Dr Chia is amazing! I Have a Flat, Taut Tummy Now!

I realised some of the pics in my collage side picture ain't properly adjusted. I can't replace and can only delete and do an update upload.
This is a side view comparison and zoomed-in scar on my right side. Bruises start to fade fast after applying gel with Arnica and Notoginseng extracts. I only started applying on Day 15. My bruises stayed intense for 14 days so I thought I should apply something to disperse the blood.

Thanks to Dr Chia, I’m now in love with the new contour!
I'm currently about a month post op. (5 weeks)I'll give a quick summary for those who want key info then a more elaborated one below for those who prefer more information.Fast facts:Cost: for Drainless full abdminoplasty + lipo + hernia repair (hernia is considered a medical condition and can be claimed by insurance) ~$33k-35kBreakdown of cost:Consultation: $180 +7% (first consultation till operation. For what I know, they do not charge for subsequent consultation unless it is a medical classification that’s claimable by insurance then it’ll be $80 per follow-up post op consultation)Price of tummy tuck : $16000 onwards (as of Oct 2021). $12000 onwards for mini tuckVaser liposuction : $3500 onwards per area (it uses ultrasound and can accurately liquefy fats for precise suction. Fat cells do not generally grow back so once it's out, it should be permanent)Hospital fees: $10000 ++ for Thomson medical hospital (use of their Operating facililties, 2-3 days of hospital stays. No. of bedder choice, medicines etc affects your cost too).Anesthesia cost: $700/hr (if the op takes 4 hr then $700x4) - the anesthesiologist Dr Lew is amazing!Binder and other charges (doc attendence fee in hospital): est $90 + $350/dayProcedure: Tummy tuck includes repairing diastasis recti, repositioning the belly button, and removing excess skin. Liposuction can be done together but is not included as part of the tummy tuck package (additional)Op day: Fasting for 8 hours (hence I didn’t take my coffee and suffered severe caffeine withdrawal on my 2nd day...I stayed an extra day due to caffeine withdrawal…)Time: ~4 hrs. (I took longer than the norm too and I slept really well)Lipo: vaser lipo a little at bilateral flanks (as discussed during consultation). She professionally helped me to lipo a bit around the abdominal and pubic area during the op (as she deemed fit, when the patient’s condition permits and of cos out of goodwill).Sutures: both non-permanent and permanent sutures are used, depending on location. Diastasis recti repair- permanent suture. Skin to rectus abdominis - semi-permanent suture (because of this step, this procedure becomes drainless). Closure of incision from hip to hip - dissolvable suture.Drain: there’s a small drain that will be removed on the 2nd day.Estimated hospital stay: 2-3 days.Downtime:1st-3rd day: woke up with binder on. No major discomfort and no side effects from anesthesia. First time ever for me. 2nd day for me was ultimate down with severe caffeine withdrawal and related low blood pressure. Naturally, there’s post-op edema, full bed-ridden and feeling of piercing sharp pain around thigh joints at times. Once catheter and drain were removed, getting out of bed at sloth-speed and required certain angles and positions.3rd-6th day: Walking in unnatural hunched state, tightness at core area. Getting out of flat bed with extra care - from the sides with techniques, but definitely gets better and more easier as each day passes. 7th-10th day: Walking faster (still slower compared to normal people), straighter with effort.11th day onwards: Finally I looked like normal people walking. Core feels tight for the first few steps and gradually gets better.Edema is expected for 3 months or more. Upper central abdominal feels very sore and I realised when I pressed on it gently, I can feel hard sutures under. Those will dissolve over the next 8-9months.After 4 weeks: aerobic exercise2-3 months: Core exercisesBinder on: at least 3-4 weeks (I’m going to keep wearing till my swelling totally subside)Carrying toddlers : 3-4 weeksThings to avoid:Laughing, coughing, sneezing so don’t watch comedy.Young kids or anyone who will run and pounce on you.Post surgery follow-up:1st follow-up: 1 week after you discharged2nd follow-up: 2 weeks after the 1st follow up (silicon sheets are used for scar care)3rd follow-up: 3 months after the 2nd. (I don’t know about the next yet)Reasons for choosing Dr Chia:There are factors that I personally look for when I search for a doctor. Thanks to some of the detailed realself reviews here (mainly about BA) with pictures, and other bits and pieces of Dr Chia's reviews over the internet with pictures, I gathered that her sense of beauty and skills will match up to my expectation. Good bedside mannerism is another important factor hence I am more or less 90% positive to have my operation done by her even before my first consultation. Since I can't find any detailed review about tummy tuck here, I hope the pictures and review will help others decide and be prepared for what is to come.I’m a mother of 4 boys, with 3 huge pregnancies & 3 c-sec done. Each preggy load is 4kg+ with my last twin pregnancy being the largest and most torturous. I could minimize diastasis recti with the help of binders for my first 2 pregnancies but with my twins, the bulge persisted even after exercising. The outward pressure of the twins was so great that my rectus abdominis muscles were too stretched out and I’ve developed hernia at my lower belly.I’ve excess skin (skin roll), wrinkled lifeless skin and grumpy-looking belly button after my first pregnancy too so when my husband could spend more time at home and I managed to find Dr Chia, I decided to grab the opportunity for an overhaul. (my youngest are 4 yr old)Since my babies were all huge and I’ve gained more than 20kg for each pregnancy (lots of water weight; my legs were trunk-like with no ankles), I’m accustomed to discomfort. For hands-on mummies who have been through c-sec, months-years of breast-feeding etc, will find tummy tuck recovery a breeze. If your husband is supportive (or naive) and agrees to watch over the kids/house while you recuperate, do not procrastinate and proceed. I booked a hotel and stayed 10 days (including hospital stay) away from my children. I exercised daily to build muscle strength prior to the surgery so I can use other parts of my muscles to get myself up out of bed. That’s the only criteria I need for my “staycation”. It is so much easier than confinement (I never had a confinement lady). I don’t have to look after 4+kg babies with huge appetite, I can watch netflix all day with no interruptions. In fact, that’s the only peaceful period I had after a decade. (while I’m away, the males in the family all learned to help out with housework and my hubby level up in managing the house!)Discomfort:Main discomfort comes from tightness and soreness. The only painful part is getting out of bed when occasional sharp sting is felt around the operated area (operated area feels numb, thankfully). I experienced more of these on my 5th day but by the 6th, none of the sharp pain exist anymore. Really, if you’ve been through labor and caring of young/sick infants before, this is nothing. For lipo, areas done are especially sore. My bruises are pretty intense cos my platelets take a longer time to stop bleeding than others. The tenderness from Lipo actually hurts more.Scar concern:I’m prone to keloid and each of my c-sec left a keloid. I wasn’t too particular about it before since my skin roll covers it and I was too busy caring for babies and toddlers to bother. Now that I can finally devote time to care for the incision wound, I hope it can heal nicely. I am only a month past my op so it is too early to know how the scar will turn out (it takes 6 months to 1 year). There’s still swelling around the area and that makes the wound looks uneven. One of my twin babies was slightly bigger than the other so one side of my belly is more stretched out than the other. That made my belly button skewed too (Thanks to Dr Chia, it’s been aligned back). As one side of the skin is more than the other side, stitching back symmetrically is tougher. She has to make some pleats at that end and explained that our skin will “absorb” it eventually. The cost of this surgery is not low but if you research more on how abdominplasty is done and how much work is required, I think the cost is justifiable (hospital fees took a giant share). Dr Chia gave me a “sculptured” tummy within a month which I can never achieved despite 2 years of toning and exercising. My belly button looks a little unusual as my umbilical stalk is longer (wonders of pregnancies). If the insides of the belly button still looks protruded after all the swelling has subsided, a revision to trim it further will be done. As of now, I love the taut, flat, contoured abdomen (kinda like 11-line abs!)As an incentive for posting a review, this reviewer received an entry into RealSelf’s monthly $500 gift card giveaway.