Is there anyone considering this? I've been thinking about it because rite now I have lots of hanging skin and I'm worried that when I get close to my goal weight I'll have even more....
If you know anyone whos had this done please share results.
Thanks
Mia

I haven't had it done but I think, when and if...no WHEN I lose all the weight I need to lose, I will definitely need a tummy tuck. My belly really hangs down now and it gives me a lot of back problems and there's no way exercise is going to bring back all the tone, especially after two C-Sections (one vertical and one horizontally) I'm not so sure about liposuction. I've seen those tv shows and it made me sick to see how roughly they handle their victims. Yikes!

I thought liposduction was to remove fat cells. Is there another name for the procedure to remove excess skin or is it all done at once? Maybe Jiff or some of the WLS chickies can help out here.

What is a tummy tuck? Maybe it's what I would need instead of lipo, most of my hanging skin is in the belly area. Hope u 2 are having a great day...
Mia

Liposuction won't help with the hanging skin, it'll make it look worse, cause you're taking out the fat that the skin was clinging to. A tummy tuck will remove all the excess skin, but I don't really know how to describe it. I did a search on google and saw pictures and everything. Good luck on your decision.

Some people, who only have a few extra pounds left to lose but have an "apron" get liposuction done followed by a tummy tuck. Liposuction is when they cut a slit in whatever part of your body you're having done, stick in something that looks frighteningly like the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner and suck out up to 15 lb of fat cells (I believe 15 lb is the limit for safety, but I could be wrong). The don't just stick the nozzle in the slit. They jerk it back and forth in a very rough manner and all this ugly yellowish globby stuff comes out. Apparently there's a lot of pain afterward. I don't even want to know what they do with the stuff they suck out.
I believe you can have a simple tummy tuck where they cut away a semi-circular segment of the loose skin that is hanging down, reposition your belly button and stitch everything up nice and tight. I met a woman who worked as a salesperson in a large size store and she said she had it done and her medical covered it because it was aggravating her bad back. This woman was not slim by any means. She still had a protruding tummy but she didn't have that apron of flab and skin hanging down any more and she said it was the best thing she'd ever done. I have my doubts. Having survived two C-sections, I'm not that enamored of abdominal surgery. Still, it's something I'm seriously considering. I really hate this flab hanging down. It's disgusting and it really hurts my lower back.

I had a breast reduction Oct. 2002 and was scheduled at that time to also have a bit of lipo and a T tuck - unfortunately I had some complications (not due to the surgery and my lipo and TT was rescheduled.

In laymen terms I would best describe lipo as - body sculpting.
There are always areas of your body that does not seem to "lose" as other parts do. A good plastic surgeon can go in and remove and "resculpt" that area of your body. Unless you gain or lose a larger amount of weight the surgery should show a definate long term improvement - however - though the fat cells may not come back in that area of lipo - if you continue to gain weight the fat will attach itself and increase another part of your body. Actually, lipo is performed similar to what Linda described - except - it is a very small "wand" that is inserted in an approximate 1/4" incision. The after affects is bruising and very little discomfort (at least for myself & those I know who've had it done - which are numerous). There are special garments that you must wear for a period of time after the lipo for additional & successful "sculpting" affect.

The tummy tuck is not near as bad as I've had people tell me. Basically any type of tuck, whether it be excess skin in the abdominal area, arms, legs, etc., the area is slit, stretched, excess skin removed and restitched ridding the areas of excess skin and offering a "tightness" of unstretched skin. A friend of mine who has had two C sections had a hernia operation and T tuck three weeks after mine. She was amazed that the C sections were much more painful that the TT. I'm not going to lie to you. I was 49 when I had mine done and the first 48 hours were the worse, followed by the next two weeks. The drains were a pain in the arse and having to walk humped over for a few weeks added strain to my back - however, in my case - it was discomfort - not pain.

As I am a smoker and had a few complications (I'm going to have to have a revision) it was truly the best thing I could've done for myself. It is wonderful the difference it has made in my life. I am still a chubby person, however, I can tuck a shirt in, buy clothes in sizes that fit and not what I'm trying to make fit.

Now the BUT side of my post. In looking at your stats - I personally do not feel you are ready. I was 30 lbs from my goal and in some ways I wish that I had waited. 30 lbs can make a huge difference as we don't know how our bodies are going to "settle". With that said, I'm now about 15 lbs from my goal weight and glad I did it. I just wish I'd quit smoking first. lol

Whatever you decide - I wish you the best. There are some terrific web sites that can give you very valuable info!

Janice

it is call abdominoplasty....
http://www.abdominoplasty-info.com/
this link give a pretty good discription...
I think a trip to the plastic surgeon will be my 40th bday gift to me
-L

Thanks for all of your replies.... I still have to think about it. I still have alot of time before I need to make a decision, I'm praying that as I get closer to my goal weight my tummy will tighten up. I'm only 23 and I never had children so hopefully this is all in my favor. The rest of my body I'm okay with, it's just my big belly

Okay that's all I have to complain about today
Thanks for all of the advice
Good Luck all!!!!!!
Mia



L- I'm gonna check out that web site thank you!