Abdominoplasty Garment

Question:

I wondered if any of you mothers of multiples have had -- or if you are considering -- abdominoplasty and plycation (muscle repair). My daughter is scheduled for tomorrow, and I'll be taking care of her and the boys (almost-4-year-old ID twins). Any advice, tips, hints, etc for me?

Or can anyone give me some information or show me where I can find out useful information?

Answer:

had a tummy tuck 6 years ago, after I was finished having kids. I had no problem with the surgery & am very pleased with the results. When the tummy tuck was done, the surgeon did reconnect my muscles that had split (diastasis rectii, IIRC), and I had some lipo done in various areas at the same time.

The surgery was a same-day procedure. Important thing to remember is that she will need a lot of help for the first couple of days, esp. while the pain meds are still necessary. I was really out of it for the first 48 hours. Her boys might need to be prepared for Mommy being woozy!

I had to wear the restrictive garment for a long time (6 or 8 weeks, I don't remember exactly), and that gets pretty gross and itchy after a while, but that's more uncomfortable than painful.

I'd had two C-sections prior to the abdominoplasty, so two things helped in that regard--one, I was sort of numb down in that region anyway; two, I was used to the sort of things required in recovering from abdominal surgery. It will hurt to cough or sneeze for a while. Your daughter can use a pillow to hold against her surgical area when she needs to cough/sneeze/exert some pressure from her abdomen.

The surgical area will look pretty messy for a while, but within a week it should look much better. It's not uncommon for surgeons to need to "touch up" various areas post-surgery. For me, I returned a while later (several months) to get the belly button touched up a little bit.

If your daughter has any specific questions, please let me know. I was disappointed in one thing. I'd been told that a tummy tuck was not a weight loss method, and I sort of believed that. I was at the weight I needed to be prior to the surgery. But deep down inside I *knew* I'd lose a *few* pounds from the surgery...nope, nothing. Anyway, that was just something that bugged me, even though I'd been told the truth about the surgery.

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