I had an umbilical hernia and needed it surgically repaired. At the consult, I discussed with the surgeon my abdominal muscle separation and pain at my c-section scar. I am in the Army and when I did sit-ups, my stomach would form a tent instead of a board... not good! I also had excessive skin from 3 pregnancies which brought me from 160 to 220lbs... He was concerned that my umbilicus may have been damaged due to lack of oxygen from the hernia and said I would probably need an abdominalplasty. I was thrilled by this and my surgery was scheduled for 1 month later. Today, I am 9 days post-op and thrilled with my results! I will post a few before and after pics and try to update as my unexpected journey continues. By the way I have no idea what this will cost me yet. Because it was a medical procedure, I have to wait for a bill and insurance response. I just put an estimate because it would not allow me to say I was not sure.
Mommy of 3 Full Tummy Tuck with Hernia and Muscle Repair (no lipo) - Burglengenfeld, DE
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AmeliaUSA
- Worth It
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Cost:
$5,000 - Dr. Maximilian Von Pichler, Burglengenfeld, DE
I hear they call it "Swell Hell"
So, I looked Amazing the day after surgery. I got my drains out 2 days after. Then I began to swell. I have the text book waterbed seroma on top and below my bb. My doc does not want to drain for fear of introducing infection. It is however getting bigger. I have an appt on Wednesday with my actual surgeon. We will address it again. It probably does not help that I have to care for my kiddos 5, 4 and 10 mo. I also woke up very startled this morning. I shot right up using ALL of my abs. It burned for a good portion of the morning. Ouch! I can say that other than the swelling, I am healing very well. My scar looks nice but is a little sensitive. I am very mobile and will go back to work on Monday, 1 day shy of 2. Weeks. I am a little nervous but my boss said I can work half days until I feel up to it.
Does the shape of my bob look normal to you?
I am a little uneasy about my belly button. I don't necessarily think it looks terrible, but I have not seen ANY others shaped like this. I am also adding a pic of the swelling today. I don't know why I care so much. I keep having to reassure myself it will go down and I am not going to look fat. Silly me, look at the day 1 pic...
Frankenstein, but not what you think. Ouch!
This is the second time in 2 days that I have woken out of a dead sleep (hearing my baby cry) and sat up very abruptly as if there was no surgery performed ALL OVER my abdomin. I have really got to stop doing that!
Progress, yay!
I still have a big ole seroma on the top, but I really think it is gone on the bottom. Actually, under my new belly button, it is actually flat. Very little swelling in that spot. I am puffy in my bottom half, but no waterbed. The top half however is as big as ever. Total wave from one side to the other. I have my second lymphatic drainage massage today. I am looking forward to that! I have decided to wait until my appointment on Wednesday to see my surgeon about my seroma. I promise, I will insist at it be drained! I am prepared to have a full breakdown if he says no...lol. I have been icing my whole abdomen and I see a lot of improvement of the swelling! I got a free side by side photo app and I really am excited about my progress. I look almost not gross! I am also excited that it looks like I will not have any dog ears! The swelling is a bit on top and bottom of the scar. I am also feeling a little better about my belly button. I have read soooo many reviews and people say after 5-6 weeks, their belly buttons start closing from the sides in. I guess as we stand straighter, things still stretch up. I think it will look good. I start back at work today. I am a little excited to be off my butt (and not eating all day while my mind is idle...). Does any one else have that problem? I think I am eating too much. I have lost several pounds in the last 1.5 weeks I think water. But still... I miss my routine and healthier eating. I am starting at half days to just see how I feel. Here are a few side by side pics. There is hope!
Seroma update!
I had my husband call the hospital and explain how big my seroma has gotten. They advised me to come immediately. This urgency was promising. I got there and again did not see my doctor. They gave me an ultrasound and saw I have a rather large area of seroma, although pretty shallow. Still, there was no healing going on there. Maybe the lymphatic drainage massage was working. I also have a smaller seroma on both hips. Whew! Not residual love handles! Lol. I told him I understand the risk of infection and want the big one drained. I am not worried about the smaller ones. He did it! Although the area of seroma is 24x8 cm, it was so shallow that he only pulled out 1.5 tubes. He did another ultrasound and there was a little left, but a very small amount which was acceptable. I am also on another week off of work. I just want to heal, so I will take it easy. I work for the American govt. who knows, I may get more time off if the government shuts down on Oct 1st. (Making light of an increasingly tiresome situation). So, there's the update. Thank you to great2Bme for pushing me!
My belly button is infected ????
I got my stitches out and had lots of crusty scabby stuff. The scabs all came off pretty much at once. Then, my belly button started to look red around the incision... I suspected it was getting infected and today, it was all crusty and yucky looking. There is nothing black, just yellow-ish. And red skin around... Why, oh why? I am so tired of going to the hospital and calling like a crazy overreactor. I looked all over the internet hoping there is something easy I can do. I read that cleaning it with a q-tip like I was doing is bad! The fibers can stick to the wound and attract bacteria. I read that I can get a small glass (I used a small baby bottle top) mix warm water with salt and cover my bb with it and lay down with it on for 15 minutes. I was supposed to swish it. I could see dead white tissue floating... After the 15 minutes, I pat it dry and let it finish air drying. Then cover with a non stick pad and put the compression garmet back on. I am supposed to do this twice a day. I did this once and by the evening (ready to do it for the second time), it already looked WAY better. I am super hopeful, praying it gets better and will update my progress soon! I am not posting a pic, it's gross!
Just be patient!
Hello real self world. Tomorrow I will be 4 weeks post op. I am feeling and looking so much better! I still have a lot of residual swelling but am much smaller than I was at 2 weeks. My belly button was/ is infected. I got on antibiotics and it is receding quickly. Also about my belly button, it is looking MUCH nicer. I was freaking out a little that it looked like a thin, wide line. It is now a cute circle with a nice hood. My only stitch marks are on the inside bottom. That is where my infection happened, so we will see how smoothly the skin heals. Either way, it is much cuter than I saw at first. When the infection is gone, I. Will post another pic. I just had to be patient. I guess I wanted to know how I would look a lot sooner than my body was ready to show. I still have a long way to go but am much more positive now. My scar is all healed except for a very small stubborn spot right in the middle. That should be gone in a week. All in all, I feel great. I have been back to work full time for over a week now and feel great working as well. I come home and still have energy for the kiddos. I am glad I have my energy back. I will post pice soon. Today is a bad day, I ordered a binder 1 size too small. The one from the hospital has seriously lost its Velcro abilities. The binder hurt by the end of the day. IAM pretty swollen right now.
So much to update, so little time...
So, where to begin? I will tart with the bad and end with the good. My belly button did get totally infected! It was terrible, all gooey but taken care of with antibiotics. I have a crazy scar now in my belly button. I am treating it with vitamin e hoping it will get smaller.
My seroma was drained once and came right back at 3 weeks post op. I no longer have the waterbed effect going on, but there is noticeable swelling in that area. It does not feel like scar tissue, it is very soft... I am not sure. I wish it would go down but it is not very noticeable.
That being said, I am very happy with my transformation. I look AWESOME in clothes and pretty good without. My scar is thin and I cannot even feel it in some parts. My upper waist continually looks smaller. In the last pics I posted, I went down on the side in a flat line. Now there is a dramatic curve. I like it. I did NOT have any lipo (although I could have used it :). I have to work out the side fat I have. Speaking of working out, I am running 2-3 miles at a moderate pace already. Also, As of last week, I was unable to do ANY sit ups. This week, I am able with moderate discomfort. I can also do push ups easier. This is a good thing because I am in ther Army... I am also glad I can work out because I want to fix the whole side fat thing I have going on. I am determined!
A little note for the pice I am posting today. I don't wear the binder anymore and these are after a whole day of work and I just ran 2 miles.
My seroma was drained once and came right back at 3 weeks post op. I no longer have the waterbed effect going on, but there is noticeable swelling in that area. It does not feel like scar tissue, it is very soft... I am not sure. I wish it would go down but it is not very noticeable.
That being said, I am very happy with my transformation. I look AWESOME in clothes and pretty good without. My scar is thin and I cannot even feel it in some parts. My upper waist continually looks smaller. In the last pics I posted, I went down on the side in a flat line. Now there is a dramatic curve. I like it. I did NOT have any lipo (although I could have used it :). I have to work out the side fat I have. Speaking of working out, I am running 2-3 miles at a moderate pace already. Also, As of last week, I was unable to do ANY sit ups. This week, I am able with moderate discomfort. I can also do push ups easier. This is a good thing because I am in ther Army... I am also glad I can work out because I want to fix the whole side fat thing I have going on. I am determined!
A little note for the pice I am posting today. I don't wear the binder anymore and these are after a whole day of work and I just ran 2 miles.
He has been amazing. He not only has a great bedside manner but is a pure genius as far as I am concerned. I am so happy with my results. I stayed 3 days in the hospital and all of the staff was friendly and attentive. I felt like everyone actually listened to me and attended to my needs.
5 out of 5 stars
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