31 Year Old Male, Extreme Weight Loss, Removal of Loose Skin - Columbus, OH

I apologize, but the photo uploader keeps rotating my recent photos for some bizarre reason.

I lost 60 lbs in 3 months once I decided to be healthy (I was raised to eat junk food all the time and not exercise). I ate a good diet, lifted weights, did cardio. I became very skinny, 165 lbs despite being 6'1. People called me "Auschwitz boy." However, the loose skin was always there in copious amounts. I have been diligent ever since then, but was always bothered by the loose skin around my stomach. My previous extreme weight also resulted in loose skin sagging off my breast and flanks.

Five weeks ago, I had a tummy­tuck, liposuction of my flanks, and liposuction of the chest.

I am pleased with the results on my stomach. I think I look a lot better. My breasts still sag in an unattractive manner, but are better than they were before, somewhat. I have been told this will improve in time (potentially six months for the swelling to go down in the lipo treated areas). My scar is still healing; it is slightly raised and a dark purplish pink in color. However, truthfully, if the scar did not improve at all relative to where it is today, I would not mind. The scar is really not that big a deal, and it's only going to get better with time. I am happy to not have endless loose skin that is unattractive. The flanks still bulge, but this is certainly at least partially a result of the swelling from the incision (maybe 100%, maybe not, I won't know for another 3 months). I may seek a second procedure on my sagging breasts; they are not quite the way I would like. However, I am unclear to what extent realistic improvement is possible.

I would encourage people to be careful of a possible problem NOT associated with Dr. Treece (my surgeon) in anyway. A nurse in the surgery center tied my binder on, post­surgery, too tightly (again, the nurse had nothing to do with Dr. Treece/CAPS). It was on so tightly that, over 2 weeks, it cut a gash into my skin from above my belly button to my side. It was very painful. I did not know what was going on, and my fiancee and I just assumed it was pain from the surgery. To the contrary; the majority of my pain, post­-surgery, was because of this binder digging into my skin.

On the issue of pain, post­surgery: I was fine. I took the prescribed oxycodone for 2 days, and shifted to over-the-counter acetaminophen for the following five days since the pain along the incision was very minimal. Constipation is a side a effect of the painkillers, and it gets compounded with being sedentary. I was taking fiber daily, and it was not enough. Take a stool softener beginning day 1 after surgery.

My fiancee and I did not understand, ahead of the surgery, that my ability to lie down would be zero. If you have this procedure, you must sit up for about 2 weeks (no sleeping lying down). This makes sleeping tough. A recliner will help sleeping, a lot; I highly recommend renting one given how hard it will be to sleep.. Do not underestimate how much work it will be on your significant other / family, work­wise. It was a lot of work for about 2 weeks for my fiancee to have to empty the drains coming out of me, to help me get up to go to the bathroom (can't do it yourself), etc.

I had two blood clots, after the surgery. Allegedly, I am a rare minority that has this. The circumstances are a bit odd and detailed; if someone wants to know more, I am happy to give the details. However, it's not clear what could have been done to prevent this (if it was preventable, I do not know).

I will upload photos later; at present, the interface is not uploading correctly.

I am happy I had the surgery.