“Tummy tuck to fix saggy stomach, stretch marks and belly button”

I had a tummy tuck because my stomach was saggy, I had lots of stretch marks, and my belly button looked like a frown. I also had some back problems. I really didn’t want surgery on my back, so I thought a muscle repair in my stomach would help. I went to {edited - provider information is shown above the review for registered users}. Consultations are free and the staff is really nice there. You can look through pictures and they are honest when you ask direct questions. Good Luck to anyone seeking plastic surgery!

I am very pleased with my surgery! I had a full tummy tuck in June of 2009. I had little pain afterwards. I was sore of course, but nothing I couldn’t handle. My scar is very low and thin. I had no “dog ear” tags of skin. The scar was a bit higher on one side than the other, however after a few weeks it started to even out…it’s still a little higher, but still low enough that I’m able to cover it up without any problems. I believe it is healing very nicely! However, my belly button is still kinda weird looking. To me it looks like a coin slot. I thought that it would look more natural than this, especially after this long. Has anyone else had a similar situation to this? (see pictures below). I want it to look more natural. I’m going to talk to my doctor about a revision. But really that is the only “set back” I’ve had. I’m SO glad I did this for myself! I have so much more confidence in myself and I feel like I look better in my clothes.

I was very nervous before I went in, I actually thought about canceling…several times. I had my surgery scheduled for about a year so I had A LOT of time to think about it and research things on it. I kept going back and forth about whether or not it was really worth it. I even felt a little guilty about doing it because it costs so much and we don’t just have money to waste, I kinda felt I was being selfish and vain. However I HATED my stomach! Everytime I looked in the mirror I imagined what my new stomach was going to look like. I had lipo the previous year and I was scared that the pain was going to be severe, however compared to the lipo suction this was nothing. I expected this pain to be much worse, but it really wasn’t. I never felt nauseated and I don’t really remember any severe pain (or much pain at all) with my FTT. I do remember sneezing once and that did hurt pretty bad, but honestly, I don’t really remember much about the first week. I was taking the pain medication that my doctor prescribed which also helped me sleep and not remember the pain. I took it really easy for the first couple of weeks, my husband was a GREAT help with this! (if you have young children, make sure you have someone to help you, this can make all the difference in your recovery!) I took a month off work and I seriously just laid in bed for about a week sleeping and watching TV, the only time I got up was to go to the bathroom. After the first week I started light (very light) walking. It was still hard to stand up straight (don’t force it, yes your back will hurt from hunching over, but if you are taking it easy and only walk around for a few minutes at a time it isn’t that bad). Just remember to take it slow and try not to be impatient with your recovery.

Something else that might be helpful to know is, around this time, something weird would happen when I was asleep. I usually noticed it would happen in the morning when I was about to wake up, but occasionally it would happen in the middle of the night, but my body would stretch itself. I know this sounds weird, but I don’t really know how else to explain it. My body would just kinda stretch out, it didn’t really hurt, but just beware that it may happen (so don’t freak out about it).

After about the second week I started standing up straighter and walking more. We had company at my house 3 ½ weeks after my surgery and I was surprised by how much better I was feeling just from week 2 to week 3. By the 3rd week I was pretty much back to normal (still a little sore, but not much) getting ready for returning to work (I was really nervous about this because my job involves lifting and a lot of walking and standing, but everything was fine and it went great). Something that was very helpful for me was getting massages!! (Make sure you find someone that knows how to give a Lymphatic Massage) I also went to GNC and got natural “medicines” that help with recovering from surgery, tissue repair, pain, and just health in general (there is a book that GNC sells that has a section in it called preparing and recovering from surgery that has recommendations on what to take…be sure to talk to your doctor about it though).

I am around 10 weeks post-op now and pretty much back to normal. I’m already running again. The only thing I’m not completely back to normal on is crunches and core workouts (which is to be expected).

I will continue to update this post for anyone who wants to follow my recovery. I know for me it is helpful to hear someone else’s experience and to see pictures. I am pretty open about it so if you have any questions feel free to ask me (I’m not an expert, but I’m honest, and will be honest about my experience).

Updated on Aug 21, 2009:

Updated on Aug 25, 2009:

I had an appointment last week and it went great!  He is going to do a belly button revision in October, so as soon as it is done I will post pictures.  Also, the office is going to send me my "before" photos so I will post them as soon I get them.

Updated on Oct 1, 2009:

I had my belly button revision today and it went great!  I actually watched him do it (I know I'm crazy!)  But it was actually really cool to see.  I can't really tell how it will look yet, but I can say it is open.  I'm still waiting for my before pictures, so as soon as I get them I will post those along with what my belly button looks like now.

At 6 1/2 weeks.

At 6 1/2 weeks.