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Still Feel Blessed....
One Month Post Surgery Update + Surgeon's Pics!
Here are the highlights...
Hyperbaric Treatments: Found a Groupon for Hyperbaric Chamber treatments out of a local chiro’s office - 5 treatments for $175 (hour per treatment). It is supposed to promote healing so at that price, why not try it? I Had my first treatment yesterday…found it paradoxically relaxing and energizing too.
Compression: Where do I begin? It has been frustrating! Folks that only have incisions / work on thighs need to wear compression that is capri length (the garment needs to go a minimum of 6” below the point of the trauma to effectively control swelling. Since I have had liposuction and now incisions to my calves and ankles as well, my compression needs to be to mid foot to be effective and not create a trapped “bubble” of swelling lower than the incision. They do not make a single garment for people like me. It has been a challenge ever since the first surgery. My “ankle” length garment stops six inches SHORT of my ankle! I tried to wear compression knee highs underneath/below the garment to cover the feet and ankles, but the top bands of the knee highs were irritating the incisions to where they were re-scabbing and the right leg looked like it might even open. So I also have compression anklets - these create some leg deformity as they are tighter than the compression garment, but better than the band on the tops of the knee highs compromising the incisions. Plus being compressed from toes to under boobs 23 hours per day just gets OLD you know? Anyway…it is temporary…I’ll survive…just had to get my whine on a bit.
Openings: The “T” junction groin openings are healing on schedule, but those of you who have had openings, even with good healing, it is **never** fast enough! I am pleased though…at current rate of healing and hope they will be completely closed within the next three weeks (fingers crossed). I had a 1.5” loop of thread come out of the left hand opening (my first official spitting suture!) …but technically it was already open due to failed stiches, so maybe not so official…Also appear to have a surgical staple “peeking” out of my leg incision (skin is firmly fused around it with no irritation present). Watching it closely to see if it comes out further, and will pull it if/when it does.
Scabbing/Healing:
I was able to start scar treatment sooner last surgery. By one month out I was treating all incisions with mepitac tape and scar massage. This time, it seems as if healing is going just a bit slower at the incision sites.
The revision sights are healing the best (arms and hip) - honesty you can barely tell where those were cut! I can start scar treatment on those whenever. I am still treating all incisions with aquaphor, so need to decide when I am discontinuing “grease” treatment and going with “clean and dry” and putting on silicone tape. Probably early next week will start silicone.
The leg incisions, while doing well, are still scabby in places, so maybe 1+ week out from being able to start any scar treatment.
Groin incisions are healing the slowest - I think this is to be expected. Everything is closed, but they are still “raised” in some areas, and while showing progress, and everything is closed, they are just slow-slow to start to make the transition from incisions to scars.
Breast incisions are still somewhat scabby as well - with the exception of the areolas, which are nicely healed.
Nutrition: I am going out of my way to get > 100g of protein in per day for the entire recovery process and supplementing with lots of single thread aminos and a host of other vitamins and supplements. I should do a review on my post-surgical supplementation routine as I think it is contributing to decent healing from both surgeries. Having an awesome surgeon plays a huge role in how we heal, but after that, how you take care of yourself in the post recovery period (I would like to think) also counts! I see a lot of posts on people (proudly) losing weight during recovery…and I get it…being MWL we are “scale watchers”…but this is NOT the time short your body on nutrients and calories. It has a hard enough time with all of the healing it is doing (IMHO our bodies are **completely** amazing being able to recover from the trauma we have inflicted) much less putting additional stress on your body. Sure I am worried about getting fat or gaining weight, but I have time to worry about that *after* I am done healing and do something about it then if i am not happy. I am looking at my pics and thinking my belly is not as flat as I would like (hoping a lot of it is still systemic swelling), but I can take care of that later. Complication free healing right now is the primary objective of my diet and supplementation. (Climbing off soapbox now…)
Notes on pics: My doc sent me the pics he took pre/post surgery - I think they are nothing short of *spectacular* results. I cannot wait to see in six weeks when more of the swelling has subsided. I posted a few more of my own pics - cannot **wait** for all of the swelling to subside so I can see my waist and butt curve again…sigh!
Last Day in San Antonio...bittersweet
Provider Review
I first consulted with Dr. Fisher after I had posted a question to Real Self and he had the most thoughtful and specific answer to my question. So many docs look like they do some copy/paste from some previous answer! To tell the truth, I was not 100% serious in considering him until after that initial conversation. After I got off the phone I ran in and told my hubby, I think I may have found my guy! Every interaction since then has only gone to reaffirm that decision as he is responsive and thoughtful and never fails to impress me in his knowledge, honestly, and attentiveness. I could gush on for a while really, but here is what happened: Dr. Fisher did my LBL, extended brachio, and whole leg lipo on December 27th. I will be undergoing a thigh lift,BL/BA, and bletheroplasty with him most likely late April or early May. I interviewed three surgeons prior to him - one local, one in MX, and one in California. I agonized over the decision until I consulted with Dr. Fisher. It was such a good fit from day 1. He is a competent plastic surgeon in all areas it seems, but he most definitely a specialist in post massive weight loss. This was a very important “start point” in the plastic surgeon as I have yards of extra skin to deal with after a 200 lb weight loss. At this point, the process is not only about excision of excess skin, but really reconstructing a body to what it may have looked like in absence of the weight gain and loss. I do believe the selection of your surgeon for such extensive procedures is the most important one. Dr. Fisher patiently answered my 100+ questions on plastics and my results intelligently, thoughtfully, and absolutely egolessly as he allowed me to discuss with him his results and the results of other surgeons. He is well versed in latest and many techniques. He has an absolutely impeccable bedside and every bit as invested in my results as I am. He was very responsive to my emails and inquiries during the pre-surgical process. He put forth a treatment plan tailored to MY body’s individual needs and my desired outcomes. One of these desired outcomes is to end up with a “feminine” curvy figure (which I started with) rather than the flattening of the hips and buttocks you see with so many LBL. He does what (I think) is a signature version of the Buttock Auto Augmentation and hip auto-augmentation using your own attached fat (the very fat many surgeons discard during the LBL procedure) - this is included in the price of his LBL! (two other quotes I had did not include this). He does really great work. He is invested in his patinet's outcomes - to this point, he actually spent 13 hours during my first surgery when the estimate was 8 hours - all to ensure I would have really good results (the thigh and lower leg lipo are actually a "staging" for the thigh lift - and i had monster legs to deal with). This spoke volumes to me and as they say, actions speak the loudest. His prices are very competitive. Please do PM me if you want additional information on my journey and experience with him (you can also read some of this in my extended body lift review). Also, do request a complimentary RS consult with him and see if this is a great of “fit” for you as he was for me!