Laura's Tummy Tuck and Liposuction Journal

If anyone wants to hear it! And thanks for the nice welcome (on my other post) Marianne! I had a full (but no muscle repair) Tummy Tuck and liposuction to the outer thighs and hips on Thursday the 25th. I went in at 7:30 am and changed into a little gown, booties and that god-awful shower cap thing you have to wear with surgeries. Then my PS took a marker and drew over most of my body. And I also had my official before pics taken. Then I went into the operating room, got my IV's and I went "night-night". I was under for about 4 hours and spent another 2 hours in recovery trying to wake up. I hate general. Anyway- I had arranged to spent the night in a recovery center a few miles away. *BTW- to anyone having a TT and especially if you have small kids at home I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you spend the in the hospital or in a nursing center. Its made things SO much easier and no way did I want my poor hubby changing my catheter bag. The total for me to spent one night (in a BEAUTIFUL oceanside facility) and have the transport service come get me was $535. It's a lot but not really when you're already spending thousands on the surgery. Anyway....* The transport service I hired to take me to the recovery center arrived and they stuck me on a gurney and took me away in the little ambulance thing. I slept the whole way. I got there and not once did I have to get out of a bed. I just got switched from one bed to another. I still had my IV in and they gave me saline and an antibiotic through it. I had the IV in until the next morning. All I had to do was lay in my pretty little room and watch TV and sleep. They brought me broth, Jell-O and some juice. The Jell-O made me throw up, but I did ok with the juice. I had the catheter in so I didn't need to get up to use the bathroom. Besides them coming in to check my vitals every once in awhile. I was left alone to sleep. That wouldn't have happened had I gone home to my kids. The next day they took out the catheter and the IV. They showed me exactly how to empty my drain and made sure I could pee on my own before I went home. And since the recovery facility is so close to my PS's house I did not need to return to his office the next day. He came to see me instead. Then they served me a nice breakfast (real food!) and my mom came and got me at about 11:30am. I went home and pretty much laid on my couch with about a hundred pillows propping me up the next 2 days. I can only lay on my back with my head and feet elevated. I felt really great by the next day post op. Today at 4 days post I have next to no pain and my drain will be removed on Thursday. I had my second post op appt this morning and everything looks great! I am VERY bruised and swollen. Its hard to tell a difference with the lipo yet. I know that is very normal. But my tummy looks fantastic! The scar is very thin and I can tell that when it heals it will be barely visible. The nurse showed me her 10 month old TT scar today and its practically gone. The string from her string bikini panties completely covered her scar. I am so happy I did this and it really was (so far anyway) worth the money. My tummy used to have stretch marks up past the belly button and now they are below my panty line. And he did a FABULOUS job on my new belly button. I have seen "after" pics on different websites of these odd shaped, too round, too small TT belly buttons. I was so afraid I'd end up with one. But he made it look very natural. So I have to say that I am 100% happy with the way my recovery is going and my new tummy. I'll let you know about the lipo as soon as my swelling goes away (in a few months). My PS is pretty aggressive when it comes to lipo and he's very good. So I am confident that it will look terrific. He told me when he visited me the next morning that he "got a ton off me". Hooray! If anyone is in San Diego I absolutely recommend him and I will be happy to give you his name. Sorry this was so long, but when I was still "pre-op" I ate up surgery stories. So I thought I would try and leave a detailed one.

~Laura26