One week post-mommy makeover. AMA!

[Anonymous]

What exactly were the main issues you were trying to fix?

[Anonymous]

Super interesting thread. I don’t mind my saggy boobs that much. They still look good in a bra and don’t really bother me in shirts. My issue is the huge C-section flap. No matter my weight it looks absolutely disgusting. Is there a specific surgery recommended for just that?

[Anonymous]

1. What’s the downtime?

2. How are you managing the pain?

3. How long are you taking off from work?

4. Do you have to get post op massages?

5. Do you have to wear foam boards and compression gear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Super interesting thread. I don’t mind my saggy boobs that much. They still look good in a bra and don’t really bother me in shirts. My issue is the huge C-section flap. No matter my weight it looks absolutely disgusting. Is there a specific surgery recommended for just that?

Tummy tuck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to hear who you used op! I’m considering a TT with Austin Westin center in Reston. I am very nervous about the anesthesia because those operations take a long time.

I had a MMO at Austin Westin in late 2020. I think the operation took about 4 hours. Dr. Poindexter performed the surgery (tummy tuck and breast lift). It’s outpatient surgery. I took about 10 days off work. DH took care of me.

I’m just meh about my results. I’ve healed well and my scars are fading nicely. My breasts look much better than the stretched bags they were before surgery. My tummy isn’t completely flat and I have a large bump/shelf over my tummy scar. I’m mostly meh, because he didn’t seem to do much Lipo. My waist is the same size as before surgery. I still have very annoying and ugly armpit and back fat. I look the same in my clothes after surgery and you’d never know I had a $16K surgery. I don’t think they did a good job of describing all the available procedures. I would’ve been much happier with a 360 lower body lift and more back/flank/arm pit Lipo. I wish I would’ve went to Miami where they are much more aggressive in their procedures. Spending as much as I did to look the same in clothes feels like a waste of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Had an extended abdominoplasty plus breast lift + reduction. Happy to answer any questions!

What are your expectations regarding waist size? What expectations did the surgeon set up? You said before he was very realistic.

Are you happy with your weight? (no lipo)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP — please share cost & who did your surgery. I’m done having kids and look like hell. I have diastasis from twins and my stomach is awful.

NP: If it is just the diastasis that you want to correct, have you considered minimally invasive surgery? I had robotic laparoscopic repair. It’s a much shorter recovery time than a traditional tummy tuck. But it doesn’t remove excess flesh - just does the repair.

,


Not to highjack the thread, but a question to PP:

What was the name of the surgery? And the surgeon if you don’t mind?

Fellow mom with diastasis and over 15 lbs extra post baby... considering options...

My surgeon was Matthew Scriven at Virginia Surgery Associates. I am very pleased with my results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP — please share cost & who did your surgery. I’m done having kids and look like hell. I have diastasis from twins and my stomach is awful.

NP: If it is just the diastasis that you want to correct, have you considered minimally invasive surgery? I had robotic laparoscopic repair. It’s a much shorter recovery time than a traditional tummy tuck. But it doesn’t remove excess flesh - just does the repair.

NP. Yeah, but a distaste repair with twin skin on top of it would still look like crap.

OP - This was the case for me. You could literally put another baby right back into the excess skin on my stomach and nobody would notice. There are lots of options depending on your level of damage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does the scar on tummy look? Think you'll ever wear a two piece?

Scar looks gnarly right now, but it’s absolutely in a location where I can wear a two piece someday! Not like a super low one and probably not string, but a basic boy short or bikini bottom will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP — please share cost & who did your surgery. I’m done having kids and look like hell. I have diastasis from twins and my stomach is awful.

NP: If it is just the diastasis that you want to correct, have you considered minimally invasive surgery? I had robotic laparoscopic repair. It’s a much shorter recovery time than a traditional tummy tuck. But it doesn’t remove excess flesh - just does the repair.

,


Not to highjack the thread, but a question to PP:

What was the name of the surgery? And the surgeon if you don’t mind?

Fellow mom with diastasis and over 15 lbs extra post baby... considering options...

Abdominoplasty. Dr. Doug Forman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Super interesting thread. I don’t mind my saggy boobs that much. They still look good in a bra and don’t really bother me in shirts. My issue is the huge C-section flap. No matter my weight it looks absolutely disgusting. Is there a specific surgery recommended for just that?

If you don’t have diastasis, a mini tummy tuck might be appropriate!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What exactly were the main issues you were trying to fix?

Lack of abdominal strength, lots of excess skin, and emerging back pain. I was mostly stretched skin. No fat, just skin. It wasn’t fixable any other way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. What’s the downtime?

2. How are you managing the pain?

3. How long are you taking off from work?

4. Do you have to get post op massages?

5. Do you have to wear foam boards and compression gear?

1. Entirely dependent on procedure and patient. I got a lot done, so I expect it’ll be 3-4 weeks before I feel really normal. I’m about a week out now and I’m working from a recliner, using a walker, and doing very light housework for about 10 mins at a time. But I need about 10 hours of sleep to make up for it.

2. Pain management was Percocet and Valium at first and is now mostly Tylenol, hot showers, and the occasional hard drug for bad days. Again, extremely individualized. I hate opiates and Valium makes me very loopy, so I really wanted to wean off ASAP.

3. Took one week off my desk job from home. I’m lucky to have a lot of support at work and I build breaks in throughout the day to lie down for a bit.

4. Not sure, it hasn’t been mentioned.

5. Oh yes. I’m zipped up tighter than Scarlett O’Hara. It sucks, but it’s so important and I need the support right now.

[Anonymous]

Why not extra liposuction? Didn't need or due to cost. Also, did you research drainless TT procedures?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Had an extended abdominoplasty plus breast lift + reduction. Happy to answer any questions!

What are your expectations regarding waist size? What expectations did the surgeon set up? You said before he was very realistic.

Are you happy with your weight? (no lipo)

The biggest thing he emphasized is that it’s not a weight loss surgery and that he’s not a miracle worker. Not everyone is engineered for a perfectly flat stomach. Scars will be scars. And that you need to come into the surgery very healthy. No smoking, no drinking, eat clean, and be within 10-15 pounds of your ideal weight. Post-op, following the directions will yield the best results. And if you return to old bad habits, your results won’t look as good in the long run. It’s ultimately up to you to maintain your results.

I lost only about three pounds in surgery. And that was all excess skin. I’ve lost an additional three in the last week just from eating very small amounts of simple food. I’m already small, so major weight loss is not my goal. I’d like to cap total loss at no more than 15#