: not too much but it's progress from activities being sleep and lying down. I'll be getting my drain removed soon, can't wait for that!
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Congratulations on your loss and successful surgery. I hope your recovery continues to go so well.2
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Day 10 recovery.
Some of the scabbing is starting to shed. 95% of the soreness is gone. Went for a slow walk today, it felt good to get back to being my normal active self. Even if my activities are still very limited. My "workouts" are limited to slow walks, seated upper body workouts and calf raises: not too much but it's progress from activities being sleep and lying down. I'll be getting my drain removed soon, can't wait for that!
Is there much coming out of the drain at this point?
Thank you for continuing to update and share.1 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Day 10 recovery.
Some of the scabbing is starting to shed. 95% of the soreness is gone. Went for a slow walk today, it felt good to get back to being my normal active self. Even if my activities are still very limited. My "workouts" are limited to slow walks, seated upper body workouts and calf raises: not too much but it's progress from activities being sleep and lying down. I'll be getting my drain removed soon, can't wait for that!
Is there much coming out of the drain at this point?
Thank you for continuing to update and share.
I'm draining between 30 and 40ml/day. So it's getting close to being done and due to be removed soon.
You're welcome. Next update will be my 2 week update, then weekly updates after that.3 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Day 10 recovery.
Some of the scabbing is starting to shed. 95% of the soreness is gone. Went for a slow walk today, it felt good to get back to being my normal active self. Even if my activities are still very limited. My "workouts" are limited to slow walks, seated upper body workouts and calf raises: not too much but it's progress from activities being sleep and lying down. I'll be getting my drain removed soon, can't wait for that!
Is there much coming out of the drain at this point?
Thank you for continuing to update and share.
I'm draining between 30 and 40ml/day. So it's getting close to being done and due to be removed soon.
You're welcome. Next update will be my 2 week update, then weekly updates after that.
Awesome! I suspect this may be in my future too. Even if it weren't it's fascinating to follow.3 -
I wish I could afford that! I've lost 185 and am 19 pounds from goal. Looking good!
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I wish I could afford that! I've lost 185 and am 19 pounds from goal. Looking good!
I decided to save up bit by bit for my surgery. As I run more than anything else, I dropped my gym membership and cut a few luxuries out of my habit. I (slowly) saved up at the rate of about $50-100 a month. I also rewarded myself for each goal with a $20 into my savings. Just like weight loss taking time, but the end results can be massive, saving a little here and there ends up with the same results. Also, make it known that you want to save up for it, and instead of standard birthday or Xmas presents, request help to pay for it.16 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »Day 10 recovery.
Some of the scabbing is starting to shed. 95% of the soreness is gone. Went for a slow walk today, it felt good to get back to being my normal active self. Even if my activities are still very limited. My "workouts" are limited to slow walks, seated upper body workouts and calf raises: not too much but it's progress from activities being sleep and lying down. I'll be getting my drain removed soon, can't wait for that!
Is there much coming out of the drain at this point?
Thank you for continuing to update and share.
I'm draining between 30 and 40ml/day. So it's getting close to being done and due to be removed soon.
You're welcome. Next update will be my 2 week update, then weekly updates after that.
Awesome! I suspect this may be in my future too. Even if it weren't it's fascinating to follow.
Thank you. I'm going to post my entire recovery. There are a lot of before/after pics and general stories about what people go through. I feel that a continuous update on how my recovery is going and how I'm doing is helpful to people by giving them a more detailed recovery process. Some may decide against it, some decided to have it done, but both are more informed about what recover is like from at least one person.17 -
I don't think I posted this here, if I did, oops, if not - well here's the video my doctor posted of my surgery.
https://youtu.be/C2RZD5pXPLg 9 -
How does it feel looking at your own surgery like that? I'm not squeamish at all but is it different knowing it's you? Wild!2
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Thank you so much for sharing your story!1
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I wish I could afford that! I've lost 185 and am 19 pounds from goal. Looking good!
I decided to save up bit by bit for my surgery. As I run more than anything else, I dropped my gym membership and cut a few luxuries out of my habit. I (slowly) saved up at the rate of about $50-100 a month. I also rewarded myself for each goal with a $20 into my savings. Just like weight loss taking time, but the end results can be massive, saving a little here and there ends up with the same results. Also, make it known that you want to save up for it, and instead of standard birthday or Xmas presents, request help to pay for it.
Yes, my family has been very helpful when I put non-traditional present requests on my bday/Xmas wish list.
Re saving: just read an interesting article about how saving can be hard for people “estranged” from their future self. My parents are/were savers, and I think that has helped me be considerate of my future self financially.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/cognitive-bias/565775/
...Present bias shows up not just in experiments, of course, but in the real world. Especially in the United States, people egregiously undersave for retirement—even when they make enough money to not spend their whole paycheck on expenses, and even when they work for a company that will kick in additional funds to retirement plans when they contribute.
That state of affairs led a scholar named Hal Hershfield to play around with photographs. Hershfield is a marketing professor at UCLA whose research starts from the idea that people are “estranged” from their future self. As a result, he explained in a 2011 paper, “saving is like a choice between spending money today or giving it to a stranger years from now.” The paper described an attempt by Hershfield and several colleagues to modify that state of mind in their students. They had the students observe, for a minute or so, virtual-reality avatars showing what they would look like at age 70. Then they asked the students what they would do if they unexpectedly came into $1,000. The students who had looked their older self in the eye said they would put an average of $172 into a retirement account. That’s more than double the amount that would have been invested by members of the control group, who were willing to sock away an average of only $80.6 -
I wish I could afford that! I've lost 185 and am 19 pounds from goal. Looking good!
I decided to save up bit by bit for my surgery. As I run more than anything else, I dropped my gym membership and cut a few luxuries out of my habit. I (slowly) saved up at the rate of about $50-100 a month. I also rewarded myself for each goal with a $20 into my savings. Just like weight loss taking time, but the end results can be massive, saving a little here and there ends up with the same results. Also, make it known that you want to save up for it, and instead of standard birthday or Xmas presents, request help to pay for it.
Do you mind sharing how much it cost? I want to have it done with some lipo -- I have some lower abdominal scar tissue that will require abdominoplasty to fix, and because it's cosmetic, my insurance won't cover it -- and have a guesstimate, but am trying to come up with a better ballpark as to what I need to save.1 -
New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »Thanks for sharing this. I know I will need an arm lift and tummy tuck when I reach goal. I have a double flap for a stomach. The top flap is skin folded over a double hernia repair scar and I have a lower abdominal flap too. I'm starting to see tricep development but skin folds hang over my elbow when my arms are by my sides.
My biggest issues are scarring because I tend to keloid and get dark scars, and pain.
But seeing how well you're healing and how you're taking shape makes it worth it. Wishing you a smooth recovery.
@New_Heavens_Earth last year I had my arms done and a flier de lis tummy tuck which addresses both the upper and lower abdomen. I also had a vertical thigh lift two weeks ago that I am home recovering from. I’d be happy to share some pics and any info if it’s ok with @VUA21 that I jump in on her thread.
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That video was fascinating! Congrats on your successful surgery!!!1
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I don't think I posted this here, if I did, oops, if not - well here's the video my doctor posted of my surgery.https://youtu.be/C2RZD5pXPLg
Cool! Especially the belly button part. I always wondered about that.2 -
You seem to be healing nicely!1
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Your incision looks awesome! I had a midline (1-2 inches above belly button all the way down) incision (for a completely different operation) and it never looked as nice as yours3
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melissa6771 wrote: »New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »Thanks for sharing this. I know I will need an arm lift and tummy tuck when I reach goal. I have a double flap for a stomach. The top flap is skin folded over a double hernia repair scar and I have a lower abdominal flap too. I'm starting to see tricep development but skin folds hang over my elbow when my arms are by my sides.
My biggest issues are scarring because I tend to keloid and get dark scars, and pain.
But seeing how well you're healing and how you're taking shape makes it worth it. Wishing you a smooth recovery.
@New_Heavens_Earth last year I had my arms done and a flier de lis tummy tuck which addresses both the upper and lower abdomen. I also had a vertical thigh lift two weeks ago that I am home recovering from. I’d be happy to share some pics and any info if it’s ok with @VUA21 that I jump in on her thread.
@melissa6771 Feel free to. The more first hand information about various surgeries, the better. Helps people see what before/after and recovery is truly like.
Also, I wouldn't mind seeing them as well. I'm not going to need my arms done, but eventually I am getting at least my thighs done4 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »I don't think I posted this here, if I did, oops, if not - well here's the video my doctor posted of my surgery.https://youtu.be/C2RZD5pXPLg
Cool! Especially the belly button part. I always wondered about that.
Before my surgery, so did I. I went from a fairly sad, extended, and droopy bellybutton to a cute one. Although at the moment it's not too cute as it's still scabbed over quite a bit.0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »Your incision looks awesome! I had a midline (1-2 inches above belly button all the way down) incision (for a completely different operation) and it never looked as nice as yours
My c-section scar was pretty bad, it's gone now. Part of it, is that plastic surgeons have a higher focus on end result aesthetics than other surgeons so the suturing tend to be focused on both proper closing and minimizing scarring. When I had my C-section, the top layer of sutures were staples, which resulted in a big ugly scar. My tummy-tuck removed it as the bottom incision went right below my old scar.4 -
singingflutelady wrote: »Your incision looks awesome! I had a midline (1-2 inches above belly button all the way down) incision (for a completely different operation) and it never looked as nice as yours
My c-section scar was pretty bad, it's gone now. Part of it, is that plastic surgeons have a higher focus on end result aesthetics than other surgeons so the suturing tend to be focused on both proper closing and minimizing scarring. When I had my C-section, the top layer of sutures were staples, which resulted in a big ugly scar. My tummy-tuck removed it as the bottom incision went right below my old scar.
I had staples too and part of mine reopened so it didn't heal for 10 months so the scar is bad. I had a total proctocolectomy (colon and rectum out) by a colorectal surgeon so aesthetics was the least of his concerns.1 -
collectingblues wrote: »I wish I could afford that! I've lost 185 and am 19 pounds from goal. Looking good!
I decided to save up bit by bit for my surgery. As I run more than anything else, I dropped my gym membership and cut a few luxuries out of my habit. I (slowly) saved up at the rate of about $50-100 a month. I also rewarded myself for each goal with a $20 into my savings. Just like weight loss taking time, but the end results can be massive, saving a little here and there ends up with the same results. Also, make it known that you want to save up for it, and instead of standard birthday or Xmas presents, request help to pay for it.
Do you mind sharing how much it cost? I want to have it done with some lipo -- I have some lower abdominal scar tissue that will require abdominoplasty to fix, and because it's cosmetic, my insurance won't cover it -- and have a guesstimate, but am trying to come up with a better ballpark as to what I need to save.
The total cost was just over $12,000. If you get a quote for substantially less, ask the cost covers the anesthesia, surgical center fees, and post-op consultantations and revisions. If it doesn't, ask how much those fees are. Any reputable and experienced will know. Also ask (demand really) to see thier credentials as a PLASTIC surgeon! A plastic surgeon is trained in plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. A cosmetic surgeon, might be a dentist with limited training on cosmetic procedures (RUN AWAY!!!!).
Remember, this is your body, don't ever go cheap (watch Botched) as bad results can often lead to higher costs in order to fix them.14 -
rickiimarieee wrote: »
it looks beautiful, it heal really well. I know you feel great they say don't toot your own horn but let me hear you say TOOT - TOOT lol2 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »How does it feel looking at your own surgery like that? I'm not squeamish at all but is it different knowing it's you? Wild!
I like seeing what was actually done. Almost like an "oh, so that's why that area was so sore". I find it interesting.2 -
collectingblues wrote: »I wish I could afford that! I've lost 185 and am 19 pounds from goal. Looking good!
I decided to save up bit by bit for my surgery. As I run more than anything else, I dropped my gym membership and cut a few luxuries out of my habit. I (slowly) saved up at the rate of about $50-100 a month. I also rewarded myself for each goal with a $20 into my savings. Just like weight loss taking time, but the end results can be massive, saving a little here and there ends up with the same results. Also, make it known that you want to save up for it, and instead of standard birthday or Xmas presents, request help to pay for it.
Do you mind sharing how much it cost? I want to have it done with some lipo -- I have some lower abdominal scar tissue that will require abdominoplasty to fix, and because it's cosmetic, my insurance won't cover it -- and have a guesstimate, but am trying to come up with a better ballpark as to what I need to save.
The total cost was just over $12,000. If you get a quote for substantially less, ask the cost covers the anesthesia, surgical center fees, and post-op consultantations and revisions. If it doesn't, ask how much those fees are. Any reputable and experienced will know. Also ask (demand really) to see thier credentials as a PLASTIC surgeon! A plastic surgeon is trained in plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. A cosmetic surgeon, might be a dentist with limited training on cosmetic procedures (RUN AWAY!!!!).
Remember, this is your body, don't ever go cheap (watch Botched) as bad results can often lead to higher costs in order to fix them.
Thank you! That's in the range of what I was thinking it would be. I figured it would be at least $10K.1
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