Tummy tuck with diastasis repair and lipo of abdomen and flanks

I have wanted a tummy tuck since going through puberty. I have always had a belly and a spare tire around my midsection. Going through 3 c-sections made my stomach even more saggy, poochy, and sad. I haven’t ever been able to change it with diet and exercise. I had my last baby 3 years ago and decided this was the time to get it fixed. I started my consultation process in December of 2019. I met with 5 doctors and decided on Dr. Hancey. He is based out of our local hospital and that gave me a little peace of mind and his nurse was great as well. They didn’t rush through the consultation and were very thorough. I scheduled my surgery for March 18, 2020. Well, as we all know, all hell broke loose with COVID the week before and my surgery was cancelled 2 days before my surgery. I was devastated! All the planning, preparation, arranging sitters, taking time off work, plus all the stress of COVID and a 5.7 earthquake the day after was a lot to handle. So I pushed it aside and got through the next few months and decided to schedule the surgery for the fall. I scheduled for October 15.

I checked into hospital at 9am. Got prepped and the anesthesiologists came and talked to me about the TAPS block (Exparel) and general anesthesia. Helped me relax and set me at ease. Wheeled me into OR at 11 am and I went right to sleep. Woke up about 3pm in recovery with very little pain! The thing that was the most sore on me was my throat! Probably from an oxygen tube or something. My husband and I checked out of there around 5pm. Got right home and in bed! I felt amazing though. The Meds and Exparel were doing their job and I was able to get some good sleep the rest of the day and through the night! Here are my before pics!

Slept okay on and off through the night in bed propped up with wedge pillow under my legs. My husband helped me get to and from the bathroom hunched over a couple times during the night and emptied my one drain I have. Consistently draining around 40cc every few hours. Had an appointment early in the morning and got to check out my progress! I am really sore in my upper abdomen, probably from the Ab repair. I had 4.5cm separation that my doctor stitched back together. Everything is really tender and swollen, but I am excited for it all. He said he removed 800cc of skin and 600cc of fat through lipo. Taking 800mg ibuprofen every 8 hours and half a Percocet every 4 hours today and arnica tablets every 4 hours as well. Got started on Miralax. Really hoping to have a comfortable BM!