[RoseRodent]

This is more a post-WLS or post- any very large weight loss question than about the surgery itself, but those who have had surgery are most likely to experience excess skin afterwards so I hope there is some expertise here.

I don't have a big weight loss, but I have had a lot of prior surgery for bowel and ob-gyn issues and I am due to have a really big one in January. I looked up the type of incision they are doing and it's most common in major tummy tucks following weight loss surgery, hence why I ended up querying here.

Has anyone ever had a fleur-de-lis / anchor tummy tuck? It just seems like such a giant incision it's quite scary to imagine that they are going to cut all the way from breastbone to pubis and then from hip to hip. Mine is not essentially a cosmetic procedure so although they will be looking for a nice result they won't be tightening muscles or anything like that, the idea is to dig out an old vertical scar which is in bad shape and stuck down heavily, do the standard tummy tuck type thing of separating the skin and pulling it both down to the hip incision, hopefully getting rid of at least one of the existing hipline scars, ideally the wonky one and then the plastic surgeon will leave and the ob-gyn and the general surgeon will work on doing a hysterectomy (total) and removing endometriosis pockets, freeing the bowel from the abdominal walls, possibly cutting out a section of bowel, then when they are happy with my insides the plastic surgeon comes back and stitches it back up for the best cosmetic result he can manage given all the damage to date.

Obviously I am no stranger to the surgeon's table, but I am bleeping myself about this one, it seems like all the operations I've ever had before but all done at the same time! The incision worries me, and although it's necessary if we are ever going to bring my waist down to a normal place where I can wear off-the-peg trousers it's got me very nervous.

Has anyone had one of these types of incisions? How did it go for you?

[missangelaks]

I have had it done. Check out my profile by clicking on my pic to the left; the picutre there is a before and after WLS, 6 weeks after plastics and 6 months after plastics.

I call it my front-ectomy. It was a very, very painful recovery. I don't usually take the pain meds after a surgery but this time I soooooooo did! Though I had a beautiful result, and the kid that did it was a top notch student at University of Utah, unlike the WLS I had 2 + years ago which I would do a 100 times, I would never do anymore plastics.

I recommend a pain pump if your doctor can provide one, I understand it make pain management easier.

Good luck to you!

Angela

[RoseRodent]

Thanks, a bit scary but I suppose useful to know what I am going to expect. I do always have the pump but I have a lot of problems with them because my veins are dreadful, and also because I usually go into hospital on more pain relief than they expect to give me. They forget that some patients are on long-term treatment for existing severe pain, so the amount of morphine they put in the pump is less than the amount I'd normally spill on my kitchen worktop in the average day.

This time I am setting up to bring my safe into hospital with me because the rules say my own meds must be locked up, not that they must be locked in my hospital locker. It's the weeks of recovery at home that really bothers me, though, pain relief is easy, I have more at home than I'd get on the ward, but my daughter remembering not to jump on me, my husband bothering to cook, clean or do anything at all other than slob in a corner and not being able to drive for 6 weeks is a horror.

Your photos are amazing, though, and it really reassures me that it's worth doing this, specially as I am going to have to be cut open again anyway, may as well sew it up nicely this time. It worries me a bit that becuase it's not a pure cosmetic procedure they will be going for the usual British health service thing of better not make it too nice or everyone will want one, it's only meant to make me look normal, not wonderful, there's a big chance they will leave it flabby afterwards and I'll have to pay privately for another op if I want it made nice.

This is an odd question, but where does your waist fall now? The worst tethering on my current scar is an inch and a bit up from my ... do you call them belly buttons in the US?! Pants always want to ride up there unless I wear really low rise hipsters, and I am hoping that post-surgery my belly button will be the bit where my tummy is smallest and pants start to ride at a normal level.