I had my initial consultation with my chosen cosmetic surgeon on February 14th about having the loose skin on my stomach and arms removed. Having done a great deal of research, there weren’t any major surprises.
After the usual medical history questions he gave me a very thorough examination. I have a lot of excess skin not only on my abdomen but also my back. While I could have a total body lift it would be a more major surgery with a longer recovery time. I think if I was younger I’d have seriously considered this route but I think it will be enough to just have the skin removed on my stomach. He recommended that I have the fleur-de-lys abdominoplasty with muscle repair as I need to reduce the amount of skin both vertically and horizontally. I will probably still have a little excess skin at the top but that is unavoidable. I have also lost a lot of skin elasticity so there is a chance I may still have a little fold at the bottom. When examining my arms he again said I’d lost skin elasticity and may still have a slight sag after surgery but to be honest a slight sag will be much preferable to the 3-4 inches of skin I have at the moment.
My surgeon said that he was prepared to do both procedures at the same time and that the operating time would be 4.5 hours. I will need to stay in 2 nights and I will have 4 drains which will be removed before I go home. I will need to wear compression garments for about 2 months to aid healing. I’ve bought the recommended garments and they are seriously uncomfortable but I just have to ‘suck it up’ as they say.
I’d made the decision to go ahead with the surgery before the consultation so when the quote came through a week later I booked the surgery for May 31st 2022. I was hoping it would be sooner as I’m mentally prepared now but the delay means that I can get the house spring cleaned beforehand.
Recovery time varies from person to person, most are able to resume normal activities by 6 weeks but as I have fibromyalgia and I’m having muscle repair it could be longer. I’m determined to get back to normal as soon as possible and start living my new life.
My Faulty Brain 