Going for Lower body lift&medial inner thigh...please share your experiences!!!!

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if you would please share with me your experiences if you had these two procedures: the lower body lift (beltlipectomy) and inner thigh lift (medial thigh lift).

These are the two surgeries I am having and I am scared to death!! Excited, too, trust me! But the nerves are kicking in....I have total confidence in my surgeon who is the Chief of Plastic Surgery at one of the best hospitals in the world (as pretentious as that sounds, it's true...and I truly hate to come off as pretentious!) so these are major pluses.

I am scheduled for surgery (WOOHOO!) on Feb.2nd and would love to hear personal stories, experiences, etc from you! PLease share any info you have!

If you had either or both of these procedures, how was your turn out? Any tips or suggestions? Anything I should definitely know? Any definite no-nos, must haves, etc? Seriously...anything you can share would be GREATLY appreciated. I would love to hear your stories...from when you got to the hospital, to the type of pain I could expect, how long you had pain, how long you were out of work, etc..I love details so I would be so happy to read about your stories!

I have researched like crazy of course, but I find the best research is right here, from this site from patients.

Please post back! Any experiences or advice is gladly welcomed!!!

Hugs,
Denise

Denise you are so beautiful. I just had to say that. I'm relatively new to the TT experience since I just had mine on Wednesday. Today is one of those days where I'm thinking "why did I do this to myself?". Seriously, you'll do great. I'm just very,very sore and swollen. Sounds like you have a great doctor who will take good care of you. Don't try to do too much at first. I tried to go to Kmart yesterday to look for a better fitting compression garment. I was only in there 5 minutes and my inner stomach muscles started burning. Take it slow. That's probably why I don't feel too good today.

Awwww...Barbara! You are so sweet to say that! Thank you!

Thanks for the advice. Do I need to get my own compression garment or does teh hospital provide one?

Thanks again!

Denise

I have not had your procedures, I had a TT and BL I am 5 weeks out and to be honest just now feeling human again. Do not underestimate the seriousness of these surgeries, the recovery period is slow and often uncomfortable. Take as much time off as you can because you will need it. get people who love you lined up to help. i dont know what i would have done without jason, my sister my friends and support group friends. They were like an army mobilized to take care of me, check in on me, give jason breaks.

I had a electric lift recliner rented and it helped and i slept in it. Lots of pillows.

They will manage your pain and give you meds, but when you start healing you are gonna itch so get some benadryl to take to help with that and it will help you sleep.

I posted my long story on my profile, LOL I had a crazy hospital experience.

I went back to work after 2 1/2 weeks it was too soon, i had to end up taking another week.
I was off pain meds by 6 days out/

Oh and start taking a stool softener ASAP, I took miralax in my water every night

I hope this helps and good luck

Hi Nicole,

Thanks so much for you detailed repsonse! It was very helpful!!

My surgeon anticipates 2-6 weeks off from work, and I was hoping it would be more like 2 weeks, but if it takes longer, that is okay. I will not rush things.

I will definitely take stool softener a few days before surgery and up until the day of. The last thing I need to constipation on top of everything else! No thank you! I have Miralax that I take PRN, and I may take that daily up ntil surgery. It can't hurt!

Thank you fo rthe advice. I appreciate it!

Hugs,
Dneise

I had an LBL in August 2007.  I didn't need a medial thigh lift. 

The LBL is an incredible surgery.  Probably the best of all my procedures.  Here's my advice:

1.  Get the OnQ pump - it works great and it keeps the narcotics down to a minimum.
2.  Narcotics - try to minimize them.  They will constipate you.  I used a laxative tea with Senna leaf for this problem.  Stool softeners did nothing to help me.
3.  Be careful about bending over - you will suffer a wound separation in the small of your back.  Make sure you have some help for the first few days.
4.  I slept in a LaZboy recliner for the first two weeks after surgery.  I put a flannel fitted sheet over it to prvent germ transfer to my body.
5. I wore t-shirts under my binder to help prevent irritation.
6.  I AVOIDED processed foods and limited salt intake to prevent/eliminate swelling.

What I wished I had done:  The autoaugmentation of my butt!  I could not imagagine at the time having a butt that was so small that I would need "help" but it sure ended up very small.  It's not a freak show but I now have to wear a belt with jeans, something I never had to do before the procedure.

Good Luck.

 

 

Hi BigCityGirl (don't know your real name, so I'm using your board name!)

Thank you for your reply. It was very helpful. Did your surgeon or hospital provide the binder for your body or do you need to get this before going into the hospital?

I actually contemplated borrowing a recliner, as I don't have one. Is this something that was an absolute must for you?

My other concern in I live on the third floor with no elevator! is it going to be really hard to walk up three flights due to the inner thigh lift??? I am guessing this will not be fun. This isn't something I really started thinking about until recently.....I can not imagine stepping up stair after stair with all those stpales/stiches in my thighs and around my middle!

From your experience, what do you think?

Thanks again!

Denise

Denise,

When I woke from surgery I was wearing a binder.  After my first postop visit, my surgeon's nurse gave me a second binder.  I borrowed a recliner from my brother and I was very glad I had one.  I really needed it for sleeping and elevating the legs helped with the swelling.  I had it for two weeks until the last drain was removed and then I was able to sleep in my own bed.  Get help with those stairs - you will need it - just take your time. Good Luck.  Donna

Thanks, Donna. How long were your drains in? And how many did you have? I believe I will have 4; two for the tummy area and one per thigh.....I remember the drain from my RNY and when they removed that. UGGGGG. I can not imagine having drains for a couple weeks! And was it a major pain having them? Was it painful when they took them out, or a relief? A bit of both?

Thank you so much for your help!

Hugs,
Denise

I had four drains with my LBL - two in the front and two in the back.  The ones from the back were removed at 10 days postop and the ones in the front werre removed at 14 days postop.  I took a valium about a half hour before the drains were removed each time and I was fine.  It only hurt for a few seconds.  It was a relief to have them out because I could wear normal clothes again, return to work and sleep in my own bed.