37 Yr Old, Married Mother of 3 with MUCH NEEDED Tummy Tuck - Brooklyn, NY

Right now I a 2 days post-op from my tummy tuck and I'm able to stand up right and move around. After 3 children (10lbs, 9lbs, and 8.5lbs), my abdominal muscles were completely separated and i had a ton of excess skin. I had started working out prior to surgery and spent 2 yrs researching doctors and looking at YouTube videos before finally deciding on the surgery and going with the surgeon i did. I live in NYC but travelled to Elizabeth,NJ to have Dr. Joseph Alkon do the surgery. I would recommend him to anyone interested who lives in NY or NJ. My pain has been well controlled in the hospital and at home and the cost was $6,655.

so last night i looked at my tummy with the compression band off for a couple of minutes and thought to myself "what is that flap of skin next to my new belly button?" I kinda got worried that I was compressed too tight in the garment. This afternoon, I wanted to get another look at it because maybe it's the meds that have me thinking something is wrong. Sure enough, it was me. It was't that the garment was too compressed is that there is a significant amount of swelling on the left side of the new BB as apposed to the right, even though there's more fluid coming out of the drain on the right than the left. As of now, its just swelling that's going down. I'm still able to move around pain free and stand up straight. I go back to see him tomorrow and find out how much longer do I wear this compression garment before i transition into another one. I also want to know how much longer do i have to wait until I can go back to the gym.

This morning I had my first post op appointment with Dr Alkon. He removed the drains from the Q-ball since i had already cut them (the medication finished Wednesday). He was amazed at the considerable difference in my before and what I look like right now, so much so he printed out my before photos he took in the office 2 weeks before surgery. He's pleased with how well i'm healing. I'm a little more swollen on the left side of my new belly button than the right but that is normal. I stated that the only pain i feel is some soreness where the incision is and where the hernia repair is and that's only when I cough. He also said that he did a combination TT/ high tension TT because of how much excess skin there was after the MR, how the skin flapped down over my hips and because i opted not to have lipo. This may eliminate the need for lipo down the line once all the swelling goes away. The drains will stay in and he will remove one of them on Monday. The only bad news is that he said I can't go back to the gym for another 4 weeks (UUGHH!!). He told me to continue what i'm doing and not to overdue it.