“Terrible, awful and nobody tells the truth how bad it really is!”
Tummy tuck: NOT worth it
Pain: Worst possible
I had lipo of hips and pubic mound with tummy tuck and muscle repair. It looked really flat the first 2 weeks, then the upper part of belly sort of popped out like before although the lower was still flat. The pain is INSANE.
I cant believe how bad it was even with the pain pump. the pain was about 2.5 weeks, before it let up a little. 7 months later, I still have so much swelling I look pregnant again, the sneezes will feel like someone stabbed you in the belly. you can workout your stomach becaus even the smallest stretch is so painful. my scar is gross and big, yes it looks better than the kango pouch and my clothes fit much better but it still is not worth the pain. The swelling alone is bad enough. you dont even feel like the same person. My pubic mound was fat so I had lipo, no I feel like sensation in my genitals is very low. I dont feel like I did before.
NOT HAPPY AT ALL and I had my surgery at one of the best places in the nation , hence the price tag.
Mar 25, 2008Comments and replies (17)
3 posts
6 Apr 2008
I am really sorry for your suffering. I hope it does get better over time and that eventually you are happy with the result. It doesn't seem right that we should have to choose between living with "kango pouches" or living with pain and the other side effects you described. I have 4 children and am about 7.5% over my ideal weight (about 8-10 lbs on 5'4") but still feel that even when I lose that last 8-10, I won't be able to get rid of the loose skin, even w/crunches, etc. So am looking into a TT. From what I'm reading here, it looks like a long term process...
1 post
3 May 2008
I'm so sorry about your experience. I recently just had a TT and lipo of the love handles w/o the pain pump (4/10/2008) and I'm already back to wrk( alittle over 3weeks ago)....very little swelling left and I feel great and I love my results. The worst part for me would have to be the nausea after the anestesia and the removing of the drains and staples. Other then that, it felt like bad cramps and the swelling was just annoying. I went down a whole dress size. Now granted im probably alot younger then you and I dont have kids yet (24)so, maybe that plays a part. I lost 108 lbs with diet and excersize and the loose skin was just in the way. I recently got married and wanted to feel comfortable around my Husband.
3 posts
26 May 2008
I had a tt on April 29, 2008 yes I truly understand what you are saying about pain. This pain I am having is driving me crazy, will I be happy in about a month I sure hope so but right now it is so unbearable. My skin where the stretch mark are is so painful it feels like its on fire. Does anyone have any suggestions? I like you need all the advice I can get.
1 post
8 Jun 2008
I'm so sorry for your pain and what you are going through. I hope very much that it gets better soon. Have you considered consulting a different surgeon to see why you are still in pain and see if something can be done to put this behind you? I can't imagine being in pain for 7 months! I am also in Washington and was wondering if you would mind emailing me and sharing who your surgeon was? Take care.
3 posts
25 Aug 2008
Hi There...I, like "ponderingplastics", am also gathering info on TT surgeons in the Seattle area. If/when you read this, I would also love a quick personal email about where you had your TT done. I've had bad surgery experiences in the past (c-sections) and my greatest fear is having it happen again...though I really want my belly fixed! Thanks so much, and my prayers for a full recovery.
1 post
6 Sep 2008
hi all.. i am trying to gather info about TT SURGEONS/ i have a 9month baby. i was told that i can carry him for the first 3 weeks - 8 weeks at the most then i should be ookay , i dont know if this is true. from what i am reading here it does not seem like it. also i have 0 experince on any surgeons in california (santa clarita) . so i dont know is it a bad timing having it done any time soon. or what? if some one can email me and directo me with her experince i will approciate it. god bless u all.
8 posts
25 Nov 2008
Hi I am so sorry as well your having so much pain it makes me sad to see people unhappy with their results. I had a full T/T lipo on the love handles and flank area. I also had lipo inner and outer thighs and upper and lower eye lids done with some Botox. I know it was a lot to do at once. I just wanted all the pain to be at once and heal at the same time. My pain is very minimal I have normal swelling and bruising in my tummy and thighs. My eyes have pretty much healed and look amazing. I must say I have had many surgeries, the usual 2 C-sections, gall bladder, hysterectomy, and breast augmentation just to name a few, and I must say this has so far been the best recovery ever. I am still in my first 2 weeks so far so good surgery was 11/11/08. I am not using pain meds much now and so far am very pleased with my procedures. I even went abroad I traveled to Dominican Republic from Corpus Christi TX alone had a great surgeon stayed a week and came home. If you would like more info or pics please feel free to email me I am happy to share my experience. All of my Dr's here at home are very pleased with my results so much so they are interested in going themselves. My surgery was all inclusive and was under 7,000 and I'm very pleased. I would refer her to anyone and would go back no questions asked. I now want to go with my friends so I can play at the beaches with my new me. My surgeon has stayed in contact with me and has spoken with my Dr's at home to ensure I have a good recovery. I truly am sorry for your pain It makes me sad and wonder why did mine go so good what was different because I'm sure it could have gone the other way so I'm a little curious email me so we can see what was different maybe our communication might figure out what the Dr might have missed. Again I sure hope things get better for you. My family scolded me for going abroad my husband was very supportive, and now my family and friends want to go to my surgeon. I wished there was something I could say or do to make it better for you. Maybe time is all you need I don't know I have been a bodybuilder so I worked out my whole life even during pregnancy not sure if this contributed to such a great result or not my c-sections were awful and my hysterectomy I wanted to die took a year to recover from that mess. Please don't be discouraged it still might get better I am thinking about you ok long enough comment to drawn out sorry had so much to say good luck. :)V
12 posts
22 Dec 2008
No, not all Dr's tell you the full story but mine did. MULTIPLE times. I had a breast lift and they told me the TT would be 10x worse and by NO MEANS a walk in the park. They said it would be so painful that you would even go through periods of regret. Not all Dr's sugar coat. That is the reason I like mine. They tell you like it is. bouts of swelling come and go for up to 18 months or longer. A surgery such as this should not be done without proper research and we have the net for that. I really do not feel anyone has any excuse for not being prepared for this recovery which, In all honesty.. SUCKS! It hurts like hell! I can't wait to get over *the hump*.
3 posts
24 Dec 2008
Well everyone that wrote a comment on my information. Just to inform all of you, there was a serious reason I was in such miserable pain. I had an infection that the doctor kept saying was nothing, Turns out I had to have a large portion of my abdomen and tissue amputated in June. My stomach had turned black which means dead tissue. Its eating away at me I was dying and did not know it and nor did he tell me. I went to the Wound Care Center at GW Hospital in WDC only to find out that I needed emergency surgery or else I was going to die. It was going to start killing my organs one by one. Of course I did just that. Went on a wound vac for about a month, had to go in for surgerical dressing changes 2x a week. Then finally the pain from the vac was so bad I just said forget leave the wound open and do wet to dry changes 2x perday. I now need re-constructive surgery so that my stomach will look as normal as possible. To this day the Doctor that caused of this trauma has never once called to see how I was doing. You all know that of course there is litigation behind this. The surgeon that fixed me is the Head of the Department at GW and a professor. She told me to follow through with the litigation, she is an expert. Thank God for her, because she saved my life. And will not let anyone touch me unless she personally knows them. So in short if you have this surgery and you notice something that is black don't let your surgeon tell you that it is a bruise, its not. Seek help from someone else that is more competent. I have learned a valuable lesson. Instead of a flat stomach I have a messed up stomach that is going to require a lot of work to get it back normal!!!!! Best of luck to you all! As things progess I will update you all. I have an heavy hitter Malpractice Attorney in DC, that is going to KICK HIS ASS!!! Wish I could do it literally!!!
3 posts
26 Dec 2008
Hi Kimberly...SLK123 really said it all. Due to an incompetent Anesthesiologist, my first C-Section was a living nightmare. I felt the whole thing--was awake but could not move or speak. After it was over, I had seizures in the recovery room. I was young, just wanted to take my baby, go home and heal, and did not follow through with a lawsuit as I should have (also, it was 1974, and there was far less litigation in those days!) When I went in for my second C-Section two years later, I made sure I was getting a different Anesthesiologist, talked with him at length the night before, and had a wonderful experience. Yes, litigation is a real hassle, an emotional drain, and drags on forever, but oh how I wish I'd sued that first Anesthesiologist whose incompetence put me through living hell. Imagine my regret and horror when a number of years later, a good friend's son-in-law went into the same hospital for simple TOE surgery, and died. You guessed it. The SAME Anesthesiologist was blamed for his death. ............Q: What do you call the doctor who graduates last in his or her class? A: "Doctor." I guess the moral of this story is research, research, research.