Share Your Tummy Tuck Story!

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Your Tummy Tuck Story

Want to share your tummy tuck story? Want to help others by telling your own experience? Your story can answer questions and inform others considering tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) plastic surgery. All you have to do is send us your story, with a few photos if you like, and we will post your tummy tuck story on the net!

Please use the form below to share your story and if you have pictures to share, email them to [email protected]. Thank you.

Your Tummy Tuck Story Should Include:

How you found your surgeon
Reason for surgery
Overall experience
How much it cost you
Recovery experience
City and State of surgery
Are you satisfied?
Other comments

Read Other Peoples Tummy Tuck Stories

Here are just a few tummy tuck stories. To real all the tummy tuck stories please visit out Tummy Tuck Forum.

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Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:28 AM
Subject: Feedback Form

Dear Tanner,
Thank you SO much for setting up this website with your experiences. I have been looking for something like this for AGES, and have finally found the resource I've been looking for.

I lost 90 pounds after a life of being fat. I'm 34 and have had severe migraine attacks all my life. After having been treated by a neurologist since I was 12, my neurologist finally told me there was nothing else he could do for me (after we'd tried every available treatment). The only thing he could think of was me trying to lose weight. So I did.

And it worked. I have far less migraine attacks, and the ones I do have are far less intense. However, now I have a lot of skin left. So, I am having the skin 'chopped off' in 3 months. Your results look amazing, and I can only hope that the results of my own surgery will look the same.

Selecting a surgeon was tough. In the end, I just went on a site which was specifically for women in my area (I live in the Netherlands), and looked at which results I liked best. Then I picked the closest one of the results I liked best, and had a meeting there. One hard demand I have for this procedure, though, is that it is done in an actual hospital. This is possible here in the Netherlands, though it is slightly more expensive (only by about 1000 euro's). It includes 3 nights in hospital, and I wanted this basically for my own peace of mind.

The total cost for my hip to hip abdominoplasty with lipo of the love handles will come to 5950 euro's (about 7000 dollars, more of less).

Your site has given me a clear picture of what to expect. However, what I would like to ask is this: How long does it take after the surgery before I can get back to work? I have an office job, but one where I frequently have to go on house calls. I cycle from my office to the homes of people, all through town. I have 3 weeks of vacation time I am taking for this surgery, and have asked for an additional week of unpaid time off. In case I don't get this week off, I would like to know beforehand whether I will need to make arangements at the office. I could, if I know what to expect, make arrangements to postpone all housecalls for a week or two.

I hope you can answer that question for me.... I sort of need to know when I can expect to be able to cycle again, and when I can expect to be able to sit in an office chair for 7 hours a day again.

Again, thank you So much for this website, it is truly a godsent!

Response - Vincent,

I too had migraines for a long period of time. I am not really sure what caused them but I suspect the main reasons was being overweight and the type of shirt I wore (a dress shirt). I was an engineer in an office and often sat at a desk or drafting board for long periods of time. When I leaned forward, my collar would rub against the back of my neck. I could tell when a migraine was coming on because one of my ears would turn red. Since I have lost the weight and had the tummy tuck operation I only wear stretchy polo type shirts and haven't had a migraine in many years.

Having your surgery in a hospital is a smart move. If something did go wrong you know you are at a facility with proper staff and is equipped to handle any emergency.

How long does it take after the surgery before I can get back to work? I can just tell you information that I found when I did my research and from my own personal experience. I have listed some of my work and exercise related questions from my website as follows:

How will I feel after Tummy Tuck surgery?
It may take 3 - 6 weeks until you feel back to normal, depending on the shape that you are in. If you are in top shape you may feel normal in 1 -2 weeks.

When can I drive after Tummy Tuck surgery?
Driving after a Tummy Tuck is usually permitted about two weeks after surgery.

When can I exercise after Tummy Tuck surgery?
Typically you can exercise lightly in about 3 - 4 weeks following Tummy Tuck Surgery. Go slowly and follow your doctor's advice regarding exercise. You can hurt yourself if you overdo it. Be careful not to stretch or pull in the area of the stitches or tummy area.

When can I go back to work after Tummy Tuck surgery? How much time do you take off from work for a Tummy Tuck?
It really depends on how well you are recovering and what type of work you do. For office work typically you can return to work in one to two weeks. For more strenuous manual labor work up to 6 weeks or longer. I had a Tummy Tuck with a Lateral Thigh Lift operation and I felt that one week was about right for me (office work).

My Personal Experience
(12/5/07) The Day After my Tummy Tuck - I could walk slowly
(12/11/07) I cheated and drove before I should have.
(12/16/07) I exercised with light dumbbell weights (15 lbs weights) and various stretches for 1 hour. I think I was suppose to wait a few weeks after a Tummy Tuck before exercising but I was feeling very good. I took great care to avoid any pulling on the mid-section area and on my stitches.
(12/19/07) Stitches Removed. Fluid drained with needle.
(12/20/07) 1 hour of exercise. Still using the lower 15 lb weights.
(12/23/07) Exercised 1 hour using the 25 lb weights

Remember, I had a worst case scenario - a tummy tuck with a body lift. They cut skin away from me from all sides of my body. I would think that a regular tummy tuck would not be as "bad".

Judging from how I felt at that time I would think that 3 weeks should be more than sufficient time for returning to office work. Riding the bicycle all over town may be another matter. If you don't use or pull on you abdominal muscles or tummy area and take it easy, I would think that it is probably "do-able".

It may also depend on the type of bike that you ride, how far and fast you go and how strenuous it is. If you do ride your bike I would suggest that you invest in additional compression garments to wear while you are cycling. I would bind myself up pretty tight to make it impossible to pull at stitches or the surgical wound area. The last thing you want to do is injure yourself and cause complications to your recovery. If you have a bike that forces you into leaning forward or in awkward positions you may want to borrow or rent a different bike that will be more compatible with a tummy tuck operation.

Bottom line is that I probably could have returned to work and ridden a bicycle at the end of three weeks (especially if I did not have the thigh lift) but I am told that I was lucky in my recovery experience. Others have not been as fortunate or pain free in their recovery. Every individual's experiences are different.

How long do you need in order to postpone your house calls? Would it be possible to have the operation, recover for two weeks then determine if you need to postpone your house calls?

As far as sitting at a desk for 7 hours a day I wouldn't think that it would be a problem as long as you can take frequent breaks and move around. Sitting after my tummy tuck was never a problem for me.

I would also suggest that you discuss your return to work plan with your surgeon. He will be in the best possible position to give you a clear answer to your question.

Hope this helped with your decision.
Good luck.
Tanner

Follow-Up
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 2:40 PM

Hi Tanner,

Thank you so much for your reply! And quick too!

Like I said, I've had the migraines since i was twelve, and we've never been able to figure out where they come from. I'm just glad they've been gone for a while now. Only 7 and a half weeks, so far, but still, coming from a situation where I had a severe attack every other day, not having any kind of attack at all for over 7 weeks is a miracle.

The trick for me, as it turns out, is the weight loss in combination with some weightlifting. During my weight loss I'd been cycling about 20 miles a day for work anyways, so I know it's not the cardio, but after a visit to a cosmetic surgeon (I was told, like you were, that the skin problem with the skin in the man-boob area isn't severe enough for surgery, and the only thing to do is weightlifting to fill it out with muscle.... so I took that as a challenge) I started weightlifting 7 weeks ago. Not a single migraine since. Maybe it's because I am using and stretching certain muscle correctly now.... who knows. I'm just happy as can be.

Your answer have really helped me a lot. I had already expected (and hoped) to a least be back to work after 3 weeks, and now I know I will be. I have a high pain tolerance (you have to develop that with the frequent migraines), so any pain I may have won't really be an issue. The only issue might be getting tired easily. But as I can sit at the desk most of the time, I should be fine.

As for cycling.... hey, I'm Dutch.... I have 3 bikes.... I will simply select the most comfortable bike (with shock dampening technology and all) and use that one. And go slowly. But I can pretty much postpone the house calls for a week or two. The most urgent things... well... I can figure something out.

By the way.... I wanted the bodylift, as I have a lot of skin around the love handle area....but they simply won't perform that surgery here in the Netherlands. They feel it's too big/invasive an operation to do in one go. Instead, they're going to do some lipo on the love handles. We'll see how it comes out, but if I'm not happy with it, I guess round two will be next year.

Again, thanks for the help!

Vincent.

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Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 1:04 PM
Subject: Feedback Form

Thanks for this Tanner...I really appreciate it! I'm down 115 pounds...and have a lot of excess skin. I'm trying to lose 10 more...and then consider the surgery end of next year. I'm interested in reaching out to the response/guy from the 5/23 post who did the lipo on the chest...as I'm thinking of that also. Would you ask him if I could connect with him? Thanks,

Response - If you like, I will forward this email (with your email address) to him. That will provide him the opportunity to contact you directly if he cares to. Let me know if you want me to do that.
Best regards,
Tanner

That would be great! I just have some questions regarding his procedure...as it sounds similar to what I'd like to do! How are you? Feeling great? Did you not have any excess skin in your chest area?

Response - Request sent. It will be up to him if he wants to contact you. I am doing fine and have had no problems. I did not have enough excess skin in my chest area to worry about.
Best regards,
Tanner

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Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2010 10:54 PM
Subject: Tummy Tuck For Men

I like your website. I too am a guy who lost a lot of weigh (100 lbs - 120 lbs), had sagging skin for about 2 years and decided to go through with it. I had an abdominoplasty done with liposuction on chest and abdominal region. It's been a year and I love the new look. I applaud you for putting your story up because it takes a lot of courage.

Response - Thanks.

It is disappointing to end up with all that sagging skin after doing so much work to lose the weight isn't is?

Getting rid of it with the tummy tuck sure made a big difference for me as well.

As far as taking a lot of courage, not so much.

Even though my tummy tuck experience is published to the world, I took the precautions of blurring my face in the photographs and I did not use my real name. I did that because once you put something on the internet you can never take it back. I wanted to play it safe.

Good luck with your post tummy tuck period. Now the challenge for us is to keep the weight from coming back.

Best regards,
Tanner

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Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 10:30 PM
Subject: Feedback Form

Hi. I'm another guy (27 years old; lost over 100 pounds) thinking about doing this. Thanks a lot for posting your story.

Have you come across any similar sites/stories/posts/blogs from guys? I see a lot from women, but I'd like to know what other men went through, and I know everyone is different.

Also, if you found any good resources for doctor reviews, I'd be interested- I've found a few sites but just a few comments.

Thanks again- it's good to hear from someone who has done this before.

Response - I haven't seen or read about any other men's experiences with tummy tucks. I have seen a couple of television shows about people losing weight then undergoing tummy tuck surgery (including some guys) but I have found nothing on the internet.

Tummy tucks for men do seem to becoming more "acceptable" and common place. In the next few years we will probably see more and more stories and information about them. I recently received an email from a television producer's assistant (from England) if they could use some of my before and after photos in a new prime time television series they are producing this summer. So the interest is out there.

As far as finding good sources for doctor reviews, not really. It would have been nice to be able to find one site that you could trust to have all of the information (good and bad) about a surgeon as well as the facilities that he uses, but I couldn't find it. I don't think there is an easy way to find a good surgeon. After I went to a few consultations (to get a variety of opinions and to gain as much information as I could) I selected the one that I liked best. My decision was based on his facility, personnel, background and experience, certifications, pictures of his previous patients, professionalism, and his willingness to answer my questions.

After I selected the surgeon that I liked best, I spent hours on the internet using all of the different search engines trying to find out any information that I could on the guy. I tried all of the variations of his name in my search.

Having found only good things and no "bad information" about the surgeon, I paid for two background checks using two different online background services. I would tell you which companies I used, but I can no longer find the reports. Just do an internet search for "surgeon background check". I was particularly looking for malpractice law suits and patient complaints against the surgeon. Finding his education, credentials and experience is easy. The bad stuff is harder to find.

Good luck with your decision. I know there is a lot of "thinking" for you to do. It's a scary decision, but I a definitely happy I chose to have it done.

Tanner

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