When it came time to look for a plastic surgeon the first thing I did was to get recommendations from doctors that I knew and that I trusted. My first plastic surgery was to serve three different purposes.
 |
The first purpose was to remove excess skin that I had on certain parts of my after such dramatic weight loss. |
|
The second purpose was to contour a few body parts I was not totally happy with like my saddlebags and my hips. |
| The third purpose was to correct a hernia situation in my stomach due to overdeveloped stomach muscles that were pulling apart from exercising. |
I found a plastic surgeon that I was pleased with and we made plans for the surgery. She took before photos in her office and set the surgery date. I had many body parts that I wanted operated on. Here's what I wanted done:
| Tummy Tuck- to remove excess skin still on stomach. |
| Thigh Lift- to remove excess hanging skin on thighs. |
| Brachioplasty or Arm Lift- to remove excess skin hanging from upper arms. |
| Breast Lift with possible augmentation- after so much weight loss and breast feeding two children I want to be perky again! |
| Liposuction- to smooth out hips and thighs. |
I certainly wasn't going to do the whole list above at once, so I decided what I wanted done first. I decided to do the tummy tuck, thigh lift and liposuction. I went for pre op testing and had a lot of tests on my blood because I had a blood clot after my Fobi Pouch weight loss surgery. I was cleared on my blood work so surgery was scheduled as planned. My surgery was done out patient at a surgery center in Las Vegas.
My mother drove me to the surgery center. I was very nervous as to be expected, but more anxious to see the end results. I was prepped for surgery and then talked to the anesthesiologist. My surgeon came in to mark me for surgery and made the additional suggestion that maybe we should do liposuction on my back as well for smoother results. I said we might as well do it now. I was taken into the operating room and sedated. I don't remember anything else until I woke up in the recovery room. The nurses were so nice and took good care of me. My mother and husband were there to check up on me.
My doctor's surgical nurse drove me home and stayed the night to monitor my condition as planned. I got up to walk every two hours or so, even though I was moving very slowly. I continued to walk and slept often. I was in a compression garment full time for three weeks and then only at night for a couple of more weeks. I didn't know what to expect as far as pain goes, but this was certainly much less painful than the original weight loss surgery. I visited with my surgeon three days later for a post op check up. My surgery was on a Tuesday and by Saturday I actually went to a local shopping mall and walked around for a while. I was not prepared for how awful the bruising from the liposuction would look. My stomach was sore, but the medication took the edge off.
I had numbness in the areas where I had liposuction. When the numbness went away and my nerves were reconnecting it was very uncomfortable. It often felt like my skin was on fire and very hot. This went on for approximately two months. Occasionally, four months post op I will get mild discomfort on my hips or outer thighs where I had liposuction. I think I'm at my end result, although I was told that your body can still go through changes for six months or more. My thigh lift made a dramatic difference in the appearance of my legs. My underwear would rub against the scars while they were still fresh and that was irritating for a while.
I will need to have some touch ups on my surgery. My thigh lift scars are visible in a bathing suit or underwear when they should be hidden. I will need to get that redone tighter to hide my scars. My pubic area seems bigger now that my stomach is so tight, so I might need to get my pubic area lightly liposuctioned. In addition, I still want more fat sucked out of my outer thighs. I am trying to get down to 125 pounds before I redo the surgeries. I plan on having the breast lift and arm lift in the summer of 2002. If I want to do more later I may have a belt lift which removes the excess skin on my back side would tighten and lift my butt. I am trying to not be fanatical about the plastic surgery, but I figure I have a long life to live and I want my body to look its best for the second half of my life.
Surgery Photos Plastic Surgery Photos Weight Loss Stats Appeal Letter My Links E-Mail Me Home
This page last updated on Friday November 09, 2001
©2001 by Susie Goldstein