51 Yr Old Mini Tummy Tuck with Muscle Repair and Silicone Implants. Saint Louis, MO

Loving the progress.

I am 51 yrs old and had a mini tummy tuck with muscle repair and 450 cc round silicone implants last week. As with so many reviews, it was a long process to get here and so many of the surgery and post op events were like many reviews describe. I am adding just a few extra notes from me specifically, hoping it may help someone like other reviews helped me.

I am 5'6", 124 pounds, active and exercise/run 6-7 x's a week. I've had 3 kids, was pregnant 30 of the first 60 months of my first marriage (one miscarriage in between 3 normal sized babies). I nursed the kids and gained from 15-25 pounds with each kid, ultimately holding onto 15 total pounds extra for almost 15 years. Since finally losing that extra baby weight 10 years ago, I have coveted full breasts, but never thought it would be in reach for me, so I went to the trusty padded push up bras. But, that 10 years also gave me time to research, think and look deep inside why do I want to get a breast augmentation, is it safe/healthy, is it worth it financially and for the time off, etc. I went back and forth many times, but when my 48 yr old sister was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer I determined I would probably never get them. Why add implants that may cause cancer? But, over time, I finally decided to do it. Within months I had consultations set, all from reviews primarily here on realself. All three doctors I saw would have provided an awesome outcome, but I chose Dr Kofkoff because of the detail he put into everything. I am somewhat of a detail person myself and wanted to know I would hear all the details through the entire process. And when I say he is a detail person, I mean every detail, from making sure I understood what will happen, what is expected of me and how it all works, from having soft, fluffy white robes to wear at every appointment, with a wonderful chocolate piece of candy in the pocket! He even wrote me thank you notes for coming into the consult and for choosing him as my surgeon. I also wanted a doctor I could trust since I only knew the final look I wanted, not necessarily what procedure or what cc it would take to get that look. And I had that complete comfort in his final decisions.

As you can see from my attached photo of the morning of surgery (full of markings) and 5 days post op, the outcome should be awesome. I have some swelling still, although it was at its worse on day 3, as Dr K informed me it would. And the implants have not dropped, but I anticipate a wonderful look. We tried on 400-450 ccs at the pre op appt, but Dr K made the final decision in surgery on the final size, which was 450. It should get me from a barely 32B to a 32D, maybe DD for some brands.

Regarding the mini tummy tuck, I think I was lucky that I could accomplish the look I wanted with just a mini and muscle repair. All three surgeons agreed I could reduce the majority of the extra skin and laxity with just a mini, but Dr K was the most certain it would give me the look I wanted with less recovery, as he tries to do mini TTs without a drain. And, he did deliver on that promise. No drain. And, the bonus was pulling up the skin, to give my labia area a semi-lift, as well. (Haven't tested that out yet to see how it affects the nasty, but anxious to learn!! )

Recovery for me has been almost textbook...from what Dr K I explained I could expect to what I have read in the many reviews here. I took celebrex and muscle relaxants two days pre op, and decided to pay extra for the exparel injection to numb the incisions for 3 days. Not that I have anything to baseline it to, but I think it helped. I also chose to spend the night at the surgery center, it wasn't required by Dr K since I only had the mini, but I thought it would help in recovery, as well. I kept in my IV till I left and many of the meds were delivered that way. I think it helped in keeping me hydrated, and the nurses were wonderful. They taught me how to get out of bed, how to get up, how to support myself, etc. Again, I have nothing to baseline it to, but I wanted to recover well and fast, so I spent the extra money. I look at it as $125 for the celebrex prescription that wasn't covered by insurance, $350 for the exparel and $750 to stay overnight. But, here I am, 7 days later, sitting at my computer tonight, made enchiladas for dinner after working at my desk job all day. (I work from home.) And I have only taken 4 tylenols all day. To me, it is worth it all. Remember, I was very healthy and physically active going into surgery, and the only medicine I take is Zyrtec for allergies. My surgery was on a Monday and I made a couple phone calls and emails for work on Tuesday, but I don't recommend that. I was still on narcotics and it maybe wasn't the clearest communication I have done. But, I was able to put in about 2-4 hours of work each day on Wed, Thur and Friday-just enough for the urgent and to stay caught up.

That leads me to another important thing not to miss. Sneezing and coughing hurt. A lot. So, stay on top of the medicine that may help you with that. Keep water handy at all times, wherever you are, and have cough drops in your pocket 24/7. I didn't have the cough drops, and let me tell you, those first few coughs-on day 4-were something I want to forget.

I overcooked bland meals for me, as I didn't have much of an appetite the first three days back home. So, there were extra boiled eggs, pre-portioned cracker baggies, cooked chicken, premade smoothies and premade yogurt parfaits. But, I stocked up on bottle water and propel, just to make it easy and that was a good thing. I couldn't get enough to drink the first 4 days. I went into surgery at 124 pounds, was 136 pounds at day 3 post op, but dropped to 128 within 2 days. And that was drinking tons of water. So, its true, drinking more helps flush out more of the fluids. And, it accumulated in my belly, my flanks, bra and back rolls above my compression garment, in my lower back, and I had thunder thighs a few days. But, I never had cankles.

As most will say, I, too, have a love hate relationship with my compression garment. I took it off day 5 post op to wash it, but made my boyfriend wrap me up in ace bandages, it felt just too loose, or unsupported or different. But he handwashed it and dried it in front of a fan, so I had it back on within 2 hours. I still have a love hate relationship with it. I wear it all the time, but it is irritating at times, rides up at times, itches other times, is tight most of the time, but if I take it off for relief or for a look, I want it back on. My follow up visit isn't until day 10 post op since Dr K is on vacation, so I will know in a few days what my next step is for compression. I hope I can transfer to spanx.

My boyfriend has been the main caregiver for me and he has been excellent. I am usually a good patient, but I have my Mr Hyde moments and he just laughs at me. It is usually when I am trying to get out of bed and can't do it myself. He has helped me more than I really need, but I am taking all of it. I loved having him wash my hair over the weekend, even though I could easily get my hands to my head to do it myself. And, on day 6 post op, I felt tired and wanted a break from the binder. I took it off, he helped me lie down, flat on the bed with my knees propped up on two pillows, and he just rubbed my skin down. Gentle stroking of my belly, boobies, legs, arms, back, everywhere. He helped me roll to lay on my side for the first time and kept rubbing. I almost fell asleep, but after an hour of just such a gentle rub down, I was totally refreshed. That afternoon I felt like I had turned a corner. I felt so much better. He looked at me and told me I was standing up straight. I had been trying to do stand up straight for the last 24 hours, but was only about 95%, then suddenly, without trying, I was there. And, I have been feeling great since then. Back to normal, except for bowel movements. Let me just say, I don't normally have problems, but I have still taken a stool softener since before surgery and had to use 1/2 dose of MOM twice now.

Being prepared for such a surgery is awesome, but you can also be a little over prepared. Having a good caregiver is ideal. Having your own mental and emotional perspective ready months in advance is also important. I had hopes for a lot, but had decided just to take everything one day at a time vs high expectations for perfect looks and fast healing.

I don't plan on documenting every day, every week, or anything regular, but I do hope what I have shared helps. I hope to post my final pics from Dr K in a few months. And I wanted to also share the breakdown of the cost, since that was hard for me to determine from this website. I didn't make my choice based on cost, but based on what I thought would be the best outcome for me. But, there is so much that goes into the "fees" depending on what is included or not, that I thought I would break them down here:
Dr K fee mini tummy tuck $3500
Dr K fee breast aug $2323 (reduced price for second procedure at same time)
OR Fees $2700 (based on 4 hours)
Overnight fee $750
Anesthesia fees $1178 (based on 4 hours)
Implant cost $1900
Cost for Exparel $350
Cost for pre and post meds $140
EKG in advance -TBD (not sure how much insurance will cover, but I had to have this since I am over 50 going into surgery)
Silicone sheeting - TBD (Still need to purchase, Dr K recommends a few websites to use)

And, although I am only one week post op, it was worth it so far. I can't wait for the final healing in 3-6-12 months! And I would crazy recommend Dr Kofkoff for his attention to detail, for trusting him to give you the appearance you desire and for the gentle procedures he uses to make recovery be the best it can be. He has a great team supporting him, as well, and they have been the perfect support for me.