Question:
Having Tummy Tuck on Dec. 31st...what can i expect??

I have heard that the Tummy Tuck is worse than RNY. What can i expect pain wise. How long before i'll be up and about. Any suggestions or tips?    — Dianne B. (posted on December 17, 2002)

December 17, 2002
A flat tummy for the New Year! I had mine six days ago and so far, so good. It was worse than the RNY, but pain level was never over a 4 with the meds except when laughing/coughing. Best of luck to you!
   — Lisa N M.

December 17, 2002
Everyone has different experiences with surgery, general anesthesia, pain tolerance, etc... I had a panniculectomy/brachioplasty last Novemeber, and I still would have to say that it was the most "comfortable" surgery I ever had (including my lap RNY). I had a large anchor incision and truly expected to be pretty miserable. However, I was up walking in my room the same night as my 6 hour surgery, and walking in the hall of the hospital the next day...not even bent over! I had one injection of Demerol in the Recovery Room, and one more after I got to my room, then I took a few Percocet over the next couple of days, then needed nothing. Panniculectomy patients seem to have much less discomfort generally than abdominoplasty patients because with a "panni" there is removal of excess skin and fat only...no work on the underlying muscle structure. I was back to work full-time in less than 2 weeks. I came home from the hospital with 4 drains...two were removed in the office two weeks post-op, the third was removed at three weeks, and the last "stubborn" one was removed at seven weeks. They were painless while they were in, and painless when they were removed...just a nuisance to find a way to pin them to my clothing so that they weren't noticeable at work. I had a great plastic surgery experience....I wish the same for you!
   — Diana T.

December 17, 2002
I thought the tt was a piece of cake in comparison to the RNY. There not cutting muscles the way they do during the RNY. There mostly just cutting away excess skin. On a pain scale of 1 to 10, RNY was a 9 and tt was a 3. I got up the next morning after the tt and walked around with no problems and was able to stand straight.
   — Patty H.

December 18, 2002
I had an abdominoplasty and inner thigh lift on a Monday and stayed two days in the hospital. The thighs were much worse than the tummy. Anyway, I had a class that started the following Monday and I went. I really would say that it doesn't compare to the RNY, for one thing you can still eat after, LOL. My surgery took over 6 hours and the worst part for me was that my brain seemed foggy for about two weeks after.
   — cindy Q.

December 18, 2002
I had a tummy tuck, with liposuction on my hips, four weeks ago. I thought it to be much worst than the gastric-bypass. I had three tubes coming from my incision,which goes from one end of my hips to the other. The tubes had to stay in for three weeks since they had to remove so much extra skin. The tubes were inconvenient and painful. I found it hard to move for the first two days since I was in alot of pain. The couch was my bed for the first 2.5 weeks because the bed was too hard to sleep in and move around on. You will have to sleep with your legs propped up. In addition, You will be unable to walk straight for a few weeks afterward. I am finally beginning to feel better and able to move around much better since the tubes were removed. The swelling seems to come and go. Today is the first day I had woken to my fingers that are swollen like basketballs. You will have to wear support garments to help control the swelling. After the second week I began to feel depressed, crying all of the time, feeling irritated at having to mostly stay in bed, taking it easy, for three weeks. The result so far is a totally flat stomach. It will be some time before I will be able to fully appreciate the surgery since I still cannot get into my clothing due to sweeling. All in all everyone is different. It depends on the surgeon, and how you handle pain and discomfort.
   — twenc

December 19, 2002
Dianne, Hello. Congratulations on your upcoming surgery. I know you are excited. I had an abdominoplasty and brachioplasty (arms)done on Dec. 4. I am healing nicely and I have been off my pain pills since the 11th. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. To me the worst thing was the binder. It felt like it was cutting my air off the first few days. I got used to that. I couldn't eat very much either. I weighed l75 lbs. the day of surgery. This morning I weighed 161. The doctor told me he took off 7 lbs. of skin. I still have one drain and some swelling, but I am now wearing a medium in stretch pants, size 8-10. I thought I would never see the day. It seems so strange looking down and not seeing the hanging skin. It is very exciting and I wish you the same luck as I have had. Good Luck and have a speedy recovery. Jeanie
   — Jeanie B.