Swelling 16 months after tummy tuck

I also have some swelling still after 7 months. I did lots of research on my doctor before hand and I paid $9000. My doctor also done a couple people I know. I say this just to say it can happen to anyone. I also think everyone is different and heals different. I'm curious to know if things ever gotten better for you. I'm loving my results but its just that up and down thing. I can tell that its my ab muscles thats swelling. I'm going to wait the full year at Doc request for full results. As of right now, I'm not in any pain at all and my incision is healing very well. Its just up and down swelling in abdomen. I would love to hear how your doing now.

Anything you do to your stomach, will cause this swelling reaction, whether it be Lipo like me, or tummy tucks. In fact, reading about this reaction to tummy tucks, I am grateful I did the lipo or I might be even more swollen. Ironically if you try to fight nature and make a flatter stomach, nature will fight you back and make your stomach twice as large as before. Do this surgery, and be ready to be a buddha, not a pancake flat bikini model. The folks who say, oh it looks great, how far out are you from surgery? Weeks? I looked flat too when I first did my lipo, then slowly, without eating more or excercising less...30 pounds creeped up on me, which no matter what, I cannot lose. After a second lipo when my upper stomach got bigger than my lower that was lipoed, the second doctor took another $8,000 off me, and I walked out exactly as I walked in. Still bulging and swollen. His reply was, "well that's visceral fat, and under the muscle in your abdominal cavity, I cannot get to it but when you lose weight, you'll see the work I did." I guess he can live with that I could have saved myself $8,000 if he'd told me that to begin with. Now I have ticking time bomb fat spewing poison into my system instead of nice subcutaneous fat that used to easily respond to diet and exercise. Not any more. This stuff does not budge once it builds up, and friends, it will. This is the upper belly bulge you all are getting. It doesn't respond, get better or go away. I maintained 30 pounds under my present weight with NO effort and NO dieting before. Now diet and excercise will not budge my weight. Slowly it keeps climbing too. It sucks and I cannot take this mistake back. Anyone here telling people that it's them, or that they picked the wrong doctor, please shut up. EVERY doctor is wrong for performing stomach lipo and tummy tucks. It's ridiculous to ever think that any part of your body is expendable. It's a delicate balance, and the body WILL fight your action with reaction, and it will NOT be pretty. This is not a quick fix, this is a nightmare, and an expensive one. I feel like a complete id**t that I paid $1,000s of dollars, to look worse than I did before. I will never forgive myself for it. It doesn't get better, and it doesn't go away. I did my lipo over a decade ago when I had no way to research it. I didn't own a computer yet. I was rightfully uninformed and stupid, but all of you now are not. YOU KNOW! You STILL want to do this??? I don't care about your "great doctor" because it does not matter. They're all aware of this situation and if you think they really care, they do NOT. They want the big money, and continue to maim women who are vain for thousands, because ALL they care about is the money it pads their pockets with. Plastic surgeons are criminals in my mind now. They murder physiques on the pretense of improving them. I feel worse for all I am reading with the horrible complications that some of you have gone through, just trying to look good. I am so sorry that we're all in this boat but thankfully we're speaking out. Yet some of you think it won't happen to you. If more people paid attention to the resources online of what the outcome actually IS for these surgeries for most people, no one would ever TOUCH their natural stomach again. No one should EVER do ANYTHING to their stomachs, it seems to really be the absolute worst procedure to do as far as reactions with upper belly swelling, BUT I have read that even people who do ANY lipo get this too. It appears that even pear shaped women who have lipo on their hips, turn into APPLE shapes as a rebound. They had a small waist and big hips, now they just look mannish. Great stuff this lipo and tummy tuck surgery. Yet some of you think it won't happen. Go ahead, do it, you'll see. Or listen, and save yourself the money and more than that, the MISERY of never looking good again, and being WORSE OFF than you started. If you can diet away extra pounds, DO so. That fat comes back, and it's harder to lose. It's documented now all over the net. If I knew then what I know now, I'd not be writing this sad post. You can't just suck out and cut off and toss parts of your bodies without the body reacting to it. Sorry. We were put together uniquely one and all. Why I mutilated myself, disrupted my bodies own balance, and made the biggest irrevocable mistake of a lifetime doing this, is on me now forever. If you have NOT done anything yet, DO NOT. Live with your natural fat distribution, live with your pouches, stretch marks, sagging skin. Believe me, it's a lot better than living a lifetime with a body that feels uncomfortable, will most likely re-gain all the weight and then some due to the body overcompensating for having fat removed, and then won't let go of the fat again no matter HOW you starve and exercise. Believe me, be smart, DON'T DO IT!

I am experiencing the same problem. I had a tummy tuck 3 years ago. Over the last year, I have noticed a bulge in my stomach and look 6-9 months pregnant after eating. it's to the point where I am embarassed to go out to eat or eat in front of people. Im beginning to wonder why i had the surgery in the first place now that I have pigeon belly. My primary doctor told me it looked like a hernia and to see a general surgeon. One look and the general surgeon asked me who did my tummy tuck and I hadn't even told him i had the surgery. I am now going for a ct scan for them to confirm what is actually there. The general surgeon told me to see the plastics guy again but Im not even sure I want to deal with him after this. How depressing!

Things have gotten better. Dec 17 was 1 year. I went a strict diet in Oct and lost about 18pds. Then continued to eat well. I also went to my OB for swelling and some did have to do with hormones so I do take a diuretic 10 before my cycle, this has REALLY helped. I now watch my diet and have been exercising with just a little swelling afterwards. I have went from a size 16 to a 8 /10 and still losing. My stomach is flat I hold my weight in my sides, I do wish I would have followed others comments to keep binding garment on longer but I look and feel good. It has been a LONG recovery and still not 100% but I am as little now as before I had kids. I have no pain still numb but I was numb after I had kids so no difference for me. I had a breast reduction also with the tuck. I wonder with all the procedures it took alittle longer for the swelling. Overall all I am now happy I did it. I am little disappointed in surgeon I think all my swelling bothered her and told me I did not need to follow up for 1 year, that was after I was post op 5 months and still swelling. I personally think she should have had me come back atleast every six months and do a 1 year check up. Many people said to give it a year and thats what I needed to do. Good luck to all of you out there.

I had a tummy tuck with one of the "best plastic surgeons" in the world and I have still four years later a swollen looking stomach, when I do sit ups it forms a triangular shape and my stomach is so hard to the touch. So I am not sure what can be done.

Just want to say that I had the surgery 18 mos. ago, and my belly looks worse than ever....stiff and lumpy. My daughter-in-law, who also had the surgery, says my problem must be scar tissue. I looked like a movie star until a couple of months ago. It's either my old, white, fragile self, or my doc's fault. Am making an appt. to see what he thinks. Of course no ps would admit a problem. I seem to have the same thing as mathgirl26.

Hi! I'm so glad to read your post. I thought I was just crazy. Doctors were telling me I was crazy. I, too, have changed to a horrible apple shape after the tummy tuck I had nearly 7 years ago. It has been murder trying to lose that weight when in the past, it was not quite so hard. Thanks for making me realize I'm not the only one who's experienced this.

OMG... this sounds just like what I'm going through. I had a "T" Tummy tuck in February of 2013 with lipo. It was a 10 hour surgery. I had many complications. My drains were removed early I developed a staph infection that was not recognized initially and was drained on my side and said it was cellulitis. I was operated on again in March for a breast lift with additional lipo. The operation wasnt good infection spread to my breasts and they had to go back in a repair the damage of my stitches opening up. I cried... omg I cried at what was in front of me. Put it this way, Ive had scar revision and 5 surgeries all together. The last one was October 2013 for "touch-ups" to my tummy tuck because there was fullness on one side and not the other. Recently, my right leg has begun to swell and the area that the scar was last revised in my pelvic area is bloated. I too have the bloated upper abdomen look. Its awful. I've gained 20 because Ive been unable to live the life (active) like before. The results are depressing with huge scars. Everytime I go back to ps he says "looking good, skinny" and has some technical excuse. When I complain about how bad the scars are he says ...well its better than it was before. This is terrible. I paid $14,000.00 to go through all of this. 5 surgeries and my legs are swelling my stomach is lumpy and purple scars along my breasts....botched. Im just sad and no one gets it.

I am suffering exact same 4 yrs after abdominal surgery from Dr Lintner in atlanta. I Would be grateful to finally be able totalk to someone that understands. I am desperate and ready to fly out of state for help. Please contact me.

I went to my ps after one week, i was fine, the second week he aspirated me with about 5 big needles of blood, felt like i couldnt breathe properly on the way home. The 3rd visit on the 3rd week i was really really bloated, so he put me into hospital the next day, where I was completely drained. When I woke up I felt flat as a pancake. Also my breathing after that improved. My ps put one drain in and left it there for 12 days more, he wasnt taking any chances. Prior to the drain being taken out, hardly anything came out of that side, maybe the drain was not inserted correctly the first time round. I suggest you make your ps aspirate you to make sure you do not have any fluid in you.

I had my tummy tuck over 2 years ago and I am still very swollen every day and it seems to be getting worse!  I am still wearing my binder every night. I am so releived to hear this from someone else! I am seeing my PS about this again next week and I am going to ask about the lymph edema. My PS is one of the best and she came highly recommended. I am so frustrated!   

i too had tt and lipo, 6 months later my upper abdomen is still swollen, i exercise everyday and get so frustrated when i think of the money i spend, ps said i was doing good, i usually don't see my patient for a year. Gonna wait until my year is up then go back if nothing has changed.

Wow - your situation and surgeon's responses sound remarkably similar to mine. Did you have this done in Maryland, by any chance?

I am 9 months post tummy tuck and upper abdomen swollen, i exercise and walk. went to see my ps he said i looked fine, i usually dont see my patient for a year, sounds like the same ps lol. But seriously i think they should tell you everything that could happen before they take your money. Its very frustrating after paying all that money and 9 months later my upper belly still swollen

Neither I’m a professional surgeon nor i have much knowledge regarding medical term.  Its advisable if you consult your surgeon soon. its miserable that you are suffering this pain since 16 months. I think you should be given proper medication regarding this reaction. My sibling too underwent a tummy tuck procedure from a cosmetic surgeon of Toronto, and  had a same kind of complication where she has excessive inflammation on her face. She consulted a surgeon soon after she started experiencing the complications. Thankfully now she has successfully recovered from it.

 

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