Originally it seemed I would never get to this point, and now I look back and can't quite believe where the time has gone.
As you may know,I got a serious stitch abcess soon after the surgery and it has taken until now to heal. It has meant daily dressings, umpteen visits to the surgeon and surgery nurse to get it right. Even now, the scar is still indented a little, so it will be a few more days till it is classified as completely healed.
Because I has so much spare skin, the original surgery took as much as it could, but the top half of my tummy has healed quite loose, and with a continuation of the newly created belly button. I now have a belly button crease that is 6 inches long! It's not an attractive sight. There was always the possibility of having to go back into surgery to revisit, in case there was just so much skin to deal with.. That surgery has been scheduled for 20 Jan 2014.
Dr will go back in and remove the spare skin from above the navel, and tighten the skin to match the bottom half of my new tummy.
Liposuction that took place on the tops of my thighs is slowly loosing the fluid buildup, although they are still the same size as they were prior to Liposuction - I asked the Dr about that, he said that is normal with an operation of this size, it can take 12 months to complete subside. I guess it looks worse to me, due to the smaller size of my hips, it all looks a little disproportionate at the moment.
Scar is healing okay. I rub Bio Oil or Paw Paw ointment into the scar each evening, and try to massage away the buildup of scar tissue from underneath. It seems to be working. The scar is flatter than I thought it would be, which is good, and will heal quite well in time. The positioning of it, could mean that I would be able to wear two piece bathers without it being too noticeable. I'm not sure that will still be the case after the next surgery, but I did tell the surgeon, I wasn't worried so much about the positioning of the scar, just the fact that the loose skin was gone and I was now the owner of a flat stomach!
My waist is thinner, and my hips are about 13 cm smaller. My thighs are the same, and my midriff is only minimally smaller but hopefully that will be corrected within the next surgery. I did measure again this morning and was surprised that more cms have gone in the last fortnight, so I'm thinking the Dr is right about it taking up to 6 months to settle. I had wondered why my pants are falling down when I run now. :)
I have not gone back to full gym work again yet. I am walking each day, started jogging this past week, and making good progress on that each day. It does hurt to jog too far, so i walk a minute, jog a minute, and that seems bearable. I have been able to take 6 minutes off my times since i started, I'm really happy with that. i also ride a bike as often as I can, usually about 30 kilometres a week. I know that's not a huge achievement, but with the hole I've had in my back for months, I haven't wanted to do a great deal of stretching exercise. I visited a physio for a return to gym program, and that was helpful to start.
Hugo has been my godsend. He has dressed the wound every day, and phoned each day when away at work, to ensure it was done properly. Neither of us realised the level of commitment prior to surgery, and someone without great support may not have the same success. It's been a constant battle to keep clean and moist to allow for maximum healing.
I've been asked if it was all worth it. Without question, even accounting for the abcess, the constant dressings, the pain and the itching, it would be a yes. I feel pretty damn good. I have no overhang, or muffin tops or red sweat rashes anymore. I really wish I had done it sooner. Or became a lot more health focused sooner, so it never got to this point.
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
No comments:
Post a Comment