What to expect?

My husband got the Fobi Pouch 2.5 years ago, and lost about 300 lbs.  He is wanting to get a tummy tuck and get rid of a lot of the excess skin, but he's really nervous about the recovery.  Does anyone know what the recovery time is, and how it compares to recovery from WLS?  How soon will he able to go back to work?  It is mostly a desk job, not too much labor.  Will he be in much pain for very long?  Thanks!

This depends largely on the plastic surgeon, the technique and the tools he uses.

For example, I never never never never do a "tummy tuck" without using (1) an (On-Q) pain pump  that goes home with the patient and works for 6 days or so post-op. This is filled with "novicaine" and continuously runs, dripping the medicine over the (rectus) muscle repair, between the skin and muscle. It makes a tremendous difference; and (2) Rx for a muscle relaxant like Flexeril. Have your hubby ask for these two things (or see if his ps uses them). A ps who does post-MWL sx ought to be quite familiar with these. And well (3) I give Rx for "regular" pain med (Lortab or whatever).

Also, the degree of abdominal wall muscle tightening being done will affect recovery some.

But in "my hands", I tell folks that they'll be laying low for 1-2 weeks and it will be 6 weeks or so before they feel "almost" or essentially normal. I'll hold off on certain physical activity for longer periods depending on the situation. But the more "brain and less braun" a patient's job is, the sooner they can work. I don't like patients taking Rx pain med during the day when they drive, so that's a week to 1.5 weeks, up to two.

Hope this helps.

First and foremost, as with any surgery it is imperative that he follows the protocol of his surgeon to a T.  No "I read on a message board..." or "I googled..."  If he has questions about things that come up in his recovery, the best advice is to call his surgeon.  

I had quite a bit plastic surgery within a short period of time.  You can see my siggy for what I had done.  For my first round of surgery, the pain was not near what I expected it to be.  I managed it well with percocet for the first few days, then Tylenol when I remembered to take it.  I also have a high tolerence for pain. The second round of surgery was a little more difficult because I had problems with the drain in my right leg.  

I have mostly a desk job and could have returned to work two weeks after each surgery.  Since I was doing them so close together, I opted to take all the time off between them.  It helped a lot because as a safety catch, I had iron infusions because of my anemia.  I did return to work two weeks after my second surgery - but I worked from home and my company was flexible with my hours.  

The key component of my job requires me to travel every week.  My ps did not want me on a plane no sooner than 4 weeks after my second surgery.  So two weeks I worked from home, then I was able to fly and resume closer to normal work activities.

With both surgeries I managed pain with percocet while I was not working.  It's important to note that everyone handles pain differently.  WLS was the most difficult recovery for me, yet, I didn't take any pain meds when I got home.  That could have been why it was so difficult.  Plastics and other surgeries, not nearly as bad - then again, I followed the advice the surgeons gave me and managed the pain through drugs once I got home.