When the first nurse took me back to the room she handed my two "packets" of papers (only two sheets each) that outlines the do's and don'ts of my abdominoplasty and augmentation. Here are the rules-
No aspirin and no aspirin containing medications or ibuprofen for two weeks before surgery and not after until given the okay by the doctor.
No dietary supplements or diet pills.
Notify the doctor of any blood thinners or other medications you are taking.
No eating or drinking for at least eight hours before surgery.
Tell the anesthesiologist if you get nauseated easily.
Wear loose fitting clothes, button up top and slip on shoes to surgery.
Shower with antibacterial soap and water morning of surgery, no deodorants, perfumes, or lotion.
For after surgery-
Have extra pillows for under knees while resting.
Have bacitracin ointment, gauze, and surgical tape available for changing dressings.
Have a front closure sports bra for after the bandages are removed.
The doctor will not give me drains in my chest and may not do drains in my abdomen, it will depend on how the tissue behaves when he's doing the surgery. He told me he tries to re-attach the skin to the underlying tissues in several places to help it heal faster. He also uses a lot of local anesthetic so the anesthesiologist doesn't have to use tons of meds to knock me out too deeply, which is good because I'm difficult to wake after anesthesia... My doctor said I was a lightweight with anesthesia probably because I rarely drink so my body isn't used to metabolizing things like that. Two days after surgery I will be allowed to remove my dressings and shower! Yay! Afterwards I will need to apply bacitracin and new dressings. If I feel comfortable I'm even allowed to sleep in bed on my side. The big rule is I'm not allowed to try to stretch or stand up straight for the first week. At my first post-op appointment (7-10 days later usually, mines actually 12 because of the weekend) they will check everything and remove any drains and I will then be provided with a binder for my abdomen. I'm not allowed to lift anything heavy for at least six weeks and I need the doctors okay before starting exercise. I also need to avoid direct sun or too much heat to the scars until the scar starts to fade.
The doctor gave me prescriptions for an antibiotic that I will start that I will start the day after surgery because they will give me IV antibiotics that will last the first day. I also get pain meds for the pain, and he wants me to take Arnica Montana for the swelling and bruising starting with one the night before surgery and three times a day after that.
When I finally ran out of questions he sent me into the room with the camera setup (eep!) and told be to get undressed except my underwear. The nurse came in and took pictures at several angles, first of my stomach and the of my chest. I must say that was very strange having no clothes on and having photos taken. The nurse was very nice and made it no big deal and just talked to me through the whole thing and told me that I was going to have great results with my stomach and I would be really happy. Then she took us to another room where I got to put on a stretchy bra and try out different size implants. We already knew I was going with silicone and the nurse asked what look I was going for, I told her I just wanted to fill in my tissue loss from breastfeeding three kids and and then losing an extra 50 pounds. She recommended the mid-profile style because of my chest size and the look I was going for. She measures my breasts and chest and pointed out that the bottom of my right breast is lower than the left (which I'd never actually noticed but it does explain some issues I've had with bra fit) and made sure I understood that it wouldn't change with my surgery although the doctor may make some adjustments for that. When trying on sizes she told me that any size of implant will look like its next size down does in the bra when it's inside the body. After several different sizes my husband and I decided on 435cc, it's a decent size so I will get some size out of this, but it will still look natural and fit my frame. Then the nurse gave me the sientra information books and told me that I need to fill out the informed decision page and she will fill out the warranty sheet and explained that each implant will have a serial number for tracking and warranty... The only thing going through my mind at that was an episode of Bones I saw once where they identified a body off the implant serial number, lol. Now I get to read all of the little books that go with my implants!
Now I just need to not get sick... I only mention that because my daughter is now all stuffed up and coughing like crazy, grrrr.
Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday August 14, 2013 at 8:30am!!
Cost-
So far this is my surgery cost, I'm getting a bit of a "discount" because we are paying out of pocket and not using financing through the doctors office. The surgery fees also include all pre and post-op appointments and my compression garment.
Surgery- $9,150.00
Anesthesia-$1,245.00
Recliner-$1,000.00
Over large button top pajamas- $30.00
Medications, bacitracin, gauze, tape, etc.-???? I'm guessing about $100.00
Ever since I had my daughter 2 ½ years ago, I'd been plagued by a bulge around my belly button that at times made me still look pregnant. No matter how much I dieted or exercised, that bulge would not disappear
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smita