POSTED UNDER Tummy Tuck Reviews
Long Overdue Tt for 59 Year Old -Flowery Branch GA
UPDATED FROM HCrossan59
2 years post
Recent surgery went well (February 16, 2018)
$8,200
I found a new surgeon who pinpointed my discomfort. I had a seroma cavity that was causing me discomfort each time I bent over. Dr Moore in Athens, GA was able to remove it for me without having to have another tt. He also removed a small cyst that was near navel. The recovery has been easy. It will be 4 weeks this Friday and I no longer have the discomfort from the fibrous cavity that was rubbing against my ribs, thus causing the pain. However, I feel that I should caution that tummy tuck is a risk that you take and I still wish I hadn't gone through it. I have pain along the tt incision that comes & goes. Not sure why but it feels similar to menstrual cramps. I know that it's not a gynecological problem because I've had 2 transvaginal ultrasounds since the tt. Hoping that it will resolve in time but I realize that it may not. I'll just deal with it. I'm so happy that I found Dr Moore and that a large part of my discomfort is gone!!
HCrossan59's provider
UPDATED FROM HCrossan59
2 years post
Be forewarned!
It's been almost 3 years since my procedures. Around the 1 year mark, I was having some uncomfortable pressure so went to my surgeon for his advice. He palpated the area of my concern and told me it just needed some liposuction. I took a fall soon after, hurting the area that had discomfort so I couldn't possibly think about any liposuction. The discomfort is not from the fall I took. Over the past 2 years & 8 months my whole abdominal area has become progressively worse. I use a heating pad every day, ice compress, Arnica gel & OVC pain relief. I can't believe that I may have to have revision surgery, whether it's liposuction or a possible removal of a psuedo bursa or two. I regret having my tt, lipo & fat transfer to buttocks!! The fat transfer has also caused discomfort from time to time with aching hips, upper buttocks. If I could go back to before April 2015 when I had my procedures, I would say NO WAY!!! I love how my belly looks but not how it feels. I hope & pray that I can get this all resolved early next year. I'm unable to live my life the way that I used to. It really SUCKS!!! At this point, it was not worth it. I'd rather have my saggy belly!
Replies (2)
December 15, 2017
Sorry you have had such a go of it....:(
December 15, 2017
Thanks. I think that I'm not average. Seems most women have no long term ill effects. My daughter had mommy makeover & told me that I should have the tt that I wanted for so long. She thought it would be the best decision that I would ever make..won't tell her this but it's one of the worst decisions that I've made so far.
January 28, 2018
I am at 4 mos post TT, with uncomfortable swelling and feel like I cant stop wearing my compression garment..... when I do, I feel pain and discomfort and swelling returns immediately.... sometimes I regret having done this... take care:)
January 28, 2018
I hope that you heal better than I have. I still wear compression garments of various kinds. You're early in your recovery so I wouldn't get too discouraged. I think I'm in a minority with long term discomfort. TT recovery is not easy for some. I wish you well. Hang in there. It should get better. If not you'll need to seek help. We do what we have to. I'm having surgery soon & am very hopeful it will resolve my discomfort.
January 27, 2018
Hey girl it’s been a long time since we chatted! I’m so sorry your feeling so bad. I have to admit your review is probably why I didn’t use your dr. I still love my results although my upper abs could use some lips that he didn’t do. Unfortunately my dr had a stroke and passed away.
January 28, 2018
Nice to hear from you! I'm sorry to hear about your doctor. I love my results but know something isn't right. I don't think it's Dr Davoudi's fault but I won't return to him for help. I recently had a consultation with a doctor & feel he knows what my discomfort is from. I'm scheduled for surgery on Feb 16 to remove a seroma capsule. Hoping it resolves my problem. Will update after my experience. Take care!
January 28, 2018
ok great! I wish you nothing but the best! your surgery date will be here before you know it. my email is dorenestrakose@gmail.com please email me anytime
UPDATED FROM HCrossan59
1 year post
It's been a year already. Time flies when you're healing!
It's been a year of ups & downs. Honestly, if I'd known it would take this long to heal, I wouldn't have gone through my procedures. I love my results & am glad I had the courage to do it, but it's been rough, physically & mentally. I hate to be a "Debbie downer" but I'm still not feeling as well as I thought I would have a year post op. I have uncomfortable tightness & still feel I need to compress for most of the time because it helps with discomfort. I've had 2 second opinions and also saw my surgeon a day before my 1 year post op date last week. It seems I need a little revision but I don't know if I want to go through any more surgery. It would involve general anesthesia & liposuction of epigastric area. One doctor thinks I have a pseudo bursa but my surgeon thinks I just need a little lipo. The upper muscle repair area is a bit distended & it feels uncomfortable for most of the time. I use a lot of Arnica gel because it gives some relief. I think that I'm still healing & may continue to feel & see improvements. Overall I love my results!! What a difference & I think that Dr Davoudi did a great job. I have 90 days to decide if I want revision with him. He's waiving his fee to do lipo so that's something for me to give consideration to. I'm just afraid of more healing & possible complications. Thinking I should just leave well enough alone?
Replies (5)
April 11, 2016
I just read through your story and I feel like I'm a slow healer too. I'm 51 and had my TT on Jan 28th and I can't go without some sort of support either because I swell. I realize I'm only 10-11 weeks post op but still, I read about other women's procedures and they seem to do phenomenal and it seems they're done with their Spanx, compression garments and binders by now. I don't feel put together without some sort of support on.
Also, I started getting crazy muscle spasms when I wake up somewhere around 2-3 weeks post op. My dr said it has to do with regeneration of nerves and anytime you interrupt the abdominal muscles, some women may experience muscle spasms and weird sensations as the body heals. I guess I'm one of the "lucky" ones! If I would go without my binder at night and wake up to one of those spasms without it on, I don't even want to think about the discomfort I'd be in! They don't last long but it gets old when I wake up to them every single day and the spasms happen the minute I awaken. I wake up on average 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom (sorry tmi...) but that means I get the spasms the second my body starts to move and wake up, so it's not just a one time thing daily. It's usually 3 times a night that I feel like my abdominal muscles are being pulled toward my feet. Yowza! It's freaky every time it happens and it appears to me, there's no end in sight, so I feel your pain when you feel like your problem has no end and no solution.
I'm still very happy I went through it but the spasms (for me) are my only big complaint. I'll be curious how long I swell, although wearing Spanx really does help me immensely. I'm sure I'll probably have swelling until I hit the 5-6 month mark and maybe even after that but I'll wait to see how that goes. I just hope the spasms will subside by then.
I think you look fantastic and I hope you do whatever you feel is best for you. Just know you aren't alone in how you feel. I think there's many of us who feel frustrated with these little speed bumps that have occurred along the way. I hope all goes well for you and you have a wonderful 2016! All my best :)
Also, I started getting crazy muscle spasms when I wake up somewhere around 2-3 weeks post op. My dr said it has to do with regeneration of nerves and anytime you interrupt the abdominal muscles, some women may experience muscle spasms and weird sensations as the body heals. I guess I'm one of the "lucky" ones! If I would go without my binder at night and wake up to one of those spasms without it on, I don't even want to think about the discomfort I'd be in! They don't last long but it gets old when I wake up to them every single day and the spasms happen the minute I awaken. I wake up on average 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom (sorry tmi...) but that means I get the spasms the second my body starts to move and wake up, so it's not just a one time thing daily. It's usually 3 times a night that I feel like my abdominal muscles are being pulled toward my feet. Yowza! It's freaky every time it happens and it appears to me, there's no end in sight, so I feel your pain when you feel like your problem has no end and no solution.
I'm still very happy I went through it but the spasms (for me) are my only big complaint. I'll be curious how long I swell, although wearing Spanx really does help me immensely. I'm sure I'll probably have swelling until I hit the 5-6 month mark and maybe even after that but I'll wait to see how that goes. I just hope the spasms will subside by then.
I think you look fantastic and I hope you do whatever you feel is best for you. Just know you aren't alone in how you feel. I think there's many of us who feel frustrated with these little speed bumps that have occurred along the way. I hope all goes well for you and you have a wonderful 2016! All my best :)
April 11, 2016
Thank you so much for your comments! I appreciate it! Abdominoplasty is not an easy recovery for some. I wish you well with yours. Someone should write a book about all the different issues that go along with the healing process. I'm thankful for realself..it's been a great help for me over the past year! Take care of yourself & be patient. Not always easy but it does get better.
April 11, 2016
I think you look wonderful!!!! What areas are you not happy with?
April 11, 2016
Thank you! Muscle repair areas still feel uncomfortably tight. Upper area has buldge that hurts at times. I don't think anything serious is going on. Hoping it's mainly due to slow healing. I'm wondering if it will always feel this way? If so I imagine I'll get used to it.
April 13, 2016
I had a pseudo bursa below my belly button. It kept filling with fluid. My dr put the drain back in and it did better but as soon as he took it out it would fill with fluid again. He put the drain back in again and same thing happened when we took it out. He ended up injecting it with a sclerosing agent and abrading the inner surfaces with a cannula to get it to heal/close. It worked but it leaves the scar tissue behind which is denser/firmer than fat. The appearance from the outside was minimal but it looked like I had a little extra fat in that area and it felt firmer than other areas. About a year after the TT I had touch up lipo and he used the lipo and cannula to break up the scar tissue. It improved it but didn't go away 100%. I also still feel some tightness when I stretch but no pain anymore. Im very prone to scar tissue both inside and out. Stretching and massaging is the best thing for it. It will soften with time. I also bought a home ultrasound device that is supposed to help soften scar tissue and I believe it did help. Hopefully some of this info will help you. You look awesome!!
April 13, 2016
Thanks so much for telling me about your experience. I've been stretching everyday for several weeks & when I use arnica gel I massage it into area that bothers me. My surgeon doesn't say that he thinks I have a psuedo bursa but he offered to do lipo that would take about 15 minutes. Not sure if I want to have it done. I'm interested in the ultrasound device you mentioned. Can you send me information about it? I want to finish healing without any intervention. Do you think that having a professional massage would help? I appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks for the compliment too!
April 13, 2016
I have the same situation of my upper abs. I didn't think anything could be done about it
April 13, 2016
Does it cause any discomfort? I find arnica gel helps. I also wear binder or cg at times too. Ice packs are good too. I hope you're doing well. I'm not sure if I'm going to get any revision. Hopefully it will resolve soon. I've gotten much better each month so to me that's a positive thing.
April 14, 2016
Yes that is a positive thing! I still feel tight and swollen during the day. I will pick some of that gel up! Life is pretty much back to normal. I do have discomfort so I too will put my binder on. I had my 6 month post op yesterday it went great. He said that I look great better than most of his patients!
April 15, 2016
What a nice compliment from your doctor! I think that this recovery is a bit difficult for some of us requiring more patience than we realized. The arnicare gel helps but it doesn't last for a long period. I've purchased so many tubes over the past year! It helps with the achy feelings. I still have some swelling above & below my incision but it doesn't really bother me. I wish you the best with your continued recovery! Take care!
April 16, 2016
I wish you the best as well!! You have been so sweet to me! Yes it is harder for me to see the results these younger girls are getting but hey I think we look great for our age! Yes my dr is so sweet! Love him a lot!
May 4, 2016
It's good to know you happy about the decision. It appears that the recovery is slow. Hang in there !!!
Replies (1)