Question:
I am 6 months post op and am considering a tummy tuck

I am 6 month post op, and have lost about 85 lbs. I am about 11 lbs from my goal weight of 120. I am thinking of having a tummy tuck. I just wanted some thoughts from people who have had one. What you think of it, would you recommend it, how long are you off your feet,etc???? Thanks Dana    — DANA T. (posted on April 7, 2002)

April 7, 2002
Dana - you should wait until your weight has stabilized for at least six months. Generally speaking, most surgeons recommend waiting until the 18 month post-op mark, unless there is a severe medical problem (extremely large pannus, hernia, etc.) I had my reconstructive surgery done right at 18 months, and had a full abdominoplasty, hernia repair and breast lift. Surgery was at 3:00 in the afternoon, I went home the next morning. I was off work for three weeks. Felt really, really bad for 7 - 10 days, and improved from there on out. -Kate-
   — kateseidel

April 8, 2002
Dana - I'm 9 months post op and just had a tummy tuck done two weeks ago. My DR did recommend that I wait as long as possible, but I had an umbilical hernia that needed to be fixed and also I had met my out of pocket expenses with my insurance so they were paying everything at 100% so I went ahead and had it done. The plastic surgeon said the only reason to wait is having another surgery so soon is a little hard on our bodies. He was right. The pain is not to bad (better than the RNY) but man am I tired! I went back to work part time 5 days after surgery, I think if I had it to do over again, I would have scheduled at least two weeks off work. You can get around at home pretty good a few days after the surgery, but you'll need lots of rest.
   — Renee D.