Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Oh my! What have I done?

I have had several surgeries in my life. The first that I recall was emergency surgery for appendicitis when I was in the third grade. It left me with a 3 inch long scar that wasn't too awful looking for most of my life. After I gained some weight, the scar area did not which left a very odd dip on my abdomen

The second major surgery I had was in my junior year in college. This one wasn't emergency surgery but it wasn't waiting on finals to be over the next week either. I had finally gone for my first OB/Gyn and the doctor took one look at my abdomen and told me that I was pregnant. I insisted that I was not (I was correct) but they did an ultrasound anyway thinking that I was lying.

What they found instead of a baby was a cyst the size of a small melon. Of course it had to be removed so they scheduled surgery for a few days later. Normally a surgery like this would leave a scar that is low and not seen by most people. Unfortunately the size forced them to cut me open down the middle and this surgeon really didn't do the scar well, so it's always bothered me.

I have been wanting to do something about those scars since my late 20's. The first plastic surgeon I spoke to encouraged me to wait until after I had all the children that I wanted. There was also the lack of available funds back then. As it turns out I won't be having any children and surprisingly my company had a fabulous year and provided me with the necessary funds.

So about a couple of months ago I decided to go for it. I talked to two surgeons and chose the one I liked better and went in for a more extensive talk with my chosen surgeon, Dr. Basu. He and his staff informed me that a scar revision surgery would likely be covered by my insurance which surprised me.

I'll admit that I went into that meeting knowing that I would get something other than the scar revision. The other area that I wanted to fix was my upper thighs. Particularly my inner thighs were out of proportion with the rest of me. Even when I was super thin I had a problem there. So I was planning on getting that fixed as well.

The surprise came when the doctor asked if I had ever considered a tummy tuck. He explained to me that the best way to get rid of the noticeable scars that I have was to do a procedure with the skin similar to a tummy tuck. He explained that if he were to do that, he could remove some of the excess fat and tighten the ab muscles. So I did it... Monday.

I was released from the hospital yesterday evening and today I sit here wondering what the heck I have done to myself. The pain isn't as bad as what I expected thankfully however I cannot walk upright yet which causes my back to hurt. I also can't sleep flat yet which makes sleeping difficult in a regular flat bed.

I'm sure I will be thrilled with the results a few weeks from now but at the moment I still wonder what I've done to myself.

4 comments:

Trix in the Stix said...

Here's to a quick recovery... and going out for cocktails to celebrate your new hot bod when you're ready!!

Unknown said...

Wow, you will sooooooo love it when all is said and done. Ahhh, to have excess funds to do something like that!

Rhonda Sloan said...

I guess the April Fool's Day joke was on you this year. Hopefully you are enjoying some good meds and feeling better this week.

Heather said...

WOW - Keep us posted!