Lift, Augmentation, Tummy Tuck & Lipo- Scheduled!

[AvaFern 3,516]

I had my sleeve surgery last year on 9/9/13 and I have lost 79 pounds since. I am now about 29 pounds away from my goal and today I scheduled a breast augmentation and lift, a Tummy Tuck and Lipo for my flanks, lower back, and inner thighs. Until this week I had never heard the words mastoplexy and abdominoplasty before, so I added two words to my vocabulary by just visiting the plastic surgeon. I had hoped for only a regular boob job (aka: just a minor augmentation) but apparently, they also require a bit of a lift too. The extra scar concerned me a bit, but I suppose I can either have a scar or droopy girls, so the scar it is!

I had also originally only wanted lipo on my lower stomach, but my surgeon felt that the full tummy tuck would give me more the results I was looking for. He nixed my idea for lipo on my knees (apparently they aren't as fat as I think they look) but agreed with lipo on my inner thighs, flanks, and lower back/ upper bum area. I was also pleased to find out that he only recommends wearing the compression garment for 2-4 weeks as opposed to another place that required it for 2 months. I had originally intended to have the lipo done at a dermatology office, but they required each area be done on a different day and I couldn't imagine drawing out my misery that long, plus an additional surgery with the plastics guy.

My only bummer in this situation (outside of the lift requirement issue) was that my arms can't be fixed without either doing some serious lifting or with a brachioplasty. I've always had biggish arms so I'm hoping that with a little work in the gym I can tame the flabbiness a bit without having any surgery on them. Anyone had success with that?

I decided to wait 2 months so that I could be within the 15% of weight loss goal that is recommended before having cosmetic surgery. Everything is scheduled for the same six hour surgery on August 20! I paid my deposit and this time 8 weeks from now I will be quite miserably in pain, lol.

My questions for you all would be...

Has anyone else had this particular combination of surgeries done at the same time or even individually? How horrible was the pain? I feel like I have a generally high tolerance level, but reading the descriptions of the surgeries and watching them online makes me cringe in anticipation of what looks roughly equivalent to being chewed on by a shark.

For those of you who have had procedures done, what was your recovery time like...both mentally and physically? I can do my job laying in bed if neccessary, but I'd rather not be working while I'm high on pain medication. How long until you could switch to basic Tylenol or something that didn't make you loopy? Also, how long until you could walk like you didn't just have your skin cut off?

Ladies...what cc size did you have placed? My surgeon feels confident we've chosen the right size, but I'm still nervous about waking up and looking like I have two cantaloupes on my chest.

Overall...if you did have any of these surgeries done, are you happy with the results?

Is there anything I need to absolutely have with me or at home after surgery? Like before the sleeve I had my gas-x strips and a heating pad...things I would never have thought of without reading through all the posts on here!

Any experiences anyone wants to share would be greatly appreciated!

Thank-you!

[jenngottaloseit 89]

i hope everything goes well for you and wishing you a speedy recovery

[Kfree401 16]

AvaFern, please, please find out everything that you can about your surgeon. I almost feel like I shouldn't say this because I don't want to unduly alarm you, but I feel compelled, so here I go...my beautiful 49 year old sister died 3 days after having all of the same procedures done at one time. She was a successful sleever and she decided to go for this body sculpting about 2 years after her sleeve. She was in surgery for about 10 hours and they removed about 1500 ml of fat. She went home from the hospital and went into cardiac arrest the very next day. A very fine team of skilled doctors and nurses could not save her.

Maybe there are a lot of details that you have left out about your decision-making process, but it sounds like you went in for a consultation with a few modest requests and left with a long list of stuff to be done. I am really not trying to discourage you with my horror story, I'm only begging you to be as fully informed as possible. Please make sure you are going into this with your eyes wide open. I can't change what happened to her, but I think it's important to share her tragedy with other good people so that plastic surgeons (not all are greedy and unethical) can't harm innocents. My heart is heavy as I write this, and I'm wavering as I prepare to post the message, but as I said earlier, I feel compelled to do so. Good luck and may your journey take you where you are happy.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Kfree I am so sorry for your loss and it is a good reminder...

Ok, it's well known I had multiple procedures at once. I don't take that lightly however. I wasn't sure how to reply because I want to be supportive,I had multiple procedures,but there is something uncomfortable for me in your description. I have no idea if my comments are on target but it is what I would mention to a friend to encourage her to seek more information.

Let me start by saying none of the USA surgeons I consulted would do a 10hour surgery due to the risk of general anesthesia. My surgery was 9hours and was done with a twilight sedation combined with an epidural. The surgeon and his anesthesiologist specializes in this situation and had done hundreds of similar jumbo procedures before me. I was healthier and fitter than many. He has never lost anyone, never had someone go into ICU, but I still recognised it was a big deal to do so much at once.

I had no Lipo and I am concerned with how much you describe. I have talked to several people who had lots of lipo and it is very painful and does not always deliver results. Have you seen before and afters of patients who are similar to you that had all that lipo? I know very little about lipo but I thought the garments are key to lipo results so it worried me that he is doing so much but you expect to wear the garments only 2-4 weeks. I was required to wear garments for 6 weeks and then voluntarily wore stage 2 ones another 6-8 weeks on my tummy for my own comfort.

Do you have realistic expectations of results-that comes from looking at similar people.

Why not wait until you are at goal? You were sleeved less than a year ago. I am unclear if you plan to try to get to goal between now and Aug 20th but now is the time to be building up strength, having lots of Protein, preventing anemia etc. It really isn't the time to try to crash diet lose weight. Now I did lose a few pre op because I was a bundle of nerves....but I was getting lots of Protein, wholesome foods and exercise.

How many consults did you have? I had several and was shocked by the range of opinions and recommendations....very educational. Does your surgeon have great reviews on real self.com?

I had a breast lift and augmentation. I was lucky that he was able to do it without the T scar...just the lollipop. 8 months out and breast scar is invisible. For me I wanted to see tons of breast pix for fear of looking artificial. I am pleased with my results.

On the pain topic...I experienced very little. I had strong meds the first 3 days while I was in the clinic and after that Tylenol. However,ladies who had lipo hurt more. The recovery was long slow and difficult because of the severe restrictions on activity. I found that harder than expected.

So I apologize if I offended and it could be that my concerns are way off base. All I know is what I learned going through my journey and the year I spent researching, doing consults and most insightful was the time on social media with fellow patients of my surgeon Dr Sauceda. I followed stories of perfect outcomes and a few complications. It's why I was hardcore about following Dr orders.....I wanted to do way more activity but that is strongly correlated with certain complications so I went stir crazy instead.

Edited June 27, 2014 by CowgirlJane

[AvaFern 3,516]

AvaFern, please, please find out everything that you can about your surgeon. I almost feel like I shouldn't say this because I don't want to unduly alarm you, but I feel compelled, so here I go...my beautiful 49 year old sister died 3 days after having all of the same procedures done at one time. She was a successful sleever and she decided to go for this body sculpting about 2 years after her sleeve. She was in surgery for about 10 hours and they removed about 1500 ml of fat. She went home from the hospital and went into cardiac arrest the very next day. A very fine team of skilled doctors and nurses could not save her.

Maybe there are a lot of details that you have left out about your decision-making process, but it sounds like you went in for a consultation with a few modest requests and left with a long list of stuff to be done. I am really not trying to discourage you with my horror story, I'm only begging you to be as fully informed as possible. Please make sure you are going into this with your eyes wide open. I can't change what happened to her, but I think it's important to share her tragedy with other good people so that plastic surgeons (not all are greedy and unethical) can't harm innocents. My heart is heavy as I write this, and I'm wavering as I prepare to post the message, but as I said earlier, I feel compelled to do so. Good luck and may your journey take you where you are happy.

I am so very sorry that you lost your sister. Thank-you for telling me your story. My doctor has a 5/5 on RealSelf and he's probably the best in my region. I actually went to him after I had already scheduled Lipo with another office because I wanted him to do my augmentation. The first time I met with him I mentioned I was doing lipo elsewhere and he did not mention having anything else done at that time. I then went back 2 days later and asked what he thought of the lipo recommended and at that point he suggested the Tummy Tuck. Everything that was suggested by him was something that I brought up first, so I did not feel as if they were selling me on something I didn't need.

I am nervous about the surgery, but I did research it and the surgeon very well. Again, thank-you for your post and I'm sorry that your family lost your sister.

[AvaFern 3,516]

Kfree I am so sorry for your loss and it is a good reminder...

Ok, it's well known I had multiple procedures at once. I don't take that lightly however. I wasn't sure how to reply because I want to be supportive,I had multiple procedures,but there is something uncomfortable for me in your description. I have no idea if my comments are on target but it is what I would mention to a friend to encourage her to seek more information.

Let me start by saying none of the USA surgeons I consulted would do a 10hour surgery due to the risk of general anesthesia. My surgery was 9hours and was done with a twilight sedation combined with an epidural. The surgeon and his anesthesiologist specializes in this situation and had done hundreds of similar jumbo procedures before me. I was healthier and fitter than many. He has never lost anyone, never had someone go into ICU, but I still recognised it was a big deal to do so much at once.

I had no Lipo and I am concerned with how much you describe. I have talked to several people who had lots of lipo and it is very painful and does not always deliver results. Have you seen before and afters of patients who are similar to you that had all that lipo? I know very little about lipo but I thought the garments are key to lipo results so it worried me that he is doing so much but you expect to wear the garments only 2-4 weeks. I was required to wear garments for 6 weeks and then voluntarily wore stage 2 ones another 6-8 weeks on my tummy for my own comfort.

Do you have realistic expectations of results-that comes from looking at similar people.

Why not wait until you are at goal? You were sleeved less than a year ago. I am unclear if you plan to try to get to goal between now and Aug 20th but now is the time to be building up strength, having lots of Protein, preventing anemia etc. It really isn't the time to try to crash diet lose weight. Now I did lose a few pre op because I was a bundle of nerves....but I was getting lots of Protein, wholesome foods and exercise.

How many consults did you have? I had several and was shocked by the range of opinions and recommendations....very educational. Does your surgeon have great reviews on real self.com?

I had a breast lift and augmentation. I was lucky that he was able to do it without the T scar...just the lollipop. 8 months out and breast scar is invisible. For me I wanted to see tons of breast pix for fear of looking artificial. I am pleased with my results.

On the pain topic...I experienced very little. I had strong meds the first 3 days while I was in the clinic and after that Tylenol. However,ladies who had lipo hurt more. The recovery was long slow and difficult because of the severe restrictions on activity. I found that harder than expected.

So I apologize if I offended and it could be that my concerns are way off base. All I know is what I learned going through my journey and the year I spent researching, doing consults and most insightful was the time on social media with fellow patients of my surgeon Dr Sauceda. I followed stories of perfect outcomes and a few complications. It's why I was hardcore about following Dr orders.....I wanted to do way more activity but that is strongly correlated with certain complications so I went stir crazy instead.

Thank-you for your thoughts and no...not offended at all! I went to two different places for the lipo..the first was a dermatology office and the second was the doctor who was already doing my lift and augmentation. He has had excellent results, I have read his scholarly published articles, and his reviews online are excellent.

He capped my surgery at 6 hours...so fortunately I will not be in there as long as you! I have looked at the before and after pictures and it does seem to be what I'm looking for. I wanted to be within 10 pounds of goal before the surgery, which since I have 2 months leaves me plenty of time to drop my last 20. Also, late August is really the one time of year where I can schedule the procedure around work and I wanted to be fully healed before my birthday in November.

I am relieved to know that you did not have a lot of pain, although I'm sure the lipo will increase mine quite a bit. My doctor has also never had any major complications with surgery, but like you, I do recognize the gravity of such a long procedure. I just want all of the misery to be at once instead of dragging it out for months at a time. I'm very active and not being able to do much of anything for at least a month makes me nervous- forget not being able to do anything for longer than that.

Thank-you for your thoughts- I appreciate it!

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Okay, I am relieved to hear - 5-6 hours is what most usa plastic surgeons cap it due to the general anesthesia so that sounds good.

Arms - well, all the Julian Michael's workout DVDs in the kingdom did not get rid of my extra arm skin...haha... it took plastics. I will say that I didn't have any fat left on my arms by the time I went into surgery but i have a muscular body type so have good definition, but not alot of bulk. Of course, I lost over 160# and more like 185# from my lifetime high... so I had skin!

Your procedures are different than mine but one thing to think about is putting stuff in reach for the first 2 weeks. I am not sure if it is due to the breast work or the arm work, but I wasn't supposed to do a bunch of reaching and lifting etc - even light things. My caretaker put a towel on the counter with drinking glasses, plates, flatware - so I didn't have to reach over my head or struggle with a drawer or anything. Not sure it was absolutely needed, but it was a nice to have.

Line up some books, movies, friends to visit whatever charges you up and helps with boredom. Do NOT do what I did which was binge on all seasons of Walking Dead on netflix. What a freaking depressing show!!! LOL

Even though I had nearly two weeks of nursing care, I still needed help after i got home - mostly with my garments. Talking those bad boys on and off for the daily shower and bandage changing routine was not something I could do myself at first. I am thinking yours will be simpler since I had a lower body lift plus other procedures. I think with a Tummy Tuck, they use a binder which is easier to manage. I am not sure how they compress you after Lipo, but you might be shocked at how challenging those garments can be especially if you still have drains or whatever.

Good luck to you - you will love your new body!

[AvaFern 3,516]

Thanks Cowgirl Jane! Those are all great ideas. I didn't think about the difficulty with the compression garments but that def makes sense. I'm already cringing thinking about it. I looked at your pictures on your profile and you look fantastic! That's great motivation for me to keep maintaining the loss, dieting, exercising, and try to be less nervous about surgery.

[Kfree401 16]

So relieved to hear back from you AvaFern. I was actually a little anxious to be able to get back online tonight. I was really afraid I might have offended you and others with what might seem negative. It does sound as if you have done your research very well. And our family has since found out that the 5-6 hour time limit is all any reputable surgeon and anesthesiologist would consider for an elective surgery.

I am going through the process myself to get sleeved. I hope to get over all the necessary hurdles in the next few months. I wish you all the best and I will keep following your journey!

[perk4756 259]

How bad was the body sculpture pain honestly? Plz tell