Abdominoplasty with upper arm lipo set for December - tips welcome!

[Jewelgirl04 106]

Hi all! I finally am taking the plunge and will be calling my plastic surgeon tomorrow to pay my deposit for a surgery date. It'll either be 12/20 or 12/27 and I'm both excited and nervous!

I started out at around 225 starting weight and then 203 pre-op on 1/22/15. I reached my goal of 145 on 12/24/15 (easy to remember!) and have been stable within 5 pounds of goal ever since. The main sore points for me have been my stomach and my upper arms with the excess skin. I refer to my stomach as having a deflated tired above my hip bones, though I am very slim around my waist, so that makes it even more disproportionate. My upper arms are not quite the "bat wings" I know so many others endure, but they are rather bulbous looking. The PS says the excess skin is around 3" on one and 4" on the other, but given my age (27), he recommended doing some Lipo to help get rid of any remaining obstacle preventing the skin from retracting (rather than going the brachioplasty route). He thinks that I will see it significantly retract in the next year after the procedure and since that is the surgery I was most fearful of, I am very much on board. So I'll have the upper arm lipo and an abdominoplasty with the horizontal incision.

I am an attorney and will be out of work for around 2 weeks, but will return to spend my time at a desk since I do not appear in court. I do commute into NYC from central New Jersey via bus, which is about 90 minutes each way. The procedure will be outpatient at a local hospital and I will be spending my recovery at my parents' house, so I'll have help. I have heard the pain/recovery is easier than the sleeve, so I am hopeful this is the case, but am wondering how long the swelling/tenderness will likely last.

I've browsed the board for weeks now, but there are SO many different threads and a ton of information to digest. I am hoping that some of you can please share any tips that you have for recovery, whether it's compression garments, scar creams/gels, or anything else that comes to mind. If anyone has had the same arm lipo procedure the doc is recommending, please let me know how it went! Responses are greatly appreciated!

[Sosewsue61 3,185]

I did not hear that the pain was less than the sleeve, I heard the opposite!! That would be good though. I read that micropore tape helps with keeping incision from spreading apart, and massage when you are healed enough to allow. Definitely wear compression garments - get 2 - one to wear, one to wash. Will you have drains?

[Jewelgirl04 106]

Oh, dear. Well, my biggest issue was finding a comfortable position to sleep, so hopefully that'll remain my biggest issue as a side/stomach sleeper. The pain was otherwise manageable once they started me on a routine of meds post-op and I stopped feeling like I'd been hit by a bus.

Thank you for the suggestions about micropore tape and the extra compression garment!

i was told that I will have a drain.