Post weight loss - tummy tuck/excess skin removal experiences?

nowine4me wrote: »

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!

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.

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).

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

eosborne wrote: »

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).