Reverse abdominoplasty & surprise implant swap due to rupture

My review is for a reverse tummy tuck. The site didn't give me that option to choose. I went to Dr. Nichols and he took the time to talk to me about options during my consult, instead of just telling me what I needed like others had done. Also, there is a difference between a PLASTIC Surgeon and a COSMETIC Surgeon. They can both do procedures and both are board certified doctors, but there is a lot more training involved to become board certified in plastic surgery. I'm sure there are many talented Cosmetic Surgeons, but it's a transparency issue for me. Dr. Nichols is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. He uses doctors on his anesthesia staff. He does not do all of his own closings, but does part and supervises what he doesn't do. I haven't found a doctor in my area who does every bit of his own closing.
Back to my stomach... My pre-op experience was fine. Dr. Nichols' surgical staff were all wonderful and did their best to calm my pre-surgical jitters. Either a staff member or Dr. Nichols himself have responded promptly to every message or phone call since my procedure; one text on a weekend even! I went for my 1 day post op and wow! The results were better than I expected. Initially my pain level was pretty high, but I also had a surprise implant swap during my procedure. Dr. Nichols found that I had a ruptured implant, so he took care of that at the same time. That likely added a bit to my pain level. I was able to stop taking the narcotic meds after 1 week. I'm still taking Tylenol and some ibuprofen for the swelling of my breasts. My incisions are itching like crazy and it feels like I have a really tight band around my rib cage, right under my breasts. I'm still walking around somewhat hunched over, which I'm told is normal. I saw several sites claiming recovery time of a week, but I'm not quite there. Some is my implant swap, but I still can't stand up straight, so that's one thing to really research. I slept in a recliner for almost 2 weeks. I happened to have a lift recliner and it was a lifesaver! I took stool softeners and am glad I did. I had lots of bendy straws on hand. The compression garment is still giving me fits. I feel like I have constant heartburn. Was it worth it? Totally!

A little over 3 weeks out. I'm not sure what is going on with my incisions and implants. My breasts look really strange with regard to position. I also have a few spots that are open on my incision and there is a spot where my cleavage meets my stomach that is pretty much just a hole. The surgeon put silver nitrate on the bad spots two days ago but the place at my cleavage isn't doing anything but seeping out more fluid. The surgeon asked me to come back in a week. I'm totally freaked out at this point. I don't feel like I'm getting much in the way of care instruction or reassurance and I guess I've reached the "I wish I'd never done this" point that I hear everyone reaches at some time in recovery. I have pictures, but they are pretty graphic so hopefully I'll have something pleasant to post before long. One positive... the incision directly under my right arm looks fantastic and I think the scar there will be minimal. The other side is also pretty thin but the scar is in kind if a zig zag line. And they are nicely healed.

Just passed my 4 week mark. At my visit today, it was decided that we are putting a wet-to-dry dressing on the 3 problem areas. I wish we could have started this a week ago. The doctor did more silver nitrate and wow that stuff hurts. I feel a lot better about a plan of action going forward and I feel like I got a lot more information about taking care of this at home. I was given all of the supplies to do the dressing change twice a day and Enma even offered to come in over the weekend to help if I wanted. I guess I'm still looking at a month before I'm healed, so that's a bummer. My stomach still looks fantastic and my breasts seem to be settling in more and looking good.