post-plastics questions

I am having a panniculectomy and tummy tuck at the end of the month. I'm also having my arms done. I have been searching through forums, but am having trouble finding consistent information. So maybe someone here can offer some advice.

1. What binders did you use and where did you get them? How long did you use them for?

2. What was your recovery time? How long were you off work?

3. How long were you in the hospital? What did you need while there?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get closer. I'm sure I'll get more info at my pre surgical visit, but would like to hear from some of you who have been there.

Thanks

may i ask who is doing your surgery???

i had tummy tuck and breast reduction together, 5 hours surgery, went home same day. 

my binders were part of the price. woke up with the bra and tummy binders on.

I would like to know all these too. I have my first appointment coming up soon. Also wondering how long the process is from first appointment to actual surgery roughly.

I only had a pannilectomy done on Sept 9 and I left to fly home on Sept 10, (afternoon).  I had my surgery in Scarborough and I live in Thunder Bay.

The binder was provided by my surgeon and I am currently on week 4 of wearing it and have almost 2 more weeks to go.  Your surgeon will tell you how long to wear it and I would assume that yours would be larger in size and you may have to wear longer since you are having a full TT. (Ask your surgeon if they provide it & how long)

Wow your arms at the same time..you are aware that both your upper and lower quadrants will be fairly difficult to move..not sure how much pain etc are involved with brachioplasty, but my surgeon doesn't do both because she says you need to be able to move at least one section of your body.

I was off two weeks in total (again not a full TT)...and then 1/2 days the following week

I couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, you never get any sleep

...I didn't need anything except for a toothbrush and comb...you will most likely have the unit on your legs to keep the blood circulating, therefore for the first few hours it's unlikely you will get up to use the bathroom, and if you do, the nurse has to unhook you for the leg stimulator thing.  As far as clothes you can't wear any because the nurses and your physician will want to check your sutures etc.

My (3) pieces of sage advise, are:  you will need to sleep on your back elevated for at least a couple of weeks and pay attention to the directions on how to get into and out of bed, if you do it incorrectly you WILL feel it.  I forgot only once!!

My surgeon instructed me that when you first get up from sitting or laying down ALWAYS make sur ethat for the first couple of minutes you walk hunched over like a 90 yr old lady...trying to straighten up immediately will cause a great deal of pulling on your sutures and it will hurt..after a couple of minutes you are able to straighten up

buy yourself a couple of really cheap t-shirts, make sure they are well washed and don't use fabric softner....cut the arms and neckline off and once your incision starts scabbing put the t-shirt inside the binder..or the itching and pressure on the main incision points will drive you bonkers.  Also ask the surgeon what types of creams you should us (make sure they don't have perfume), you may want to use something pure like sunflower, or coconut oil.  I am using vitamin E at the moment and will be switching to BioOil next week.

If I can help in any other way just send me a PM.

All the best

Thank you so much! That is exactly the kind of info I wanted to hear.

glad that maybe some of it is/was helpful, just please ask the specifics to your surgeon..a friend of mine who is a doctor said that I could use polysporin on my incision, when I checked with my post-care doctor he said definatly nothing with antibiotic type ingredients..so there goes to show different doctors different advise.

Have you searched the plastic surgery forum? Even though there are people from the states the information should be the same.

You can also find other sites that give good information - I use RealSelf as well.

I had a tummy tuck on August 15th. The surgeon provided the binders and actually after 2 weeks I switched to a smaller binder because I had stretched mine and the swelling had gone down a lot. I was off work for 2 weeks however the first week back I was very sore from walking around, etc. I had day surgery so was home by the evening.

As others have mentioned I hope you can find info about having both your arms and tummy done. I've read that the arms can be painful and you really can't use your abs the first week (so need to use your arms to get in and out of bed/chairs/car/etc).

Hi ya

i had my tummy tuck yesterday. I'm recovering in Victoria hospital, London.  I had a fleur de lis tummy tuxk with muscle repair.  Waking hurts. :-(

i woke up with my binder.  So surgeon provided it. My doc says to wear it for 4-6 weeks. 

Recibery time is at least 2 weeks but more likely 4. I have take  4-6 week

2 nights. Skillet and a magazine toiletries. Cell phone. Lol

I had the exact same surgery as you so would love to touch base/compare.

I didn't want to take time off (I'm a teacher as well) so did it before school started. Taking 4 weeks is smart. I only took 2 weeks off.