50 Year Old, Mother of Two, Needed Tummy Help! Scottsdale, AZ

Thank you!! Yes! The way my PS explained it, the Embrace really makes s huge difference in the thickness of the scar. Not so much the coloring. Our bodies have to fade scars on their own schedule. But from week give my scar has been flat and thin! It's pricey but I did less than the. Manufacturer recommended eight weeks worth. And I feel my results were just as good.

Thank you. Yes! I think it was worth it. According to my doctor the Embrace really helps with the thickness and smoothness of the scar. I used less than the recommended eight weeks. But I still feel I got great results. Since week five my scar has been smooth and flat. It is pricey but after all I spent, I decided to spend a little more to help the scar heal. Scarring was my biggest concern when deciding to do the procedure.

What is embrace?

Thank you, and I have seen your posts too your results look awesome as well. Brooke and Dr. are both apply it the same way. If your body is like mine you will see big improvement in just two weeks. Best of luck to you.

Embrace is a medical product that keeps tension on the incision line and has some type of treatment properties to it to thin out the scar really quickly. It literally looks like large thick clear tape it gets changed one time a week at the doctors office.

Thank you! I am still not standing completely straight, but I am getting a teeny weeny straighter each day. Not ready to exercise just yet. I had a friend tell me that she rushed standing straight and got stretch marks. :-(. She cautioned me to be patient. Thank you. I wear my binder 24/7, only off for maybe 6-8 minutes to shower take photos and back on with the foam pad and cg. Did you wear yours religiously too?

Yes. I wore it non-stop besides showering for about 4-5 weeks. (Can't recall exactly. I might have put in my original post). I wore it as long as the doctor recommended and didn't start exercise until he ok'd. I do recall how frustrating it was not to be able to stand straight. And, the back aches from hunching over. Yuck. Hang in there. You'll be perfect before you know it!

Thank you Girlfriend. When I go Monday I requested that Leslie or another Dr be present to make sure I don't have a seroma or fluid that needs to be aspirated. I read your journey and I am starting my embrace treatment at 24 days post op. He seemed to be okay with that. I noticed you started yours earlier.

Yes. If I recall correctly, I started Embrace on week two. I don't remember if that was early but Dr R did it so, it was following his recommendation.

Will do! Thank you for the kind words. I believe the Embrace did really help with smoothing the scar so fast but my PS was also very meticulous with his stitching. Best of luck to you! It's an expensive procedure, but so worth it!

Congratulations, I'm sure your new tummy looks great! Are you doing the full recommended 8 weeks of Embrace? My scar is very smooth and thin, (with 6) but is still really dark pinkish-purple. I understand that Embrace doesn't help much with the color and that part just takes lots of time.

Well I brought the full 8 week treatment of embrace back home to canada, so I probably will. The color of the scar fades with time. I posted another pic today on my profile page with the start of 5 week post -op and am real pleased with the results.

Hi Disney21, I'm so glad my post has inspired and/or helped you! I felt silly about doing it, thinking nobody cared. Anyway, I know you won't be disappointed in his work or care. He's right, going home right after surgery is not a problem at all! I really did not have much pain...period! Definitely do the Esparel though, he and I have spoken about it and that makes all the difference! He did some lipo on my flanks too. I had no bruising or pain from that. Amazing! Considering what is being done to our bodies during the TT, I'm amazed at how easy the recovery was. Don't get me wrong, you will feel that you've had surgery and you'll be really tight feeling but I didn't experience much pain. I was thrilled that my body responded so well with just six applications of Embrace since that is an added expense. Yesterday was my three month anniversary of the procedure, I still have some swelling above my pubic bone and my scar is still purple but I'm glad I did it. Feel free to ask me more questions. :)

I hear the swelling can last up to six months, so I am kind of prepared for that...I think. My girlfriend who had one about nine years ago, described her tight feeling in her stomach like she did tons of sit ups. Would you say your experience felt like that? I had a surgical procedure in my twenties called a laparotomy to remove an ovarian cyst and my surgeon cut into my rectus abdominus (I think that's how it is spelled.LOL) and boy that was tough. I was hunched over for about three weeks, and had to have a pillow placed over my lower abdomen when I walked to feel like my stitches weren't going to burst, during the initial days of my recovery. In fact, my recovery was 4-6 weeks and I had to cancel my student teaching. I have a feeling it might feel similar, but how can I really know until I have it done. Oh yes, did you have to take any of the narcotic pain meds? Ugh. I can't handle them, and told him so. Sorry for bending your ear, but I can't help myself LovingLifeAt50!

The tightness did not feel like muscle soreness from sit ups to me. It is like you literally cannot stand straight because your muscles won't stretch. In fact, you will and should hunch over while upright for the first week for sure. That is were my only pain came from was my lower back muscles became very sore from hunching. If you know someone with a walker, you might seriously consider borrowing it! My lower back wasn't used to supporting the weight of me leaning forward and was uncomfortable for a week or so. I did use the muscle relaxer and narcotics pretty faithfully the first few days. Not because I was hurting but because I was afraid if I didn't take them that I would hurt. I remember thinking, "This should hurt a lot more...the pain must be coming." My swelling is not bad by any means, but it's still there. I just look like I have a small belly pooch.

I plan to start checking out walkers at garage sales. Hope I can pick up one there, before I have to buy one. My husband lives and works out of state (a drag, to say the least) but has made arrangements to be with me from the day of my surgery, Fri., Nov. 21st to Sunday, Nov., 30th. My 18 & 17 year olds will be home to help too. They are outstanding young people, so. I feel like I will be in good hands. My daughter has promised to wash my hair and help in the shower when Dad leaves. I know I can't tolerate the pain meds, I am going to ask Dr. R how much X strength Tylenol I can safely take for pain. Muscle relaxers, hmm, maybe I can handle those? Will they give you a list of things to purchase for the recovery? I have read from gals that they buy gauze pads, and the tight socks to prevent blood clots, etc. The following Thursday will be Thanksgiving, I will have to find an excuse to let my family know why I won't attend. I'll send my kids and hubby. ;-)

His surgi-center will put the stockings on you before you wake up. I only kept them on until the following day when I did my follow up. If you are up and walking/moving as much as possible then blood clots are rare from what I understand. (It's immobility, laying down too much that increases the risk for them). You will be in good hands! My daughter washed my hair for the first week. I sponge bathed the first 7 days until my drain was removed. You're allowed to shower with the drain but I literally kept my binder on 24 hours a day the first week, trying to get my best results. With the esparel, extra strength Tylenol and Valium you should be comfortable. You will feel like resting all day but moving around really does help recovery in my experience.

Thank you so much for the information. I think Dr. Repta told me he handles "the tissues delicately, as much as I can, so your recovery is better for you." I think your recovery is a real testament that he is gentle with the body when he is in surgery. Again, thank you!

I know! I'm so pleased with it. That was one of my biggest concerns going in. I'm getting married in two months and will be honeymooning for a week on the beach. It's totally hidden with a bikini.