2 weeks Post Op hernia repair and LBL

I am not sure why I haven't posted sooner, I have posted snippets all over OH but still have post anesthesia Brain and just wasn't getting it together.

First I used Dr. Joseph Michaels in DC area. I love, love, love him. He is a specialist in this area, a phenomenal surgeon and a man of good character. He went the extra mile both in what he said and did multiple times.

Well things didn't turn out quite as planned. I was supposed to have a Lower Body Lift, Breast Lift and small Hernia Repair. Turned out the the cat scan report saying it was a small hernia was wrong, and it was a large hernia. I am thanking God I didn't have an emergency happen before scheduled surgery. What was supposed to be a 20 min. hernia repair was a 2 hour hernia repair.

So that being said the Breast Lift never happened that day. I had been under anesthesia for 8 hours and the breast lift is another 2-3 hours. He decided not to do it....He made the right decision. He felt so bad. He said I go on record as the first patient He didn't finish.

That being said I was already scheduled for my arms May 2nd so I will get the BL then.

Reading this forum I often heard about losing all the weight first, you won't lose weight from PS....yet you have this skin and it is hard to tell is it just skin or fat? Well I was happily surprised the amount of skin he took off for my circumferential LBL only weighed 4 1/2lbs. I felt that was validation that my body was ready for this procedure.

So I am 2 weeks out. I still have one drain. Started with 2. They weren't ready to come out when I left DC 8 days later.... so he Facetimed with me and coached me through removing  the first drain myself on day 10. Now he had told me I could ask my primary or Bariatric surgeon. My Primary said No, and I spoken to the nurse at the Bariatric office and she had said she thought he'd do it, but it is a reallllllly busy office and I could just see calling and them being "Oh! You can come in a week from Thursday"... so I was OK with doing it myself with supervision. Second drain seems to have stopped so that one will probably come out tomorrow.

A friend of mine came with me, and she was a Rockstar caretaker. No small thing. Camped out in a Hampton Inn in DC, got the Handicapped room. Brought my outdoor anti-gravity lounge chair with us so I could have some type of recliner. Literally felt like camping we brought so much stuff. Including buying a cheap electric tea kettle so I could have my tea. The room had a mini-fridge and a microwave....Plus Hampton Inns have breakfast, so it wasn't too bad with figuring out food.

I did faint after my first shower. Luckily I had said "I think I need to sit down" and the room office chair was there and I sat before I fainted. It was either Low BP or Low BS... My girlfriend called and Dr. Michaels was on the phone in 2 minutes.... I obviously don't remember much, but I came out of it OK. :)

I don't know how I would have managed the first three days if I had had the BL and limited use of my arms. I have a high pain tolerance generally but I don't know if the added bonus of a large hernia just made the pain and moving around nearly impossible the first three days. Luckily my friend kept on top of giving me the meds... again could never have done it myself.

I have lots of pics, just not sure how to make them OH-friendly

Today is the first day I felt pretty good all day and didn't 'hit a wall' 

Congrats!!! So glad that you are feeling better every day. I will probably look at Dr. Michaels too when I'm ready for surgery. Just not sure about traveling to DC from NC. Good luck with the continued progress!!!

Awesome!

I'm happy to read that I wasn't the only LBL-post-op to faint!  Glad you were OK.  Sounds like you're doing wonderful.  After having the LBL, I couldn't fathom how people get that AND arms done at the same time.  I definitely needed my arms.  And the pain - well, even after 2 C-sections and other various surgeries I wasn't quite prepared for it 

Can't wait to see your after-pictures! 

Hi NYMom222, Congrats on your surgery success, and what a great plan that you were doing the arms separately anyway, so the bl will work for you then :-)

I really debated whether or not to share this, but I will. I don't know how infrequently this happens, but I had trouble with my last drain removal. It is probably very rare, but I just don't know. 

Anyway, I was having my last 2 drains removed, and the with last one the tube came out, but the end part/wand thingy stayed behind. Dr. C had to cut me open and remove it, then stitched me up there in his office. It was actually no big deal, but I would have hated to be alone. 

I look forward to seeing pics too! Best to you in continued healing :-)

Well second drain is out, so all good. I did have to call him, because both times I didn't cut the wire in quite the right place. So a little piece of wire was still in me, the first time it came out easy, today it wasn't coming out. I ended up having to take a magnifying glass so I could see exactly what he was talking about, and put a latex glove on so I could get a good grip. I think because it was in longer the skin had grown around it a little.

Wow! So glad it all came out. I was squeamish and couldn't look at the procedure--cannot imagine doing it myself. Kudos!

Sorry to hear that you couldn't get done all the things you had planned for, but since it will still all happen in 2 surgeries that's a good outcome!

I remember how weird it feels having the drains pulled, kudos for doing that yourself!  Glad you're pleased with your results so far!

Congrats on your surgery success and very sorry on not being able to get everything done on that first run. I can only imagine the disappointment upon waking up.

I had a quick question. Did your insurance cover a good portion of the surgery due to the medical necessity of have to have the hernia repaired and if so what all did they cover.

I'm wondering as I have a large hernia and am planning a BL in conjunction with it but haven't talked to the insurance company as of yet. I also want to have my thighs done at the same time and of course that will be on my dime. Rich  

My hernia wasn't covered because I didn't use a participating physician. Out of 5 consults 3 PS were willing to do the repair themselves. The PS that participated in my plan wasn't willing... So if I could get skin removal approved his office said it would only cover $1000. I wasn't making my decision based on that. In the end when the hernia turned out to be large not small, Dr Michaels waived his surgery fee, it kinda became a wash between the two surgeries and I only ended up paying like $1200 more for anesthesia. So in the end that would've been cheaper than my co-pay. So it all worked out