35 Years Old & Repaired my Diastasis Recti - Pepper Pike, OH

My motivation for getting abdominoplasty was not for the reason most people do it - in fact, you're probably looking at my photos, wondering why I did anything to my post-pregnant belly that looks pretty darn good after carrying children, two of which were over 9 lbs. My reason for tucking the little skin I had that could be tucked was because of my severe diastasis recti: the separation of my abdominal muscles. The separation ran from my sternum to my pubic bone & it DROVE ME CRAZY. I did everything I could through exercise to close the separation - I swam a mile 3-4 days per week; I bought Julie Tupler's video & belly wrap & was vigilant with the recommended exercises; I ran & wore a post surgical compression garment night & day, for as long as I could stand it. But nothing worked. My back ached from the lack of support in my core, & I felt completed OFF. I never would have known I separated my abs if it wasn't for the fact that it didn't happen after baby #1 was born. It happened after baby #2. So when I finally decided I'd resort to surgery, I knew I'd have to find the BEST surgeon who could work on my stomach with the little fat & skin that I had. My number one priority was that I wanted my skin to look NATURAL, not pulled down with all the tension of the stretched skin put on the lower incision. I didn't care about my scars being seen, but I wanted my belly button to look nice & I noticed that the smaller the belly button, the nicer it looked. Lucky for me I live somewhat near Dr. Lu-Jean Feng, one of the only doctors in the country that performs abdominoplasty with progressive tension sutures - sutures that literally stitch the skin back down to the abdominal wall, progressively, as she works the skin from the top, past the new belly button, all the way down to the wide incision at the bottom. Her work is amazingly beautiful. The skin looks so natural afterwards because she works it in towards the middle I think, & so the skin doesn't look pulled downwards. Not only that, there is more skin worked to the middle so the center of the stomach has more stretch to it after the procedure. I was told she put nearly 100 progressive tension sutures (that dissolve over time) between my abdominal wall & skin during the surgery. I was under for 4 hours & 15 minutes. When I woke I felt hardly any pain too! She administered nerve blocks into my sides, which the anesthesiologist raved about because she's so good at it, and I was so comfortable I would have rated my pain at a 0-1 on a scale from 1-10 when I woke. It was incredible. Of course after walking I felt uncomfortable because my skin was so raw & my body was in shock, but considering the extent of the procedure & how my body was altered, I truly believe I felt the best I could have felt. I wasn't nautious, I wasn't in really any pain, I was just uncomfortable & my abs felt really tight. But I loved that feeling. Plus I didn't have any drains or tubes, which I was happy about. After a few days the nerve blocks wore off & I started to feel more pain, especially when I coughed or laughed. I was really careful with myself & I iced like crazy, even when I was numb, & I think all the vitamins I was on & the Arnica Montana from Dr. Feng helped a ton. I highly recommend her. My incision has NEVER hurt, & there is no tension on it at all. I think that's why her clients scars fade so well. And her stitches are so tiny & delicate - I feel so fortunate to have found her & that she lives locally because I never would have known to search out of state for a plastic surgeon. But people come from far & wide to see her, so many people are realizing that she's worth the trip. She seems so passionate about her work, & I could see her visualizing my stomach afterwords as she drew on my belly before surgery. She's so confident that it takes all the stress away - especially when someone's working on your body! And she's so healthy - I was so nervous before surgery that I kept worrying she'd be off that day or tired & when I asked her how she slept the morning of surgery, she smiled broadly & said, I always sleep well! She was so energized & passionate that right then & there I knew I was in good hands. Thank God!!! Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

http://www.m.webmd.com/baby/guide/abdominal-separation-diastasis-recti

I'm still swollen & bloated in my lower abdomen. I can't feel my skin around my belly button & above the low incision. But other than that I'm doing great. I sleep on my back with my knees elevated slightly & I ice as much as possible at night. When I go from a sitting position to a standing position I can feel the inside layer of my skin pulling & stretching, & still a bit raw. I'm thankful for the progressive tension sutures because they really seem to be helping my skin reattach & heal quicker, plus they hold me together as I move around. I couldn't be happier with my outcome so far. My skin looks great!!