Upcoming Panni. Advice?

I am scheduled for panni surgery April 16th.  I am expecting it to be horrible.  Have a friend who did it 10 years ago. She lost her weight through diet and now has gained it all back.  Anyway she says it's awful.  Surgeon said it is much worse that RNY (which wasn't bad)  Have had an open gallbladder so if it isn't much worse than that I should survive.  The Dr did say that for the first three weeks, no sitting, standing or laying down only so stomach can heal flat.

Would welcome any advice from someone who has had the surgery.  Thanks!

If you have to be in bed a lot of those three weeks, please take a breathing exerciser home with you. You know, the thing that we have to breath into every few hours while in the hospital.

God Bless You!

Hattie

Thank you for your response.  I did get one of those breathing things when I came home from the RNY and it is still around.

Did you ask about stomach muscle tightening or having your belly button moved? In a basic panniculectomy they are not done. Make sure you know exactly what you are getting.

No sitting, standing, or lying down? What the heck are you supposed to do then? My plastic surgeon is one of the best and I did not get crazy instructions like that. And my stomach is perfectly flat.

I wish you well.

Laura

Nothing but lying down for three weeks so it will heal flat?!?!?  That is nonsense and is dangerous! Number one, you will put yourself at high risk for blood clots by being essentially immobile for three weeks; number two, this surgery is simply removing excess skin not major surgery so having such a radical post-op restriction is simply ridiculous (more on that below); numer three, all incisions will heal flat. (How does an incision NOT heal flat?!?)  I am sorry, but I am really concernd about this surgeon you are using.

I don't understand why the surgeon would say a panni removal is much worse than RNY.  The only thing that is worse about it is the size of the incision.  He is only cutting skin and suturing/gluing it back together.  There is no cutting of muscle (which is the most painful part of most surgeries) and there is no cutting of internal organs that your body has to heal up.  It is just a very large cut and it usually heals up very quickly.  My panni removal was the simplest surgery I have had in terms of pain and recovery.  The only part of my incision that hurt after the second day were the ends of the incisions at the hips because that area of skin gets pulled a bit when you bend and twist.

If you expect it to be horrible, it just might be, but for most people it is not a big deal.  I do hope you will not blindly follow instructions to stay in bed for three weeks because blood clots can turn into embolisms that can be fatal... And then it doesn't matter if you have extra skin!

Lora

Thanks for the info.  I will get to him ASAP.  I'm sure he said just standing and lying down but maybe I misunderstood.  Gallbladder was awful as they cut through many muscles as mine was not where it was supposed to be.  RNY was my first Lap surgery and it was great as far as healing went though I did get an infected incision point.

I'm the kind that expect the worse and then am pleasantly surprised when it is not as bad.  That comes from the gallbladder when no one told me it was gonna hurt.  I was young and dumb and it just didn't occur to me that it would hurt.

Thanks again for the info.  I value your input as you always seem to be on top of things on this forum.