Full Tummy Tuck W/ Muscle Repair - Cleveland, OH

Hey girls! I have been debating adding a review for awhile and thought if I could help at least one person it would be worth it. I am in my late 20s and have two children under the age of 5. I gained 100lbs between pregnancy and after childbirth and really let myself go. I started weight watchers last year and lost all 100lbs but was very unhappy with how I looked after I worked so hard. I have been working out 6 days a week for 2 years now and love how it makes me feel but sick of wearing compression clothes to exercise!

So I scheduled an appointment with a plastic surgeon to discuss details and prices. He quoted me $8,500 - and with two young children and daycare costs there was no way I could afford that. I left feeling defeated :(. But a week later I was referred to the local teaching hospital where they do them for "free", but they must pick you for the program. I scheduled the appt with the coordinator who takes pics and fills out all my personal info, she then discusses these with the resident (who does the procedure) and the attending (who teaches/supervises surgery). They ended up picking me for the program and scheduled me for surgery! I was so excited - so I said they do it "free" but there are still fees involved. There were no doctors fees but I was responsible for the OR fee and the anesthesia fee - those together totaled $2,500....not bad considering I was looking at a savings of $6,000!!

I admit that I didn't do much research before hand other than looking at before and after photos. While I had an amazing outcome, I HIGHLY recommend that much research is done beforehand on everything that comes with this type of surgery.

Here are the things that I bought before the surgery:
Two travel pillows - I used them for my lap so that there was a barrier between me and everything else
Travel neck pillow - was an absolute savior for my neck for sleeping in the recliner
Stool softener - don't forget to take these!
Arnica - made by hylands, I found mine at walmart, they are pills to help with bruising/swelling/stiffness..I took this a week and half after surgery and it helped me with my stiffness and helped me stand up better
Lots of books - I've read 5 so far, but I'm a huge reader
Lots of water - very important for wound healing
Crackers - I didn't eat much for the first two weeks so I had these on hand to eat with meds
Gauze pads - my drains leaked around the skin so I had to change them many times a day so they were very useful
Tape - I bought paper tape for the gauze pads, worked very well
Surgical dressing - great for covering surgical incision and good barrier under compression garment
Antibacterial soap - had to use this day of surgery, i have still been using it while my incisions are healing.. Only brand I could find in body soap was dial
Benadryl - I am still sleeping in the recliner and have a hard time sleeping so I use this at night sometimes, but do not take them with pain meds!
Lotion - unscented, use this on all areas except incisions and belly button area, I started too late and I'm paying for it and peeling and skin shedding (very normal but probably would have been better if I started earlier).
Silicone scar strips - haven't used them yet but will update when I do

I'm now on day 17 or 2 1/2 weeks post op. For the most part it's been pretty good and tolerable recovery. Today I noticed that the right side of my incision has opened up a little and is pink. I'm very nervous about it and hope its just from the friction of my compression garment, I put a surgical pad on it and will see if that helps.

I am attaching some of my pics, i blurred out my tattoo on my side pictures for privacy..

Hey everyone! I'm now exactly 3 weeks PO. If I had written this update a few days ago I would have said I was absolutely miserable but what a difference a few days makes! Last night was the first night I was able to sleep in my bed and it felt so good - I didn't exactly sleep the best but way better than the recliner. Finally my MR isn't as painful and I'm able to do more things.

I can lift my daughter without pain from the MR but when I hold her against me it is still painful on the surface of my skin - it feels bruised, the PS says it's the nerves. I am starting to get feeling back in the area above my bb, where I now feel bruised. Everyday this week I have been swelling a little more despite still wearing my cg 24/7. My incision is looking great to me for only 3 weeks, I like that it's thin and straight.

I am def happy with my results but am feeling a lil down this week - I was so used to working out everyday and most days twice a day. Sitting around and not doing anything has ironically made me more exhausted than if I hit the gym hard. I am still having a hard time standing up straight - I start out pretty good in the morning and then by the end of the day I'm hunched over and it feels so tight that I couldn't possible stand up straight if I tried. I'm sick of wearing my fat pants since I'm flat now and have lost 10lbs.

I hate to sound like such a downer but I just can't wait until I can get back to fast paced life. And #1 thing I can't wait for is to finally wear my clothes without my cg and swelling down!!

I am adding my 3 week pics but they aren't showing the swelling I'm having - when I raised my arms above my head it seemed to suck it in and make me look straight lol... Maybe I should just walk around with my arms up all the time haha