“3 Days Post Op! - Costa Rica”

Hello! I'm a 35 year old mom of 7 children (ages 2 - almost 15) and now that I'm confident my baby making days are over, I went ahead and got a mommy make-over. I live in Costa Rica and the cost of surgery is considerably lower than it is in the US or Canada. My surgeon was fantastic. He found a hernia above my belly button and repaired that as well during the tummy tuck. I'm sore, swollen and bound so tightly that breathing isn't much fun :/ But I can't wait for the swelling to go down a bit so I can see my new body! I had a breast augmentation with 400cc silicone gel implants, no lift needed, tummy tuck, and lipo. 800ml was removed.

Updated on 21 Feb 2012:
I'm now 2 weeks post-op. Feeling GREAT! I can finally sleep on my side comfortably (with pillows propping multiple body parts). Lipo stitches were removed today and the doc says everything is progressing very well. I've created a before and after photo and will post it here.

Updated on 20 Apr 2012:
I'm 9 weeks post-op. My healing has revealed some problems with the surgery. For starters, it would've been much better had my surgeon chosen to do a full TT. The mini wasn't enough. Not only do I have excess skin above the belly button, but the skin healed PULLED to the left side. This is due to the compression garment and it's opening on the left side only. The entire time I was healing this garment was being pulled to the left when I showered or went to the bathroom causing my skin to heal to that side.

After expressing my concerns to my doctor, he suggested I begin taking Singulair, as this medication is the only option available here in Costa Rica that can help loosen that scar tissue. To be honest, I was so angry when he made this suggestion. Just a small amount of research on the drug Singulair is enough to scare any sane person away from taking it for cosmetic reasons. How is this my only option?!!!

I'm making a few appointments with other surgeons to get second and third opinions about this.

I'm feeling very disappointed, as I was told I was an "ideal" patient and that my results would be amazing. My before pictures actually look better than my after. ;(