My Plastic Surgery Journey

[kukuiokalani 97]

tomorrow morning, i am getting my excess tummy skin removed and my boobs reduced and lifted. i had rny gastric bypass in september 2022 and lost more than 200 pounds, highest weight 410, and my weight has been stable at 190. i saved up enough money to get plastic surgery in Tijuana, mexico, and my work, school, and holidays lined up to get it done!

im getting 360 lower body lift, Tummy Tuck with fleur de lys, and breast reduction and lift. i also want to get an arm lift and inner thigh lift sometime in the future.

im nervous for my surgery tomorrow morning, but i’m confident in my decision to have plastic surgery now, and trust my surgeon and medical team.

ive done everything i can think of to best prepare for surgery and make sure it’s as successful as possible: i have SO MANY medical supplies; i’ve been taking SO MANY Vitamins and Iron to make sure my hemoglobin levels are high enough; i’ve had iv infusions of iron, Vitamin C, and ozonized (definitely not the correct term) 120 ccs of my blood and pumped it back in; i’ve done too much research; and i’ve saved up thousands of dollars and dragged myself all the way to mexico and tomorrow’s the day!

ill update as i drag myself through yet another surgery and recovery! 😅 i also will take any recommendations for healing, post-op recovery, pain management, and expectations.

~kukui

[ChunkCat 727]

I replied on the other thread but just saw your pictures here. This is going to be an amazing surgery for you!!

[NickelChip 1,207]

I got to the photo with the little monkeys and burst out laughing. That made my day! Your weight loss is stunning and such a remarkable achievement. You look great, but I know you must be so eager to be rid of the excess skin.

This surgery is going to be so amazing for you, and you absolutely deserve it. I hope the recovery goes really well and as pain-free as possible.

It sounds like you're pretty much getting everything lifted and tucked as you possibly can! Would you mind sharing a ballpark figure of what that costs by going to Tijuana to have it done? All I know about costs in the US is it makes my eyes Water thinking about it.

Good luck to you!

[kukuiokalani 97]

On 12/15/2023 at 07:42, NickelChip said:

I got to the photo with the little monkeys and burst out laughing. That made my day! Your weight loss is stunning and such a remarkable achievement. You look great, but I know you must be so eager to be rid of the excess skin.

This surgery is going to be so amazing for you, and you absolutely deserve it. I hope the recovery goes really well and as pain-free as possible.

It sounds like you're pretty much getting everything lifted and tucked as you possibly can! Would you mind sharing a ballpark figure of what that costs by going to Tijuana to have it done? All I know about costs in the US is it makes my eyes Water thinking about it.

Good luck to you!

thank youuuu! i crack up laughing at the monkeys too! xD

surgery is complete! i requested to have an arm list at the last moment and they said if i’m still in a good state at the end of everything else then yes. THEY DID IT! it took about seven hours cuz i had tons of skin. they removed about five pounds from my back, ten pounds from my tummy, and six pounds from my arms!
i feel great right now, but i’m sure that’s the pain meds talking lol. the cost was approximately $19,000 and that’s for Tummy Tuck with fleur-de-lis, lower body lift, 360 liposuction, BBL, breast lift and reduction and small implants, and arm lift. the price also includes pickup and drop off from San Diego airport, a day exploring Tijuana pre-op, lodging in the w hospital the day before and day after surgery, and then five days in their recovery home where i’ll have prepared meals and 24 hour access to a care team, medicine, and doctors. very much worth the price!
and i went to multiple plastic surgeons in my area in the us and they were all $60k+ and i would go home day of! o.O i paid 1/3 of the price with significantly more care!

[kukuiokalani 97]

two hours post op!

[NickelChip 1,207]

Even with all the bandages you look tiny! I hope your recovery goes well. It sounds like you're getting great care.

[ChunkCat 727]

OMG look at how tiny you are now!!! It just blows my mind how surgery can do that. We truly live with so many modern medical miracles... I wish you great care and speedy, thorough healing! ❤️

[Sigh 196]

Wishing you a speedy recovery. When I had breast reduction (pre weight loss, 13 years ago), the pain wasn’t that bad— but hey, I have a high pain tolerance and didnt take pain meds after VSG either. BUT yours, I would take the meds for sure.

STill, im interested in a tiny tuck myself… looking for any recommendations in Tijuana. Let me know!

[GMaJen 79]

You look amazing! Who is your surgeon?

I'm having surgery in Tijuana, Mexico on 1/12. My surgeon will be Dr. Rodolfo Castillo. I'm getting a 360 Belt Lipectomy with Lipo and a breast lift with Gummy implants and it's costing $12,699. It doesn't include transportation because I have family in Southern California, but it does include everything surgery related: meds, compression garments, pre and post op appointments with the surgeon, lab tests, night at the hospital and 6 nights at a recovery house. I'll spend another week recovering with the family in S. CA.

If all goes well, I intend to go back and get my inner thighs and arms done and probably a face lift.

[kukuiokalani 97]

Okay - I have a one month update!

This has been a difficult month! I had my surgeries on December 15, 2023, and I got a Tummy Tuck with fleur-de-lys, 360 liposuction, Brazilian butt lift, breast lift / reduction with implants, and arm lift for both arms. It was a lot! I spent the first week recovering in Tijuana in the recovery house, and then flew home to Seattle on Dec. 21. I had two drains, one on either side on my groin area.

The plane ride introduced the first main issue I had. The left-side drain got yanked in transit and by the time I got home it had come out. The right-side drain wasn't far behind it; it had come so far out that I accidentally tripped on it on 12/22 and that one came out as well.

Now I was drainless but still had a TON of excess Fluid with no easy place to drain from. So, all that excess fluid escaped out of the easiest places possible - basically all my nicely sewn up tummy along my fleur-de-lys stitches! I went to the ER; I was so scared that first night - I thought any small movement, my belly was gonna split open and spill my intestines on the ER floor, and of course I also had a cough and every coughing fit made me very scared. The ER doctor dressed my wounds that had opened up and reassured me that my belly wasn't going to split open.

The next business day, I scheduled an appointment with a plastic surgeon and wound care in my doctor's office. Basically, my wounds were:

• Left breast: two large wounds along the vertical incision line; one wound at the T-junction under my breast (this one becomes important later)
• Abdomen: an 1-inch-long split along the fleur-de-lys line above my belly button; split near the bottom of my belly button
• Lower abdomen: 2-inch long by 2-inch wide by 1-inch deep triangular hole at the T-junction where the fleur-de-lys incision meets the tummy tuck; 2-inch long seam opening along my groin / right hip
• Various small wounds on my arms, tummy, and hips
• My back healed perfectly!

I met with the plastic surgeon and he recommended ways of dressing everything until I could be seen by wound care on January 5. In the meantime, I had developed an abscess behind one of my wisdom teeth and had to have them pulled. I scheduled that for January 5 also because I'm a glutton for punishment, but I opted for just laughing gas cuz I needed to be clear-headed for my wound care appointment after.

Remember that T-junction left breast wound? Well, that started to open up wider and wider in the week leading up to wisdom teeth / wound care day. It was leaking a ton of fluid, and I could see something black inside the wound, which I initially thought was some form of necrosis. January 5 came, the dentist yanked my three wisdom teeth, and me and my designated driver headed over to wound care. Well, wound care was just as stumped as I was because it felt plasticky and they could shine light through it. They had never seen it before at wound care, but turns out my left implant was deciding to be an explant... and needed to be taken out. 😞Wound care patched me up great and sent me over to my plastic surgeon to discuss the implant.

Because I had literally had my wisdom teeth out that day, they couldn't do the surgery to take out my implant until the following week. I was really sad and went through all the stages of grief, including bargaining, with the plastic surgeon. I asked what my options were for saving the implant and he said it looks like it has to come out. I said "Looks like, so there's a chance it can stay in?" Nope. I also asked about my options for removing the right-side implant in the same surgery so there's at least symmetry. He said that because the right-side isn't infected or splitting open, insurance won't cover the right implant removal. This was the first time I stopped crying and grinned up at him, "So I have a week to get the right side infected, yeah?" 🤣 Nope, again. The plan was to just get both breasts (and literally EVERYTHING ELSE) healed, and address the asymmetry later.

I got my left implant removed on January 11. While I was under, my plastic surgeon also removed a ton of exposed stitches from my various wounds that allowed them to heal up so much faster. My implant was small, just 285 cc's, and while there is a visible difference in my boob sizes, it's not too bad for now. I'm going to decide later whether I want to re-implant the left side or explant the right.

So that's my very long one-month update! It's been a crazy wild ride. Oh!!!! I also don't regret it! Other than the whole left-breast-implant-loss-thing, that is. I feel amazing in my body; in fact, I was just telling my therapist that I finally feel like I exist in my body for the first time in my whole life! They excised about 18 pounds of excess skin in all, and I am still a little swollen and losing Water and wearing my stage 2 fajas. I'm so happy I had these surgeries! With as much as I had done, it went about as well as can be expected, and one loss in what like ten surgeries? I'll take those odds. 😉

~Kukui

[kukuiokalani 97]

[GMaJen 79]

You look great! Was it the plane ride or poor work by your surgeon? I had my 360, breast lift with implants, and some fat transfer to my buttocks on 1/12 in Tijuana (I didn'thave enough fat for a BBL, but he did what he could and didn't charge for it). My surgeon didn't use drains. I stayed at a recovery home for 6 nights then went to my Dad's about 2.5 hours away so I only had the one follow up, but it all looks good so far. I'm planning on flying home on Friday. I have told the airline I need assistance to and from the gates and plan on only having a very light carry-on. Any advice for the trip home?

[ChunkCat 727]

Wow, you look amazing!! What a stressful month though! I wonder why your body decided to kick out your implant. This isn't weird for people who have autoimmune diseases (our bodies are extra emo about foreign occupants), but I have heard of it in perfectly healthy people too. I'm glad the asymmetry isn't too dramatic, that gives you time to heal up and consider what to do next. You had soooo much done at once, I think given the complications you've faired pretty well all in all! I am so glad to hear you feel at home in your body now. That is a priceless win and well worth the pain. I hope you have a much smoother healing process from here on out!

[kukuiokalani 97]

19 hours ago, GMaJen said:

You look great! Was it the plane ride or poor work by your surgeon? I had my 360, breast lift with implants, and some fat transfer to my buttocks on 1/12 in Tijuana (I didn'thave enough fat for a BBL, but he did what he could and didn't charge for it). My surgeon didn't use drains. I stayed at a recovery home for 6 nights then went to my Dad's about 2.5 hours away so I only had the one follow up, but it all looks good so far. I'm planning on flying home on Friday. I have told the airline I need assistance to and from the gates and plan on only having a very light carry-on. Any advice for the trip home?

It was definitely the whole airport / plane / going home transport that did a number on my drains. I got the left side caught on an armrest and then the wheelchair before I even got thru airport security... basically, I was given two jump ropes which were tethered to my legs and my clumsy ass rolled nat 1's and did my best to do away with them. xD

My advice for the trip home would be definitely get wheelchair support to and from the gate, like you have set up. Once the flight is underway, I let a flight attendant know that I had requested wheelchair support at my destination, and they checked to make sure it would be there when I arrived.

I also recommend keeping your medicines with you. Since you have your carry-on it likely won't be a problem. For me, by the end of the plane ride it had been about 12 hours since I had my last pain med and I was crying cuz along with the general surgery pains, my drains were coming out and the stitches from the drains were ripping away from my leg. You should be able to board the plane among one of the first groups since you just had surgery. Take advantage of that and get yourself situated before everyone else crowds onboard. Also, if you need to put your carry-on up in the luggage compartment, ask a flight attendant to help you lift it.

[GMaJen 79]

22 minutes ago, kukuiokalani said:

It was definitely the whole airport / plane / going home transport that did a number on my drains.

i'm glad to hear it wasn't the surgeon. People are already scared to go to Mexico because of cartels. My friend lives there and it really annoys her. Everyone I talk to that spends time there says if you aren't involved in drugs, you have nothing to worry about. The police on the other hand, will pull you over and escort you to the ATM to bribe them. Another reason not to drive there (other than the crazy drivers)