Plastic Surgery

I had abdominoplasty and brachioplasty on April 4th. I know several of you are looking into plastic surgery so I thought I'd pass along some things I've learned in the last three weeks. You're not going to walk out of surgery a size 4. I don't care if you were a size 4 going in, you're going to be bigger coming out. I went in a size 10 and came out a size 14 due to swelling. Some swell more than others, but as far as I know, everybody swells. Three weeks out, I can wear my size 10s again, but they're snug. The other thing that surprised me is that my thighs are swollen even though I didn't have work on them. The nurse explained that when the lymph system is involved, you can swell anywhere on your body. Also the compression garment pushes fluids down. If plastics are in your future, hang onto some larger sizes as you get close to goal. I wish I had. A toilet riser will be your best friend. They're about 20.00 at Wal-Mart and a God send when it comes to getting on and off the toilet. I found that a neoprene knee brace makes a heck of a compression garment for my arms. Most of my arm swelling is around the elbow and the knee brace works wonderfully. I can get it off and on much better than Ace bandages and it's ventilated so it's not as hot as the ACE wraps. Having my abs in the best shape I could pre-surgery REALLY helped. I didn't have much trouble getting up and down or sitting upbecause I was able to use my stomach muscles instead of my arms. Having a speaker phone was a great help. It was hard to bend my arm enough to talk on the phone so the speaker phone was great. Probably the best thing I did was to have realistic expectations. When you've weighed almost 300 pounds most of your adult life, you can't expect to come out of this looking like a super model. I'm not perfect, but I'm ecstatically happy with my results. Maybe some of the others that have been through plastics can add to this. Connie

A friend and I are seriously thinking about plastic surgery. Who did your surgery and where? How much did it cost? And how painful was it really? How much time did they say your arms would need to heal and not hurt or be so swollen?

Connie, you post about ps was the best i ever read. Thanks for ralistic advice and suggestions. Now girl, tell us how you look after the surgery.

Connie, Thanks for the great tips! I just got off the phone this morning with scheduling my P.S. (abdominoplasty with lipo) So, it's good to get your tips. I wondered about size changes and whether I would be able to drop a size or not??? I wear anything from a size 8 to a 14 right now; depending on the brand and the cut. I'm hoping that if I don't have to tuck loose skin an flab into my jeans that I may be able to get into a size smaller some day! I have 2 1/2 months to go so I will be protein loading (3 to 5 protein drinks a day) and will be increasing my exercise (and CORE workout) in hopes of having an easier recovery and a non-eventful surgery. I"m also going to up my iron since I have low tendencies with surgery. I'm going to get my full lab screening done in 2 weeks so I"ll know if there are any other things I need to tweak before surgery. You are a brave girl to have 2 major surgeries at once. I've decided to break mine up and will have the 2nd one in the winter. Thanks again for the tips! Joyce

Connie--thank you so much for your posting. I have a few questions for you. Were you self-pay? How long was your surgery (time)? Outpatient? Inpatient? Time off work? What factors did you consider when deciding on using this surgeon? I'm 7 months out and down approx 120 pds with just under 100 pds or so to go...but am already thinking about PS as everything is heading so far south and the extra skin....We are the same age and I like the idea of doing 2 procedures at the same time. Did he do any type of lower body lift with the abdominoplasty? Thanks in advance! jmf