Thigh/Butt Lift After 140 Lb Weight Loss

I am 12 days post op and since I am having a very different experience than most other reviewers I thought I would post this review of my experiences as time goes by. Two years ago I went on a calorie restricted diet 1200 cal /day and over the next year I lost 110 lbs. In Feb 2016 I had an extended tummy tuck /liposuction with Mississauga surgeon Dr. Jamil Ahmad. It was absolutely the best possible experience! I had a drain free procedure where 9.3 lbs of skin and fat were removed. I went home same day with the pain pump so incision was pain free although the liposuction bruising felt like I'd been beaten with a baseball bat. I had dressings removed the next morning at my first post op appointment and went home. I was able to shower the next day, wore a compression garment that became my best friend, and within 8 days was off of all pain meds. Although I walked hunched over for a few weeks I was able to resume most day to day activities by the end of the second week and eventually healed so phenomenally well that I can now barely see the scar and my abs are as flat as they were when I was a teenager. I was so pleased with the experience and results that I decided to return to the same doctor this winter to have a thigh/butt lift to remove all of the excess skin on my legs and backside.
My surgery was Jan 10/17 and the surgery went exactly as planned. I wished I would have done more research beforehand because there are a few things I would have picked up for myself before surgery. First of all, I assumed the pain pump would be used on my incisions as it had been in my first surgery. Nope. So my incision pain was much more significant. However, since I had lost a few more pounds after my tummy tuck (not dieting, just I'm so much more active now) I had very little liposuction so that pain wasn't as prevalent as the last time. So good and bad I guess.
I went home with a catheter fortunately so at least I was able to stay mostly in bed the rest of that first day (although my post op instructions included walking at least a few steps every few hours to help prevent blood clots) and I slept through most of it. I was back at their office early the next morning for my first postop visit at which time they removed the dressings and gave me my compression garment and surgical stockings that I will need to wear for the next six weeks or so. Also, the catheter came out and it wasn't long before I realized that there was no way I would be able to sit down to pee anytime soon! My postop nurse happened to mention that one of her patients found it very useful to use a standing urinal for those first few weeks and I remembered I had one from a long time ago during our camping days. It was still brand-new in the packaging, and other than my surgical garment it has become my very best friend! I should have also gotten a bedpan of some kind because pooping on a low toilet seat while supporting your entire body weight with your arms is very very difficult. I think somebody needs to do some research on developing effective pain medication that does not completely stop your bowels for 10 days and then start agonizingly up again when you still are unable to sit down without pain!
Since my surgery was once again performed with the quill suture, I did not need any drains at all and am now walking almost completely pain-free without any need for assistive devices like a walker or a cane. I had the majority of my staples removed at my seven day postop follow-up appointment, but they left a few in that were removed for the most part a few days later. The nurse left three staples in on the very corner of my thigh/groin where one small part has started to pull apart. It is the only location where I am experiencing any pain at this time. I will go in on Tuesday for my two week post op check and hopefully they will remove the last three staples at that point.
Most of the incisions look absolutely amazing already, but there are a few areas that are bumpy and raised and a little bit red. I'm hoping that it's nothing but I'm glad that I have a follow up appointment scheduled in only a couple of days. My husband is amazing and took wonderful care of me my first nine days post surgery but unfortunately now is out of town for quite a while so it's very fortunate that I can do almost everything for myself. I have a shower every day and gently clean the incisions with a very mild soap and water. There is no other wound care instructions other than massaging the area every day with Arnica gel. This apparently helps with swelling and bruising and can break up small lumpy bits of bruising under the service that can lead to lumpy results later on. I was told to use it after my tummy tuck surgery last year as well, followed all the directions, and definitely do not have a single raised area on my entire incision so it must've worked very well! Right before my shower I remove my compression garment and surgical stockings, throw them in the laundry and within an hour I am clean, re-dressed, and ready to go into the day.
At this time there are a few areas that are causing me a little bit of concern but I plan on discussing them with my postop nurse in two days at my two week check up appointment and hopefully I will find out I have nothing to worry about. I'll try and update them if anyone would like to know what happens :-)

I had my two week postop check at my surgeons office and saw the lovely nurse Lori once again. As I mentioned in my previous report, there was one area that was red and inflamed and oozing a bit of clear fluid that I thought might be an infection. I was right. Lori and my surgeon took a look at it and said that there was definitely an infection beginning so he put me on oral antibiotics for a week, and told me to wash the area with mild soap and water at least four times a day. It is not really very painful but definitely red and hot so I want to make sure we catch this infection before it spreads and gets really bad. I no longer have to wear the surgical compression stockings and that is such a relief because they are very uncomfortable and difficult to put on. There's no way that I can put them on myself-either my husband or my teenage daughter helps me with them every day. I do however still wear the compression garment that goes from my knees to my rib cage all day every day. The only time I take it off is when I shower. Then I take it off, throw it quickly into the laundry, and by the time my shower's finished and I've given myself an injection of blood thinners, my compression garment is ready to wear again. Without the surgical stockings my legs are much more swollen than they were before and more painful, particularly around the incisions, as they are being stretched more than they were before. I also need to sit with my legs elevated more now that I no longer wear the compression socks.

I noticed on my second post that the photo of my incision for the boatlift is very difficult to see so I'm posting a better photo here.