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Female Tummy Tuck After Massive Weight Loss with Gastric Bypass
Kaye Bailey
It took me a long time, 3 years, about 1-million ab-crunches and
a few thousand miles on the treadmill before I gave in and
decided to have a tummy tuck. After having lost weight with
gastric bypass I was left with an apron of loose abdominal skin.
A tummy tuck was my last hope to get rid of it.
No matter how thin I appeared, how many compliments I received, I
always believed the belly bulge was the equivalent of a wart on
the tip of the nose. I was certain it entered the room before me
and people stared at it. I loathed how I looked naked.
A tummy tuck, abdominoplasty, is a procedure that flattens your
abdomen by removing extra fat and skin, and tightens muscles in
your abdominal wall. But be cautioned: This is a major surgery,
it is not the easy way out
I had the tummy tuck last fall. The surgeon cut me hip to hip: I
have a 20” scar to prove it. He removed the flap of skin, gave me
a new belly button and did some body sculpting with liposuction
on my hips and waist. Like the breast surgery, it was done in his
surgical suite and I went home that evening heavily medicated. I
rested in a reclining chair for several days. Everything was
painful and exhausting: sitting, standing, showering, eating. I
slept a lot for two weeks. I wore a surgical girdle to keep
everything in place.
The surgeon closed the wound with tape and I wore a surgical
drain for 10 days (sound familiar?) My body was quite swollen and
this messed with my head - - I expected to wake from surgery
swimsuit model perfect. Not so. In fact, my measurements after
surgery were actually greater than prior to surgery. The swelling
lasted, to a lesser degree, for about a month. The good news,
within 3 weeks I was back to my walking program on the treadmill.
Now, six months post-op I’m happy to report a firm flat tummy.
Who me? The Little Fat Girl!! The incision is still wicked ugly
red and tender: wearing jeans is uncomfortable. Still, I’m happy
I had the surgery, but don’t even consider asking me if I want
any more surgery. I hope I’m done with that forever!
Who Are the Best Candidates For a Tummy Tuck?
A tummy tuck is suitable for both men and women who are in good
general health overall.
It should not be confused with a liposuction (the cosmetic
surgery used to remove fat deposits), although your surgeon may
elect to perform liposuction as part of a tummy tuck.
Women who have muscles and skin stretched by multiple pregnancies
may find the procedure useful to tighten those muscles and reduce
that skin. A tummy tuck is also an alternative for men or women
who were obese at one point in their lives and still have
excessive fat deposits or loose skin in the abdominal area.
How a Tummy Tuck is Done
Depending on your desired results, this surgery can take anywhere
from one to five hours. The complexity of your particular
situation also will determine whether you have it completed as an
in-patient or outpatient procedure.
You will receive general anesthesia, which will put you to sleep
during the operation. It's important to have someone with you who
can drive you home. If you live alone, you also will need someone
to stay with you at least the first night after the surgery.
There are two options for a tummy tuck. You and your surgeon will
discuss your desired results, and he or she will determine the
appropriate procedure during your consultation.
Complete abdominoplasty
Your abdomen will be cut from hipbone to hipbone in this
procedure, the option for those patients who require the most
correction. The incision will be made low, at about the same
level as your pubic hair.
Your surgeon will then manipulate and contour the skin, tissue
and muscle as needed. Your belly button will have a new opening
if you undergo this procedure, because it's necessary to free
your navel from surrounding tissue. Drainage tubes may be placed
under your skin and these will be removed in a few days as your
surgeon sees fit.
Partial or mini abdominoplasty
Mini-abdominoplasties are often performed on patients whose fat
deposits are located below the navel and require shorter
incisions.
During this procedure, your belly button most likely will not be
moved. Your skin will be separated between the line of incision
and your belly button. This type of surgery may also be performed
with an endoscope (small camera on the end of a tube). The
procedure may only take up to two hours, again, depending on your
own personal situation and the complexity of your needs.
Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having
maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award
winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of
http://www.livingafterwls.com
LivingAfterWLS is a no-nonsense resource for people Living After
Weight Loss Surgery. Our community is growing in numbers even as
we are shrinking in pounds. Together we support one another in
this lifestyle, that it turns out, is NOT the easy way out.
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