cosmetic surgery

gailmelanie

I want to hear from anyone who has had cosmetic surgery, specifically tummy-tuck and liposuction. How much did it cost? Are you satisfied with the result? Did the surgeon insist that you be at your ideal weight before getting the surgery? How much did it hurt and how long was your recovery? Would you do it again or get another surgery?
I ask because I really would like a tummy tuck and I think liposuction, too, maybe a facelift, but I need to know if it would be worth the expense and pain.

PikaKnight

Here's the thing. Even if you suck out all that fat, your stomach is still going to be used to the portions you are eating. So if you do all that and still are not getting exercise and eating the same...you are just going to gain all that weight back.

Akimajuktuq

Whether you choose surgery or not, just remember that all surgeries have risks. Even the simplest surgery can lead to illness or death. May not be likely, but possible.

I, too have body parts that will never again defy gravity or look like the lady (child) on the cover of Vogue. Oh well.

Edit: but I see you are a NURSE so you must already be aware of the risks? People have died from blood clots after liposuction; likely it's not many, but choosing cosmetic surgery, knowing the dangers.. as a mother, I don't get it.

reankanesmom

I am 7 months out from my extended tummy tuck and lip of the flanks over all I am happy I have no more hanging stomach and the scars from pervious surgeries(hysterectomy, c/s etc..) are gone granted I do have the scar from this surgery it's not as bad. The cost was 8,000 down from 10,000. I went in at 202 lbs and he was okay with that because most of the weight I still need to lose is on my lower half of me. The first day right after surgery I was in a lot of pain. I went 3 hours with out pain meds between leaving the surgical hospital and getting to the recovery place I was required to stay at on top of being sick. I had a binder on as soon as I woke up and wore that for 9 weeks(was suppose to wear it longer but I did not listen so I suggest to anyone to wear it as long as they say). I had an allergic reaction to the foam inside the binder and the silicone gel they want you to put on your incision to fade it. I still get swollen when I do to much ab work (he has told me to focus on cardio and my lower half) and sometimes I get stiff still (I need to go back in for my last appt) Recovery pain wise was not that bad the first week I did not do to much moving around unless it was getting up from the bathroom to the bed to the couch to eat. I had two drainage tubes which were honestly the most annoying things ever. They came out at a week though some doctors do drain less surgeries.

I would do it again and am looking at doing it again to help with my thighs and get what little fat is left in my upper abs that he could not do at the same time due to blood flow. Look into as deeply as you can. It took me a year to decided to do this. The downfall to the surgery and now is the fact that I am having a hell of time getting down to my post op weight. I got down to 185 by the third month and gained it back with no change but adding weights.

Good luck!! I really have a different outlook and can do things more easily with out pain from hanging skin.

LVCC

I had lipo because I had some fat deposits that, due to heredity, were just stuck there.

I'm not going to lie to you. I did have some pain afterwards, but it was not that bad. You will swell, and even after you take the "garment" off, you'll see some swelling. I thought it was worth it.

What a lot of people don't tell you is that you really won't lose weight with it. You'll lose a few pounds of fat, yes, but you won't lose a ton of weight unless you are willing to diet and exercise, too. I was able to lose and stay at a certain weight until we moved four years after I had the surgery. When I started stressing, I started eating and not exercising. Pounds crept back, and here I am.

The other thing that you need to realize is that the fat will go somewhere if you have lipo and the doctor takes fat cells out. Most people I know who have lipo in the waist, butt, hips find that the fat then settles in arms, boobs, chest, knees, etc. Of course, they don't take all the fat cells in one area, so you'll have fat settle back in the butt and thighs, too.

If you do it, make sure you go to a plastic surgeon. There are dermatologists and dentists who are "trained" to do lipo. . . .not sure I'd trust them with that kind of surgery.

Hope this helps.

:glasses:

rainbowbow

Go to realself.com

There are thousands of reviews REAL before/afters review of real doctors and clinics and you can even post questions for physicians who do that for a living to answer.

gailmelanie

Thanks for the replies so far. I am aware of the risks, and as a nurse I know that the risks are just that; risks, not certainties. I'm not looking to have all the fat sucked off my body, I'm looking to have the flap of skin that dangles and swings like a third breast removed and the bumpy stuff smoothed out. Mostly I'm satisfied with my body because it's a good body that has brought me this far in life, has given me great service (better than others I know of,) has been able to conceive and bear two children with no complications, lactate and feed them both generously for a year each, experience great orgasms and even be admired at times by others. But that dangling flap really bothers me because it shows under anything that is slightly clingy and my belly dance belts won't stay on top of it because it moves too much when I dance and it ends up sliding underneath that flap so that the flap is hanging out, jiggling where everyone can see it. I really don't like that. I will continue to work on losing weight and exercising because that is what will keep my wonderful body healthy, but that flappy skin isn't going to go away even if I get to my ideal weight. So, I wanted to hear from those who have undergone these procedures to see what their experience has been as part of my investigation into getting the surgery.

GoinOrganic

I personally have not done any cosmetic surgery, however I've know two woman who did, and my witness to how these woman responded may give you some food for thought.

Person #1, was obese, and lost over 200lbs, waited 5 or 7 years, then did the skin removal surgery, tummy tuck, butt lift, and some face lifts. Some of the scars left from the removal of the skin are pretty noticeable, but to loose that skin it was most welcome, and with clothing, not noticeable at all. It was several years later that this person realized she needed more muscle, then she started training and build muscle, which really made her look soooo much better.... she did facelifts more than once, and got too 'thin' in the face... but she was happy....

Person #2 also obese, did lap band surgery to loose the weight, got down to a size 3ish, and has never been happy with her body. She has had lipo several time, face lifts, and skin removal. No matter what she does, every couple of years she tweaks it again, as she is never happy with how she looks. She eats horribly, and has gained and continues to be 30-40lbs over weight, and does lipo to loose weight!!!!! And she doesn't understand why she can't 'fix' her body... IMHO, she has a very strange shaped body any more... her last lipo she got an infection, and had to drain her legs, but eventually it all healed well... she is thinking about doing more skin removal and another tummy tuck.... it never ends...

If you are ok with your body, and you want to do specific surgery to enhance what you already accept, and it has health benefits, I'd say you'll probably be ok with the results... but if you want to 'fix' your body, with no accountability of why it is the way it is... well, you may never be satisfied, as person #2 above has never found acceptance of what she sees in the mirror.

Hope this helps you find your truth!

Kara1031

I am almost a year post-op Tummy Tuck and lipo to my flanks. I did not go in my ideal size and weight, but have continued to work on my diet and exercise. Those things never change regardless of having surgery or not. I have lost an additional 18 pounds since surgery. It somehow became easier to lose weight for me. Once your ab muscles are pulled back together you cannot eat as much because there is less room in you stomach to expand now after the muscles are pulled back in.

I love having my belly tight and can wear shirt tucked in and am not trying to disguise my middle. After having three babies my stomach was just not going to bounce back. I always knew I would have the surgery and waited til my oldest was twenty before I could take time out for myself to finally put it all back together. I worked out for three years consistently and increased my workouts heavily to be in the best shape I could be for optimal recovery. The recovery has been slow, but I am back to working out as much as I did prior and still continue to work on my diet. I still get some pain in my ab muscles with certain exercises, but am careful and feel pretty much back to normal. The swelling is finally behind me I think.

If it is something you want to do, then research and prepare and go for it.

Even after losing the weight, I am still pretty much in the same pants because I carry my weight in my bum, hips and thighs. But I do not mind wearing belts since it is a new accessory for me. I never in my life owned a belt before. My shirt sizes changed the most because I did not need to have wider at the bottom shirts. So my shape really changed dramatically even tho my pant size remained pretty much the same. My scar is looking really good and I do not mind it at all in comparison to the stretch marks and bulging belly I had before.

I went in weighing 170ish and I am now at 152 and am about 5'4'' and 42 years old. The additional weight loss has not affected my results and would like to lose another 15 pounds. Although I am less concerned about what the scale says and am working hard on my weight training to continue to change the shape of my body.

gailmelanie

Go to realself.com

There are thousands of reviews REAL before/afters review of real doctors and clinics and you can even post questions for physicians who do that for a living to answer.

Thanks for this suggestion! I've been looking for something like this. It's a great resource.

777Gemma888

I haven't had any work done on me personally, but I have witnessed a procedure - the tummy tuck on a very good friend of mine. She was a little tubby@around 185 lb or thereabouts and instead of working out to lose the weight, she opted to have her post-baby mummy-makeover done. What happened to her body, from my vantage point, was that she now looks too straight figured. It's straight down along the sides and is weird-straight from the front - if that makes any sense. Mannish to be honest. What her surgeon sculpted via his liposuction plus tummy-tuck procedure was a man's v. It's awful when she's in her bikini. A waste of her beauty. It's strange to say, but she'd looked more feminine with her mummy-belly, then the post-surgery not so fat pullover.

I would also suggest, you request the surgeons you screen to do the work on you for their before and after of former patients, and even go as far as requesting them, if any of their patients are willing to have you look at it - directly. When it's a form of an invasive body altering surgery, you really need to have a close look at a few - if possible. Oftentimes they do probono as you would be aware as a nurse and these ones are usually the ones who'd need to avail their bodies to prove the body of work - of the surgeon.