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Drainless Tummy Tuck -and a Comparison with Recovery from C-sections
I had a no-drain tummy tuck in May 2019, with one night spent in hospital for recovery. I had 3 previous c-sections, for those who are interested in the comparison between the two (see below). The immediate recovery was okay, no worse than expected. On the first night I had a lot of muscle spasms that kept me awake, this was the only surprise for me. It felt like a dozen pins stabbing me spontaneously all over. Due to the no-drain method, the way the abdominal flap is secured in place is via numerous stitches all over like a quilt. I suspect that it was those stitches that were causing these spasms. Not pleasant but doable. Getting out of bed and walking immediately was tough because I was bent at a 90 degree angle at the waist. This is not an exaggeration. Grabbing onto my IV stand helped. There was no possible way for me to straighten myself at all, everything was so incredibly tight I could hardly breath.
For at home, I rented an adjustable hospital bed with an overhead bar / trapeze handhold, which I parked in the living room. I live in a 3 floor townhouse so I made sure I could spend my recovery time downstairs as much as possible. Having this bed was super helpful because the adjustable back helped with sleeping positions as well as getting in and out of bed. I also rented a walker but ended up using it very little and I could've done without it altogether.
I was very surprised at how slow recovery was. What I thought I could do or how I would feel at 2 weeks, was more like how it turned out at 4 weeks. Where I thought I would be at the 1st month mark, was where I was at 6-8 weeks and so on. It took a full 2 months before I could walk fully upright. Between weeks 4-8 post-op, I was walking okay (I was not a complete spectacle out in public), but there were still postural issues and an inability to walk at ease. Then there was the sitting issue. I have a desk job and I went back to work very much part time the week after surgery. It was maybe 1-3 hours per day. Sitting more than 1-2 hours was not possible. There was a tightness in the abdomen area that was increasing, a swelling/pain that made it intolerable to sit longer than that. This feeling gradually improved with the weeks, but I was not able to sit through an entire day until probably the 3rd month at least. Until then I had to take frequent breaks, walk around at regular intervals or work from home where I could work in a reclined position if needed. I'd say during the first 3-4 months post-op I spent a lot of time at least slightly reclined to ease the swelling and tightness from sitting. I remember the 6th month mark as a time when I paused to note that finally, aside a few long-term minor issues, I am starting to feel normal. I walked normal, I could wear tight(ish) fitting clothing around my waist and work a full day. The long-term side effect is still, 15 months post op, an issue: parts of my abdomen are still completely numb. I think this is still gradually improving, because I have intense itching periods (the other, related long-term issue) that are not really helped by scratching. But at least I know the nerves and the feeling are healing still, and the numbness may lessen.
Finally, what are the similarities/differences between the tummy tuck and c-section? The answer is complicated, and depends a little bit on the c-section, namely the pain management experience. For someone who had excellent pain management for their c-section, including steps taken already in the OR to provide long-term localized relief, followed by excellent pain management in the first week or two with strong medication, the c-section experience CAN be less painful than, or similar to, a tummy tuck. Or at least, easier to tolerate. Two of my 3 c-sections were in this category and I'd rather go through one of those than a tummy tuck if I had to choose. A c-section with subpar or no pain management however, is infinitely more painful than a tummy tuck. I had to recover from my first c-section without any pain medication (nothing infused cleverly into the abdomen during surgery, and not even Tylenol after) so that experience is a clear winner on the worst pain scale. But if push comes to shove and I had to generalize, I would sum it up as this: a c-section is more painful but a smaller area is involved (usually) and it is also a much quicker recovery. A tummy tuck is not as painful, but involves a large part of the body, impacts everyday life more (sitting for long periods, walking) and full recovery takes a long, long, long time.
P.S. I experienced umbilical necrosis starting somewhere around Day 6-7 post op. I was very worried but my doctor decided on a conservative approach of "don't touch it, don't put potions on it and you'll be fine" and I have to say he was right. By the 3rd-4th week there was a fairly good looking belly button emerging, and long-term it turned out quite pretty actually. Of course he kept an eye on it, I don't mean to imply that he calmly let it rot. But unlike other sources I've seen on the internet of bandaging and cleaning and putting ointments on, his approach was to leave it alone until it heals then assess if the outcome is acceptable. And it is. I am super happy with my results.
For at home, I rented an adjustable hospital bed with an overhead bar / trapeze handhold, which I parked in the living room. I live in a 3 floor townhouse so I made sure I could spend my recovery time downstairs as much as possible. Having this bed was super helpful because the adjustable back helped with sleeping positions as well as getting in and out of bed. I also rented a walker but ended up using it very little and I could've done without it altogether.
I was very surprised at how slow recovery was. What I thought I could do or how I would feel at 2 weeks, was more like how it turned out at 4 weeks. Where I thought I would be at the 1st month mark, was where I was at 6-8 weeks and so on. It took a full 2 months before I could walk fully upright. Between weeks 4-8 post-op, I was walking okay (I was not a complete spectacle out in public), but there were still postural issues and an inability to walk at ease. Then there was the sitting issue. I have a desk job and I went back to work very much part time the week after surgery. It was maybe 1-3 hours per day. Sitting more than 1-2 hours was not possible. There was a tightness in the abdomen area that was increasing, a swelling/pain that made it intolerable to sit longer than that. This feeling gradually improved with the weeks, but I was not able to sit through an entire day until probably the 3rd month at least. Until then I had to take frequent breaks, walk around at regular intervals or work from home where I could work in a reclined position if needed. I'd say during the first 3-4 months post-op I spent a lot of time at least slightly reclined to ease the swelling and tightness from sitting. I remember the 6th month mark as a time when I paused to note that finally, aside a few long-term minor issues, I am starting to feel normal. I walked normal, I could wear tight(ish) fitting clothing around my waist and work a full day. The long-term side effect is still, 15 months post op, an issue: parts of my abdomen are still completely numb. I think this is still gradually improving, because I have intense itching periods (the other, related long-term issue) that are not really helped by scratching. But at least I know the nerves and the feeling are healing still, and the numbness may lessen.
Finally, what are the similarities/differences between the tummy tuck and c-section? The answer is complicated, and depends a little bit on the c-section, namely the pain management experience. For someone who had excellent pain management for their c-section, including steps taken already in the OR to provide long-term localized relief, followed by excellent pain management in the first week or two with strong medication, the c-section experience CAN be less painful than, or similar to, a tummy tuck. Or at least, easier to tolerate. Two of my 3 c-sections were in this category and I'd rather go through one of those than a tummy tuck if I had to choose. A c-section with subpar or no pain management however, is infinitely more painful than a tummy tuck. I had to recover from my first c-section without any pain medication (nothing infused cleverly into the abdomen during surgery, and not even Tylenol after) so that experience is a clear winner on the worst pain scale. But if push comes to shove and I had to generalize, I would sum it up as this: a c-section is more painful but a smaller area is involved (usually) and it is also a much quicker recovery. A tummy tuck is not as painful, but involves a large part of the body, impacts everyday life more (sitting for long periods, walking) and full recovery takes a long, long, long time.
P.S. I experienced umbilical necrosis starting somewhere around Day 6-7 post op. I was very worried but my doctor decided on a conservative approach of "don't touch it, don't put potions on it and you'll be fine" and I have to say he was right. By the 3rd-4th week there was a fairly good looking belly button emerging, and long-term it turned out quite pretty actually. Of course he kept an eye on it, I don't mean to imply that he calmly let it rot. But unlike other sources I've seen on the internet of bandaging and cleaning and putting ointments on, his approach was to leave it alone until it heals then assess if the outcome is acceptable. And it is. I am super happy with my results.