Tummy Tuck: Stories

I am two months out of a full mommy makeover. I was not huge before but being 5'2 135lbs I had two 10 lb kiddo's left me with extra skin below the belly. Now, I still have a tire and skin and am being told it is swelling. I weigh 5 lbs more than I did post opp but feel fine so I am really concerned that the fat is here to stay. My doctor said that I needed to wait and let my body absorbe the fluids trapped in my stomach but I am really doubting it is going away. I look the same post opp as I did pre opp. Not good. He said he would not let me end up like this and that at the end of 6 months we would evaluate. he promises a flat tummy but I am wondering. it looks to me like he only took 1/2 of what he should have. How much is a lot of fat to have removed from lipo?

I had breast augmentation and a full tummy tuck in Nov 2010. I am going on 3 wks PO. I so love my results. I tried to pinch at my waist to see if I could and I was unable to.I am a mother of three so I didn't remember what my tummy or breast looked like. I do have a daughter and when she saw my breast and tummy she cried with me but they were tears of Joy. yes I do have some swelling. My doctor said the swelling will go down. She is going to take my 6 month po picture and I am so excited!!!

I know.. I have now done the surgery twice!!! and still did not get what 8 doctors told me I would get. It is deffinitly a big dissappointment

Please let me know if I can help. I know how you feel and it is very frustrating. I don't expect to look 20 again.. but, can I get half way back to "my stomach" before kids. ;-)

Hi.. Everyone... Sorry I have not written for those looking for my update. I had my original TT 5/09 and for some reason my stomach started to almost fall out again. I looked 5 months Prego again. Don't get me wrong... I was better than before surgery, but to still have that prego belly starting up high. Not exceptable for the price and $. So.. I did all my research and saw every specialist around. Even Oprah's Dr. in NY that has written books on TT. So.. Because there was nothing medicaly wrong with me or that went wrong with the surgery. I just had it done again 4/10. I don't know if it is going to help and as of today 6/1/10. It is not looking good. Better.. But not flat.. So, I have no great advice.. I can only tell you what I have done. Maybe more time will tell. I am only 6 weeks now and I have heard all the same excuses everyone has. (ex: swelling=time).

Can you tell me where in Newport News you went? I am having a TT/lipo on May 12th and live in newport news...

Hello- I have a questions- I am 8 weeks PO and I have the muffin top around my hips above my incision. I have never had that- I am hoping it will go away!! I wear jeans and it looks terrible. Any thoughts, ideas??

I am 10 days PO tummy tuck and breast augmentation. I also feel depressed due to the fact that I do not fit into any of my pants. My breasts are so huge, much larger than I expected and my waist is my bigger than it was before the tummy tuck. Logic tells me it is swelling and it all takes time, but I did not see any after pictures immediately following surgeries to relate to. I only see 10 weeks to 3 months of great results photos. It is really frustrating, but I have to believe the swelling will go down and my breasts will fall into place. I feel for all of you going through similar situations.

Well i am 6 months post op and at the bottom of my stomach i have this lump of swelling at the bottom of my belly, and if i try to wear a tight dress it shows. not cool. So i'm going to wait it out, i think my surgeon was tired of seeing me because my next appointment isn't until March 2010. But i always get pissed at what i see so i'll call them to get an appointment before that. But they say it takes a year, so i don't have a choice but to wait it out. I just want to be happy with it with all the money i paid. I had to get a loan, and i pissed everytime i have to pay on it cause right now i am not satisfied. But we will see as time goes by.

Wow- isn't it amazing how long the swelling lasts!! I will be 4 weeks po on thursday and today I walked/jogged for 1hour and felt good- I only have the swelling. Is anyone using silicone strips for there scar? If so, is it working? Thanks! Happy Healing!

My lower abdomen is still swollen and my surgery was June 10. I asked the receptionist in my doctors office how long she was swollen and she said she was told to expect swelling up to a year for every decade of your life. Wish I had known this before. I am not a big person at all, when I went back for a follow up, the doctor said I looked fine. When I went back 2 weeks later he said, Oh yes the swelling is starting to go down, for a minute their on your last visit it looked like I hadn't even done a tummy tuck on you. I was like are you serious. I still have some lose skin on stomach and it is irritating. I guess I should realize, even doctors aren't perfect.

This is for you sg13, i can honestly say that you are only two weeks post op, you are swollen! I took 3 weeks off of work, and by that time i could put on my jeans and button them, but it was uncomfortable. i had room in them too, because before i had fat hanging off the sides of my jeans. So yes you still have swelling. Stay Young, well i went to my doctor appointment today and he looked at me and basically told me i still had swelling, and i mentioned that my stomach sticks out at the top and he said that was my muscles and to help that go down i need to do ab work. okay fine. and i still have swelling in my lowers belly, but i can tell that is still swollen. so he told me in a few months he would go back in and do some touch up lipo suction on my stomach and fix the dog ears i have. But next appointment isnt til March 2010!!! So he really dont want to see me until i am a year post op. So i'm a work on my part or whatever and see what happens. But trust me if at the end the results are not what i want i will be back for him to fix it.

I agree with you all- I am only two weeks PO and I can not wear any of my pants. I am extremely depressed! I feel as though I just had a baby and keep putting on my pants to see if I can button them. Can you guys wear your regular pants? They say it is the swelling, but I am a big workout person and I feel as though I am gaining weight because I can not work out. I am hoping it is just swelling!!!

OMG! I can't believe that I'm not alone going thru this nightmare! I had my tummy tuck on 7/24/09 and I swear I am bigger now than before. I have no sagging on the lower portion but above my belly button I can even pinch the extra skin. Not to mention that I have the traditional scar plus one that runs down from my belly button. I don't know what to do. I hate the fact that MS tells me that I have swelling and that only time will tell. I feel so depressed! The whole point of getting a tummy tuck is for a flat, tight stomach. Honestly what can I do? I feel very misled!