Thigh Lift - 4 weeks out

So, what a difference a couple of weeks make!  I posted some pics of the progression from before to after.  They are on my profile, the password is "thighs".  The first weeks' pics are pretty hideous. The scars are indeed getting better, thank God!  

All in all, feeling better too but still not 100%.  I have some swelling still and tenderness.  Tightness too. But I am getting stronger and more mobile.  I gotta say... this surgery was WAY WAY WAY worse than my lower body lift.  Jury is still out on if I am going to think it was worth it.  Maybe at the 3 or 6 month mark, I'll have a better sense of that. 

I would love to see your pix but the password did not work for me. 

Hmmm not sure why thighs didn't work but I just removed the password so you should be able to see them now. 

How are you doing?

Thank you! I posted a bunch of comments. It truly is amazing how we transform during recovery.  I had a lot done during my stage 2 surgery and it took a few months for my naked body not to look like a surgery body. My thigh lift was an easy recovery but my arms were a b*tch.

You know, last month when I saw Dr. Capella in his office I had a tiny little procedure done on each arm. Well, two days later the right arm incision opened and took about 4 weeks to close, but is now tearing outside the incision. And just a few days ago the left incision got an opening. I hope to never have surgery on my arms again! I do not know why I would have healing issues with my arms and no healing issues with the rest of my body. I am 4 for 4 now with arm incision healing issues. 

So I saw Dr. Capella last month for a consult for my LAST surgery. Stage 3 is breast implants and I was scheduled for May 29. However, with my arm healing issues a friend urged me to post pone my surgery until Fall so that my body has mor time to heal. So I discussed it with Dr. C and he agreed it would be ideal to wait. So now I am trying to schedule my surgery for Sep 29. 

I am really very happy now. I am over the moon happy about my body and face. And that happiness and myphysical  transformation has changed me (just a bit) attitudinally. Plastic surgery was freeing in many ways. 

Forgive me for not remembering the details of your thigh lift recovery. What was so hard about it? My tummy tuck was by far the worst recovery of my plastic surgeries. 

I think the worse part of my thigh lift recovery was the lack of mobility and the utter hideousness of the scars. I didn't have that with my LBL. But for my thighs, the swelling which is painful, the tightness that feels like my skin is burned, the zingers of pain I was getting just made for a tough recovery plus I had the incision open and I have a dog ear on my left thigh.  

For my LBL, I was more emotionally prepared too. I knew that was a big deal and I was ready for it (in my head) but for the thighs, I assumed it couldn't be worse than the LBL and I was not really mentally prepared. I mean I had all my stuff ready, had the things I needed but in my mind I wasn't prepared for what the scars looked like or even the reduced mobility. It really bothered me, I wasn't sleeping well and I was exhausted. Plus I went back to work (working from home but still) way too early. So being my own worse enemy made this recovery much much worse. 

All of that lead to a lot of second guessing myself.  In all honesty, my thighs weren't that bad before. So the bang for the buck wasn't there to help me get thru it. Looking at the hideous scars, I kept thinking "why did I do this to myself."  Of course, being exhausted didn't help that frame of mind. I feel better about the decision now, but I still wonder if it was worth it. 

Yes, the emotional aspects of recovery can be really hard and unexpected. I understand as I have been there. I am looking forward to having my last surgery done and over with and moving on! I think in the end you will be happy with your choice to get the thighs done.

ok, you have peaked my curiosity...... can you please share your story about your "Brachioplasty" arm lift surgery?  I see you said it was a "B**#&".... I have my consult to learn about it this afternoon and I would love to hear from someone who had it and will give me the whole truth..... P.S. you look amazing by the way !!  Thanks......

The truth is that complications can happen even with the most brilliant surgeon and compliant patient. Complication, although rare, or even very rare in some cases, are a real possibility of surgery. It is then that you see what your doctor is made of. Is s/he taking care of you throughout recovery? 

Most patients it seems do not want to accept that possibility. There are patients I know (from a multitude of surgeons) who do not discuss their complications publicly. As such, I find that they happen more often than one would gather, based on reading online reviews or comments on forums like this. Again, complications are rare. When you see your surgeon today ask her/him what his/her complication rate is for brachioplasty.

Most common is skin dehiscence in the axilla. Patients I know who did not have this complication did not use their arms "at all" for weeks after surgery. This means you should not raise them above your shoulders. I did and both of my axilla got small openings. It is not painful, but it is a b*tch because it takes weeks to heal over and sort of burns, has an odd smell, requires keeping them dry with gauze, and not raising them above your shoulders. This is a minor complication and probably the most common one with brachioplasty, I believe. 

Trust is the most important element in the physician-patient relationship. Choose your surgeon carefully. I tell people over and over: you are not buying a procedure; you are buying a plastic surgeon. This is an amazing journey to go through, to transform from obesity to normalcy. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. My only regret is not doing it sooner. Good luck to you!!!!

Thank you so much for your quick reply and your honesty. I am the kind of person that wants to know all I can before I make an informed consent to something. I had not thought about asking for his complication rate from the arm procedure, so I have added that to my list of questions.  My appt is 5pm this afternoon, so it is all I can think about. I have another question that is kind of embarrassing, but I am going to go for it.... what about wiping in the bathroom after your arm surgery?  Since you have to be so careful so the incisions dont open, what about taking care of that little issue after the surgery?  Please dont tell me that my husband will have to do that for me.... because that might be a deal breaker!  He would be ok, but I would die of embarassment.... so how did you handle that?  Also, for the best recovery, is 4 weeks too much to ask for ?  I have short term disability and will apply for FMLA protection too, so it is just a matter of the surgeon giving me that long off. My "HR" dept said to ask for the max, get it approved, then if I come back early, that is easy to deal with... what do you think? Thanks again....

The only restriction is lifting your arms above your shoulders. So your question about toileting should not be a concern. I had my brachioplasty with three other procedures in one big surgery and I returned to the gym at 4-weeks post op with my surgeon's approval. Everyone responds to surgery and recovery differently. If it were me I would play it safe and ask for the Max time off.