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Revision scheduled Nov 9

Next month will be a year since my tummy tuck and I'm so unhappy with how I look. The bulging in my stomach and above my incision has never gotten better and there's unevenness on my hips I think from either lipo or the stitches caused it, idk. I went to my ps who said due to me gaining 7 lbs that's what caused the bulging and his assistant said maybe it's bloating from my diet. They're very nice people but come on, I'd know if it was bloating and the bulging has been there all along. I'm getting a full revision of my tummy tuck and also having my bb raised so it's in a more normal location. It's extremely low and sits below my underwear most times. At the same time I'm having my breasts redone. I had a lift in 2007 and augmentation in May 2015 and they're way too big for me. I'm having another breast lift and having my smooth silicone 325cc implants exchanged for textured silicone 225cc. Since I'm going under the knife again and praying for the last time I'm also having a little lipo/smart lipo on my inner thighs and arms. It's a lot for one surgery but I want this to be it. I just wanted a bit of my pre babies body back and it's turned out to be quite a challenging journey. In hindsight I probably wouldn't have done anything to begin with but now I have to try to fix this. :(

Bulge that isn't going away

Ok, it's been a long time since I've posted on here. I'm about 7 months post op and I have this shelf or bulge that isn't going away. I don't think it's swelling or fluid, if I push my finger into the skin it doesn't indent or anything. Could this be fat that wasn't lipo'd? It's so annoying!

17 weeks post

Been awhile since I've posted. Scar is fading nicely and I'd say I'm about 75% pleased with my results. I still have pockets of swelling which is part of the reason I'm not 100% satisfied just yet and I don't think I'll ever get used to my belly button being so low. Need to come to terms with it though because there's nothing that can be done about it at this point. I had this idea that I was going to be able to rock a bikini post surgery with more confidence than I had 20 years ago but unfortunately that is not the case. I'm not even sure I can wear a 2 piece without feeling self conscious about my bb. Also, not sure if anyone else had this happen but when my doc pulled my pubic skin up it raised my labia up so high that you can obviously see it through my bathing suit so I have to wear something with a pattern or texture to hide it. Anyway I'm still more pleased than not. :)

Provider Review

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
451 Chew St., Allentown, Pennsylvania
Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
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UPDATED: I first saw Dr. Guarino in 2007 for a breast lift, I was very happy with my experience and so when I decided to have breast augmentation in May 2015 I decided to use Dr. Guarino again. At that time I also consulted about liposuction on my abdomen and flanks. Dr. Guarino advised that with the amount of loose skin I had lipo wouldn't give me the results I desired and in fact would probably leave me more dissatisfied with my stomach bc it would be wrinkly. I opted to just do the breast aug. Fast forward 6 months and I was still very self conscious about my mid section so I decided to go for the TT. Dr. Guarino and his staff were very supportive throughout all my procedures and never once pushed me to do any procedure. Dr. Guarino said I had more than enough skin to do a full TT and muscle repair with lipo and recommended a floating belly button. I should have researched that but I trusted him so I did not. I also should have gotten a second opinion. Over the next several months my breast implants bottomed out and my belly button was so unnaturally low (see pics) that I couldn’t even wear a two piece bathing suit. I also had these bulges in my abdomen that I pointed out on more than one occasion to Dr. Guarino, he said they were fat deposits since I had gained 7 lbs since surgery. I told him I wasn’t happy with the location of my bb And was very self conscious about it, he measured it and told me it was within a normal location and it couldn’t be moved. See what I didn’t know was that with a floating bb the stalk inside which is attached to the abdominal wall is cut so the only blood source is from the skin surrounding it. If you have to cut that skin to move it you risk the bb dying. One year after my surgery and after lots of research I had a total revision of both my breasts and tt. I had a breast lift and implant exchange for smaller implants and I had a complete revision of the tt and had my bb moved into a higher location. When this new ps opened my abdomen I had two very large seromas that had to be surgically excised. I am lucky they didn’t burst causing a massive infection. Now I knew what those pesky bulges were that I asked Dr. Guarino about. I used a doctor in Great Neck, NY for my revision, he has a lot of experience with moving floating belly buttons. You can find his name in my profile. The revision was 32k dollars. But you get what you pay for. And my belly button survived. Looking back I wish I had been able to be happy with my body the way it was and never had the initial surgeries. Dr. Guarino is very nice but his prices are cheap and I think he performs too many surgeries. Maybe that has made him take less time with each patient to really consider what is best for them. He should have realized my belly button was too low and he should have realized my chest muscles were too weak to hold the implants without a lift. I do know others who have gone to him and had wonderful outcomes. I did in 2007 but after everything I’ve been through I would not use him again.