7 Years Post-op and 2 children later - skin removal??

October 5th was 7 years since surgery. Two beautiful boys later and still have maintained my weight loss. Just curious if any of my fellow WLS patients have had skin removal??? I have been thinking about it but not sure about recovery time. I have a 5 year old and a 4 month old so I can't be down and out for long. Anyone that has had this, please let me know of your experiences with it. Thanks!!

I had a lower body lift post WLS. It's not an easy recovery...  way more pain than WLS (you need drugs for a bit for sure), no lifting beyond a water bottle, stiff can't stand up straight for awhile. It is a few weeks recovery for sure. I had a few procedures at once (LBL, Breasts & Arms) so it was 7 weeks for me but most say they are OK-ish by a month or so. At 5 years old your kiddo would understand Mommy has an owie and has to be careful, gentle hugs, etc. and the baby (as long as you have support Dad, Grandma, etc. to care for them for a few weeks) well that is definitely better than a toddler who wouldn't get it and fling themselves on you eeek. Really this might be a nice window of time for you. 

Make sure your labs are good (iron levels especially) and you are upping your protein pre & post op.

Best wishes to you!!

I had LBL where I was supposed to have my thighs done too, but due to how much work and how long I was under for body, I didn't get my thighs done at the same time. LBL HURT. Recovery was painful and long, about 6 weeks. I had to use a walker and tried to get back to straight posture but couldn't, it was stitched so tight. I I had thighs done about 1 year later, and that hurt even worse than LBL, it I wasn't down as long. If I had 2 kiddos that age, I wouldn't do it, but that's just me. You're not allowed to pick up anything over 5-10lbs for a long time so I would think you'd have to have round the clock care for your 4 month old.

It really depends on exactly what you are thinking about having done.  

If you are only looking at excess skin removal and no muscle tightening, the recovery isn't bad at all.  When it is only skin that has been cut, there is much less pain and it heals much more quickly.

If you are looking to do a full abdominoplasty (tummy tuck with both skin removal and muscle tightening), that is more difficult and a lot of the recovery period depends on how tight the surgeon makes the muscles. There will probably be lifting restrictions for about 6 weeks.  (When I went back to work, I could stand up straight, but after walking a few steps, I could feel myself hunching back over because it was still so right and sore.) The abdominoplasty is what most people have done

If you are looking at a full body lift, that is even more recovery time as the previous respondents have said.

If you are considering having an arm lift, it may be difficult to do much with your arms for several weeks, especially raising them up above your head or lifting anything heavy. Some people find the arms pretty easy with minimal pain and swelling.  I, however, had quite a bit of pain and swelling, but I also had incisions through my armpits and that was the part that caused most of the pain.

Lora

You may want to have a consult to see how long the surgeon says you will not be able to hold your 4 month old. As someone else said, unless you have someone come stay with you to care for your baby, I would wait.

Thank you for your response. I am a stay ay home mom and the one that takes care of the children 90% of the time. I will take your advice and consult a surgeon and see what they say. If I have to wait, that's okay too. :)