I’m a 34 yo mother of a 10 yo boy. I lost a significant amount of weight within a year of my son being born, approx 115lbs including baby and baby weight, which left me with loose skin. Shape wear has become my norm to smooth out sagging skin and fat. Over the past 5 years I have gained about 30-35lbs Which all seems to be packing on in my waist and thighs. I have always carried excess fat in my flanks and had a bit of a gut, even as a child. I’ve been thinking about a tummy tuck for several years now and decided it was time. I’m also having lipo of the flanks and thighs. Surgery is booked for tomorrow, I’m excited but mostly scared! I wasn’t expecting this amount of anxiety pre-surgery. I have a family member coming to stay with me for a week while I recover, mostly to help out with my child, and have taken 2.5 weeks of work. Updated on 17 Jan 2020: Had surgery yesterday morning. All in all it went as expected on my end. There is some pain and discomfort but I was able to walk around and be up for small periods (I’ve had a lot of anxiety about blood clots but not for any particular reason and am probably worrying about nothing). I have a drain in, and that at time causes discomfort but is tolerable. Peeing has been easy, the sitting down on the toilet and getting up hasn’t been an issue for me at all. No pain there. Yesterday I was having immense back pain, not from the surgery but I cannot sleep laying on my back as I have a very pronounced arch in my back and that position leaves me in agony. Unfortunately with the tummy tuck and drains the only sleeping option is on my back. Thank goodness I have a plastic surgery post-op nurse as a good friend. She can right over with pillows and made me a propped up bed and probably spent 45 mins adjusting and readjusting me until I was fairly comfortable. The swelling in the wee hours of the morning was intense, the binders were so tight and was affecting my breathing, even my arms and wrists were swelling, thankfully I was due for meds around 6am. Things seemed to subside once I took those and I got a good 3.5 hours of much needed rest. This morning I ate and drank a decent amount (everyone keeps telling me hydration is key). The swelling is pretty intense again and I cannot stand up straight as I read would be that case for several days. I’ve attached a pic of my bed set up that has been working well for me as well as some lipo pics from my surgery showing the holes the lipo leave and why you need to be binded so tight to adhere everything back together. Updated on 18 Jan 2020: I got a lot more solid sleep last night, I’ve definitely got a system figured out and pain is being managed very well at this point. The major discomfort is the swelling in the binders and the occasional stinging/burning where the drain entries are (I believe), otherwise the drain has stopped bothering me. I was super worried about the drain pain the first day, I wasn’t sure how I was going to cope but that pain just seemed to even out. I just have one big drain but believe it forks and has multiple sites where it enters my skin (from feeling, I think there are either 2 or 3 entry sites). I also have a fair bit if swelling down my legs where I had the lipo. I have a shaper over my binder to keep my thighs compressed and compression stockings on to keep my lower legs from swelling up, so I’ve got some pretty fat knees right now where there is a lack of compression. I had an appointment at the clinic for drain care today, they measured how much fluid was in my drain and showed me how to measure it on my own the next day. If I am under 25mls a day for 2 days in a row they will take my drain out (as per Dr. Cooper’s orders) so I’m hoping they will come out on Monday. I have yet to see under the binder myself and expect I won’t until either Monday, if the drain gets removed, or Tuesday at my post op appointment with Dr. Cooper. I’ve added a couple pictures with the shaper over the binders Updated on 19 Jan 2020: Last night I had a bit of leakage from my drain insertion site so I went back to the clinic taking care of my drains today to make sure there was no blockage in the drain that is causing the site to leak. Everything was fine, it was just some leakage likely from movement. A couple other things I forgot to mention in my first post was how much medication there was to take at different times. I bought a pill sorter which helped immensely. I have attached a picture for reference but I’m not sure I could have kept on it properly without this! Also, Dr. Cooper gave me her cell number for the days after surgery (I believe this is her common practice). This was so comforting knowing if there was something really wrong or concerning I would be able to reach her for questions, especially leading into a weekend 2 after surgery. I have another clinic appointment tomorrow for the drains, they may be able to come out, and my post op appointment with Dr. Cooper the following morning. I hope I can get a good look at everything as I haven’t really taken the binders off yet. Pain has been a breeze so far just needing to rest and Lay down when the swelling gets bad (a few hours before my next dose of meds). I was expecting a lot more pain so far in this recovery. Updated on 21 Jan 2020: I had my follow up appointment this morning and my drain is out!!! I had a shower and I feel like myself again. My pain has been completely manageable throughout, I’m not planning to take any more pain meds past this point other than T3s. I finally saw my stomach and incision, Dr. Cooper told me I could have taken off my binders before now for short periods but I was too afraid and felt safe being compressed for the first few days. I am healing well and coping well. Super happy with the whole process so far. My next follow up appointment is in a week from today. Attached are some pics, I’m pretty wrinkly from the constant compression. My legs are still incredibly swollen from the lipo, at this point I can’t see any change, I will wait to see how they look when the swelling goes down. I’m still wearing compression socks to keep the swelling from going down to my calves and feet and am wearing shape wear which is keeping my thighs compressed. Updated on 24 Jan 2020: Yesterday marked 1 week since my surgery and it already seems like a lifetime ago. I’m feeling amazing. I’ve been blessed with a relatively simple recovery. There is some pleating at the incision, I keep reading this is normal and will smooth out when the tape and stitches are removed and will continue to smooth out over time in the healing process. I plan to ask Dr. Cooper about this at my follow up appointment next week. I stopped pain meds 5 days post up and haven’t needed to take any T3s. I did ask Dr. Cooper for additional anti-inflammatories as my legs are still incredibly swollen from the lipo, she wrote me a prescription for that. I still have one more week off work to recover. Not sure it is needed but I’ll see what next week brings, I may go back early. Not much more to update, here are some pictures from today and check out the gorgeous flowers Dr. Cooper sent me during my recovery! I’ll post some pictures of my legs once the swelling subsides. A few other points I forgot to mention in previous posts: Dr. Cooper removed about 2.5-3lbs of skin and fat from my abdo and took about 2.5 litres out with the lipo (google tells me that’s about 2.2lbs of fat and fluids etc.) The Cooper Clinic is owned by Dr. Alex Cooper and her husband Dr. Jim Cooper, who is also a plastic surgeon. They often assist in each other’s surgeries which made me feel more comfortable, the more surgical brains in my operating room the better, in my opinion. They are actually a pretty cute power couple. You can follow the clinic on Instagram and see for yourself. @thecooperclinic Updated on 3 Feb 2020: It’s been 17 days since my surgery. I ended up going back to work a couple days early, I took my time off as vacation so that saved me a couple days. I have an office job so being back to work is fine for the most part. As of 3 or 4 days ago, 2 weeks Post op, I feel pretty much back to normal other than occasionally some pretty decent swelling at my incision site and some weird twinges of pain (I’ve chalked it up to nerve pains but can’t be totally sure). I can finally sleep laying flat and on my side again! At my last appointment I talked to the nurse about the pleating, she told me we will discuss laser therapy for the scar at my next visit but it has already evened out so much. My incision is taped with paper tape, I have changed it a couple times but the nurse at the surgeons office said the tape helps with the appearance of the scar and she wanted me to continue taping it. Not exactly sure why that is but I wonder if it helps keep the scar from pulling in the healing process. The nurse also told me my belly button was fairly moist so she advised me to paint the healing belly button with iodine to dry it up. It is hard to keep dry when it’s always covered in the compression garment and binder. I’ve been trying to give it more “air time”. I have been wearing the garment and binder less than the first few weeks but because I had so much liposuction I want to make sure everything adheres back together properly so have been trying to wear them as much as possible. The garment and binder is definitely the most annoying part now, wearing them constantly irritates my skin. The swelling in my legs have come down so much and the bruising is almost gone! They are still a bit swollen and painful right at My knees, which is also where my compression garment wouldn’t reach, not sure if that’s coincidence or not? I have attached a few updates photos. Updated on 22 Feb 2020: I’m now 5 weeks post op. Feeling great. I was told at my 4 week post op appointment I can start longer periods without my compression garment and can start working out again. I was so crazy busy last week I didn’t squeeze in a workout but plan to get back to my minimum 3 times a week goal. I generally run on the treadmill in the winter, last week knew I wasn’t ready for running but this week feel that may be possible. My surgeon includes 3 IPL laser scar treatments with the cost of my procedure so will do my first treatment at my next post op appointment in 3 weeks. Research has shown this significantly improves the appearance of the scar when done in the early stages after the procedure. I have a trip to Jamaica planned in 2 weeks and was only advised not to let any sun touch my scar as it could darken the appearance and that could be permanent in the healing stage. I am thinking I may tape the scar under my bathing suit to be safe, but we shall see. My belly button is finally healing up nicely and I no longer have twinges of pain in my in my lower abdomen (which I attributed to nerve pain/regrowth). My incision site does swell a fair bit after extended activity. I like to put on the binder when I’m feeling super swollen. I honestly keep forgetting I’m still in recovery/healing stage. I had some drinks with my boyfriend and friends last weekend and I felt zonked for days, it was only when a friend mentioned I was barely 4 weeks post op that I realized perhaps that took a bigger toll than I had realized. My scar is looking better every day and I generally have pretty light scars so I’m hoping the appearance will continue to improve. I have a tiny bit of pleating and one little area near my hip that is a bit puffy (dog ear?) I spoke to the surgeon about it and she said they wait until at least 6 months post op to discuss if corrections are possible. Things will continue to settle out over the next 5 months and they may resolve in the healing process. Both are under the bikini line so wouldn’t be visible to anyone unless naked regardless so I’m not overly worried. The swelling from the lipo in my legs have calmed down but my thighs are still sensitive when pushed on and they are sore when I first wake up or stand up after extended sitting. I do see a small difference in my legs but not a significant change, part of me wonders if I forgot what my old legs looked like lol. I’ve added some updated pictures. Updated on 8 Apr 2020: Tomorrow marks 12 weeks post op. I am very pleased with my results. My belly button is quite scarred, as you can see in the attached picture, I’m hoping the scars will minimize over time and I do have a bit pleated but has significantly improved and I can barely notice it anymore which was a big concern of mine from the beginning. I went on a trip to Jamaica and for the first time in a long time felt comfortable running around in a bikini :) I have been running on my treadmill when I can and am down about 8lbs since surgery. I do still swell a fair bit, often after I’ve been inactive and sitting for extended periods. At times I’m puffy above and below my incision site. I wear my abdomen compression wrap when I’m swollen which helps a lot. Around week 10 and 11, I was pulling muscles in my lower abdomen which was quite painful and felt incredibly tight. I was in post travel quarantine so was sitting much more than I would when going to work on a daily basis and wonder if that was part of the reason. My post op follow up appointments have been cancelled due to the covid-19 state of emergency as it is not necessary medically so I have not yet received any IPL laser treatments.
