Doc's Different Protocols... LBL, Extended TTs, TTs

Surgery - Belt Lipectomy

Date - June 5, 2013

How long did you stay in the hospital - 1 night

Did you get out of bed at the hospital - Yes. They wanted to make sure I could get up to pee so the catheter could come out. I could, it did, and I got up many times after that on my own.

Binder or no binder - Binder

Compression garment - Nope. He's never even spoken of one.

Drain placement and how many - 4, one at each hip bone area, 2 coming out of my mons area

Type of dressing and how long has it stayed on - Tiny piece of gauze over belly button with the clear huge tape for one week. Entire slice line had steri strips and the clear tape for 1 week. Gauze pads and white tape over JP drain insertion areas. Change these frequently as they leak. At 1 week follow up today, everything came off. GROSS! And oh the pain! My poor skin is screaming. I feel so raw. Just binder back on now.

Showering - One week post op when all but two JPs were removed. 

Pain meds - Percocet/Acetamin. 5-325 mg. one every six hours. ROTFLMAO. Right. :/     Try four.  Trying to cut back now. 

Now entering swell hell I believe.

Surgery - Lower Body Lift

Date - April 23, 2013

How long did you stay in the hospital - 1 night but I begged to stay a second and was told it wasnt necessary and expensive. 

Did you get out of bed at the hospital - yes, religiously.  Even though I was in the WORST uncontrolled pain of my LIFE, with two clotting factors that cause me blood clots and pulmonary embolisms and a baby at home- I FORCED myself to get up and walk regularly.  The fear of death and leaving my baby was the only thing that kept me moving. 

Binder or no binder - Binder

Compression garment - Yes, although it was ordered 2 sizes too big, so it didnt do anything.  So, I wore the binder over it.

Drain placement and how many - 4, one at each hip bone area, 2 coming out of my mons area.  Came out 1 week postop.  Have nasty contracted scars from these.

Type of dressing and how long has it stayed on - None.  Just lots and lots of glue to hold me together.  whiiiich, didnt work, pretty much my entire incision from thigh to thigh around my back opened up.

Showering - i cant really remember, I want to say it was after the drains came out.

Pain meds - Oxycodone 5mg.  Didnt do anything.  Bumped it to 15mg, still nothing.  Added Valium and Baneadryl- still nothing.  Pain was completely out of control.  Ended up on Fentanyl patch at 50mcg an hour, with STILL no relief.  But, the Drs basically gave up on trying to manage my pain and labeled me a drug addict- so Ive been in pain for 8 weeks now.

Oh no, P. I'm so sorry. Your experience sounds like my bypass nightmare. Took me five years to get the nerve up to go under the knife again. Please be strong and hang in there. You will survive this and you will be okay. I know those experiences and fears and I wish I could somehow make you see it'll get better. The pain WILL cease and you WILL be okay. {{HUGS}}

I live in Israel and if having surgery in "public" hospital and not going private, health care system works similar to NHS in UK. Long waiting period for surgery but once in the system treatment is quick explanatory and respectful.
TT 8/08/11: in hospital day before for final pre-ops and intake. Surgery recovery and on to the Ward. Nurses and explanations and compression pump on legs for 24 hours and urine catheter and tummy binder. No shower for 48 hours and not alone but with help from nurse or aide or if family or friend. I had inverted T cut and live far away. I had two drains in moms and when were removed at 30cc or below. I was in hospital for I think ten days and returned for weekly clinic appointments. And then had slough to gangrene and was again in hospital for debridement and wound vac treatment.
On 30/07/12 I had Breast Lift
Front closing bra and thin tubing drains were removed following morning. Was in for five days. A couple of weeks later after weekly clinic visits, my right areola incisions opened. The conflicting opinions and treatment in my city HMO vs my PS caused me to be read mittens and day surgery to recluse the incisions. Restitching was not a success and slowly reopened. Breasts totally healed by November.
I now suffer from dog-ears on the sides of the breasts (their shape though not symmetric are way do much better than the hanging sausage I had!) I have to go thru a medical committee at the hospital to see if they are willing to do what we all agree needs to be done as the docs and I know I have had these wound healing issues. Strangely and Thank GD I do not have diabetes (in fact my HbA1c is too low at 3.7 and I eat things that are sweet. And I even did blood test for Zinc and it was too high.
I do not regret any of my surgeries and I clearly remember reading and signing the consent forms. I fantasize on having my inner thighs and am in Appeal via HMO and Ministry of Health while still dealing with constant pain from the dog-ears.
Mikimi in Israel

Thank you so much for sharing your unique (to most of us) experience. We're all fighting the same fight and our lives are in the hands of others. Much good health to you, Mikimi!

Surgery - Lower Body Lift and breast lift

Date - November 9, 2012

How long did you stay in the hospital - 1 night at the hotel next to the surgical center

Did you get out of bed at the hospital - yes, got up at surgery center to get into the wheelchair, got into the car, got out of the car at the hotel, and then got up as needed to go to the bathroom

Binder or no binder - Binder and post surgical bra placed on at surgery center

Compression garment - went into Spanx at 2 weeks out and wore them for two weeks

Drain placement and how many - 4, two at the top of each thigh-two removed at 1st checkup ( a few days later) then the others removed the following week) 

Type of dressing and how long has it stayed on - I had gauze around the incision area taped with clear tape.  Doc pulled it off the morning after my surgery.  Had no oozing from my incisions.

Showering - Was allowed to shower the 2nd day

Pain meds - Valium every 4 hours (for muscle cramps) and Percocet. I really had very little pain and only took the pain meds the first week day and night, then only at bedtime the 2nd week. 

I found my surgeon's surgery protocol very interesting, in addition to the post surgery protocols that we are discussing in this thread. I was engaged in my procedure up until getting on the OR table, which I liked. I found the setting in which the surgery was performed and how I was treated to be very comforting and relaxing -- much more so that the traditional approach to surgery, which leaves me feeling mighty anxious. I wrote about it here: http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/160591/bariatr ic-life-tells-tummy

I wrote extensively about my tummy tuck experience. If you are interested, you can read it beginning here: http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/160586/bariatr ic-abdominoplasty-ch?ap=831

 

I added a few more points/questions to your original set that I find of interest:

Surgery - Tummy tuck and mons lift

Date - April 18, 2013

Surgeon: Dr. Joseph Capella

Surgeon's Certification: American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Specializes in Post-Bariatric Surgery Contouring - yes or no - Yes

Surgery performed in surgical center or hospital: Center of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery within a hospital complex. It was an awesome separate facility http://www.hackensackumc.org/our-services/surgical-services/ the-department-of-plastic-reconstructive-surgery/contact-us/

How long did you stay in the hospital - I stood one night in a rehabilitation center, not a hospital.

Did you get out of bed at the rehab - No. I was not permitted to get out of bed until the ultrasound was performed on my legs to prove there were no blood clots. 

Binder or no binder - Binder

Compression garment - No. My surgeon does not believe in them. I have used my hospital binder wrapped tight when I needed support. I also use Jockey Shapewear and love it!

Drain placement and how many - 2 coming out of my mons area (yes, super freaky but love that the scars are hidden in my hair).  They were removed 1 week postop. My surgeon did not have me measure the fluid output.

Type of incision - pie crust incision.

Type of dressing and how long has it stayed on - There was gauze on my wound but I do not recall when it was removed. I believe the PA may have removed it the next morning after surgery when he came to check me. I was so drugged up that I do not recall very much from that encounter. No steristrips or anything like that was used. No silicon gels or ointments for scarring either. 

Showering - allowed 2 days following surgery but I waited longer

Pain meds - Percocet 2 every 4-hrs for the first week, then codeine with acetaminophen for the second and weeks but I forget the dosage. I recall that I did ask for a refill on the acetaminophen with codeine for the 3rd week. Also, Initially the Percocet was supposed to be 2 every four hours then tapering down to 1 every 4 hours but the pain was too much for me so I asked my surgeon if I could stay with the higher dose.

 

PS I was on Lovenox, too

No dumb questions, right? What is pie crust incision? Please describe what that is. Thanks.

Not a dumb question at all. The incision looks literally like a pie crust. Rather than stitich the two raw edges of the incision together, the surgeon takes extra skin on each side and stitches that together. This creates a raised incision that looks like a pie crust. This method alleviates the tension from the incision itself and places it on healthier, stronger skin. The risk of the incision opening up is significantly decreased. I had no problems whatsoever with my site and the piece crust incision flattened around week 4, I think. I am now 8 weeks post op and it is healing really nicely!