Decided to go under the knife

[VictorBR]

Sup girls

I decided to post this here , since girls usually know more about this stuff than men .

Ok here is the deal ,I have been 42 inches waist and went down to 34 inches ( as I am now ) , a couple times in my life . At one point I would be 42 , and then after 8 weeks I would be 34 , and then back to 42 , down to 34 ....over and over again .

The results : since I never really trained my abs consistently , I have already loose skin all over my abs and love handles , and it is gonna get even WORSE when I go down to 31 inches waist as I am planning ( there is still some fat to lose ) .

So , When I reach 31 inches waist I will have EVEN more loose skin all over my abs , and I also have some nasty STRETCH MARKS . ( since my stretch makrs are old and white they will probably not respond well to laser treatments or retin-a cream )

I am 25 years old and I really don't think my skin will tighthen enough the way I want , and even if it did , I would still have those horrible strech marks.

So I decided to go under the knife on a surgery called mini-abdominoplasty or body countouring , I will lose the rest of the fat and then will go for this surgery to REMOVE ONLY EXCESSIVE SKIN and the stretch marks . It is not a liposuction or a surgery to remove fat .

Ok, sounds good since I can kill 2 problems all at once , BUT my main concern is the SCAR that it will leave , because I have seen some pics on the internet and the scars are SO BIG that I might be better the way I am now than with that enormous scar , like going all the way from one hip to another .

My question is , does anyone here actually have done something similar OR seen the results of something like this ???

thx all


Victor

 

[skittles]

Sup girls

I decided to post this here , since girls usually know more about this stuff than men .

Ok here is the deal ,I have been 42 inches waist and went down to 34 inches ( as I am now ) , a couple times in my life . At one point I would be 42 , and then after 8 weeks I would be 34 , and then back to 42 , down to 34 ....over and over again .

The results : since I never really trained my abs consistently , I have already loose skin all over my abs and love handles , and it is gonna get even WORSE when I go down to 31 inches waist as I am planning ( there is still some fat to lose ) .

So , When I reach 31 inches waist I will have EVEN more loose skin all over my abs , and I also have some nasty STRETCH MARKS . ( since my stretch makrs are old and white they will probably not respond well to laser treatments or retin-a cream )

I am 25 years old and I really don't think my skin will tighthen enough the way I want , and even if it did , I would still have those horrible strech marks.

So I decided to go under the knife on a surgery called mini-abdominoplasty or body countouring , I will lose the rest of the fat and then will go for this surgery to REMOVE ONLY EXCESSIVE SKIN and the stretch marks . It is not a liposuction or a surgery to remove fat .

Ok, sounds good since I can kill 2 problems all at once , BUT my main concern is the SCAR that it will leave , because I have seen some pics on the internet and the scars are SO BIG that I might be better the way I am now than with that enormous scar , like going all the way from one love handle to another .

My question is , does anyone here actually have done something similar OR seen the results of something like this ???

thx all


Victor

Congrats on your weight loss & hard work!

My bf had something similar about 12 years ago. He lost alot of weight & got his waist down to about 33 inches. He had tons of loose skin around the love handle / lower ab area. He had the loose skin on the love handles removed, but not on the frontal area (he regrets not having this removed as well) Anyway, his scars were pretty noticable at first (I didn't know him then, but he said they were noticable) Now, you can barely see the scars (I was dating him for over 2 years when he told me he had this surgery & I had to look HARD for his scars) In terms of stretch marks, he has lots. They are not severe (by severe I mean really deep) but are definitely noticeable. However, his procedure was not for stretch marks.......maybe someone else can help you on this part.

 

[jenscats5]

How badly you'll scar really is dependant on your body. Some people's scars heal better than others'. You can also use Mederma or a similar product afterwards to help with healing the scars.

Just make sure you follow your surgeon's advice - like wearing the compression garment, etc. The garment does get hot - well it's hot wearing it - but believe me it's worth it!! Also make sure whoever will be with you in surgery to bring 1) Lip Balm and 2) hard candy cuz the anesthesia often causes dry, cracked lips & VERY dry mouth.

 

[VictorBR]

Congrats on your weight loss & hard work!

My bf had something similar about 12 years ago. He lost alot of weight & got his waist down to about 33 inches. He had tons of loose skin around the love handle / lower ab area. He had the loose skin on the love handles removed, but not on the frontal area (he regrets not having this removed as well) Anyway, his scars were pretty noticable at first (I didn't know him then, but he said they were noticable) Now, you can barely see the scars (I was dating him for over 2 years when he told me he had this surgery & I had to look HARD for his scars) In terms of stretch marks, he has lots. They are not severe (by severe I mean really deep) but are definitely noticeable. However, his procedure was not for stretch marks.......maybe someone else can help you on this part.

>>> thx !

See , the thing is I will probably have to do both ( love handles area AND lower abs ) your bf only did the love handles , but if you say you can barely see the scars that is a good thing and kinda of a relief for me , I know they will fade over time but even so ,the idea of having a BIG SCAR from one hip to another EVEN if they are barely noticable kinda scares me .

About the stretch marks I am pretty sure they can be removed when the excess skin is removed so I am not really concerned about that .

One thing that let me down is really the scar , I thought it would be a small scar like 1-2 inches maybe , never thought it would be 15 inches.

How big is the scar of your bf ?

Could you do me a big favor and ask him a couple of questions for me ?

1- How long untill the scars were barely noticable ( like they are now ) ?

2- How long did he have to stay away from the gym after surgery ?

3- Why didn't he asked the surgeon to remove his stretch marks with the extra skin that was to be removed ?


Seriously , all this hard work to lose all this fat and you still don't look good because your skin is loose and you have a bunch of stretch marks .

Life ain't fair


Victor

 

[VictorBR]

How badly you'll scar really is dependant on your body. Some people's scars heal better than others'. You can also use Mederma or a similar product afterwards to help with healing the scars.

Just make sure you follow your surgeon's advice - like wearing the compression garment, etc. The garment does get hot - well it's hot wearing it - but believe me it's worth it!! Also make sure whoever will be with you in surgery to bring 1) Lip Balm and 2) hard candy cuz the anesthesia often causes dry, cracked lips & VERY dry mouth.

>>> thx a lot for the tips ,I will keep that in mind I know about scars being an individual thing , but I still kinda think : " OK , even if my body is the best when it comes to fading and healing scars , I will still have a 15 inches scar all over my waist, because they never fade 100 % so ... " it kinda makes me sad ....

I guess I can't win , it is either loose skin sagging and stretch marks and no scar or tight skin , 6 pack , no strecht marks BUT A BIG 15 INCHES SCAR


Victor

 

[jenscats5]

>>> thx a lot for the tips ,I will keep that in mind I know about scars being an individual thing , but I still kinda think : " OK , even if my body is the best when it comes to fading and healing scars , I will still have a 15 inches scar all over my waist, because they never fade 100 % so ... " it kinda makes me sad ....

I guess I can't win , it is either loose skin sagging and stretch marks and no scar or tight skin , 6 pack , no strecht marks BUT A BIG 15 INCHES SCAR


Victor

I know what you mean....Plastic surgery is a kind of trade off - either keep the hanging, loose skin or have the scars. No it's not fair but you need to pick which one you can deal with better. At least it'll be hidden under the waistband of your clothes.....I'm sure with time - it won't be as noticeable as you think it will...

Good luck with the surgery!!

 

[VictorBR]

I know what you mean....Plastic surgery is a kind of trade off - either keep the hanging, loose skin or have the scars. No it's not fair but you need to pick which one you can deal with better. At least it'll be hidden under the waistband of your clothes.....I'm sure with time - it won't be as noticeable as you think it will...

Good luck with the surgery!!

>>> Exactly , I gotta choose and I already did , I think I really can't deal with loose skin and stretch marks so surgery for me , I am sure of that .

I found this on the net :


Advantages (See Frequently-Asked Questions for details)

The advantages of abdominoplasty in general are:

Only method for skin tightening.
Tightens and cinches stretched muscles.
Removes some excess fat.
Helps decrease stretch marks.
Long-lasting result.
| Back to the top | To Home page |

Disadvantages (See Frequently-Asked Questions for details)

The disadvantages of abdominoplasty in general are:

Long horizontal scar above pubic hairline.*
Scar around belly-button.
Recovery time 1-3 weeks.
Temporary bruising.
Temporary numbness.
Temporary swelling.
Expenses

(* In some cases, if the skin is not excessive, muscle tightening is done endoscopically, without the horizontal scar)


>>> That is interesting , because after some serious abs training and some HGH I will not have THAT much of a skin loose , maybe if it is not that much , I can fit in that case where they can do it endoscopically without the scar .


Victor

 

[VictorBR]

Found this on the same site :

Where are the scars after abdominoplasty?

There is always a scar around the navel. There is almost always a low horizontal scar across the lower abdomen just above the hairline. Sometimes there is also a short vertical scar above the pubic area. A person whose problem is only laxity of the muscles, rather than skin excess, may be able to have endoscopic abdominoplasty, leaving only the scar at the navel and a short scar above the pubic hairline.

that sounds better

Victor

 

[gjohnson5]

Sup girls

I decided to post this here , since girls usually know more about this stuff than men .

Ok here is the deal ,I have been 42 inches waist and went down to 34 inches ( as I am now ) , a couple times in my life . At one point I would be 42 , and then after 8 weeks I would be 34 , and then back to 42 , down to 34 ....over and over again .

The results : since I never really trained my abs consistently , I have already loose skin all over my abs and love handles , and it is gonna get even WORSE when I go down to 31 inches waist as I am planning ( there is still some fat to lose ) .

So , When I reach 31 inches waist I will have EVEN more loose skin all over my abs , and I also have some nasty STRETCH MARKS . ( since my stretch makrs are old and white they will probably not respond well to laser treatments or retin-a cream )

I am 25 years old and I really don't think my skin will tighthen enough the way I want , and even if it did , I would still have those horrible strech marks.

So I decided to go under the knife on a surgery called mini-abdominoplasty or body countouring , I will lose the rest of the fat and then will go for this surgery to REMOVE ONLY EXCESSIVE SKIN and the stretch marks . It is not a liposuction or a surgery to remove fat .

Ok, sounds good since I can kill 2 problems all at once , BUT my main concern is the SCAR that it will leave , because I have seen some pics on the internet and the scars are SO BIG that I might be better the way I am now than with that enormous scar , like going all the way from one hip to another .

My question is , does anyone here actually have done something similar OR seen the results of something like this ???

thx all


Victor

What are you doing??? Giving birth?

 

[skittles]

>>> thx !

See , the thing is I will probably have to do both ( love handles area AND lower abs ) your bf only did the love handles , but if you say you can barely see the scars that is a good thing and kinda of a relief for me , I know they will fade over time but even so ,the idea of having a BIG SCAR from one hip to another EVEN if they are barely noticable kinda scares me .

About the stretch marks I am pretty sure they can be removed when the excess skin is removed so I am not really concerned about that .

One thing that let me down is really the scar , I thought it would be a small scar like 1-2 inches maybe , never thought it would be 15 inches.

How big is the scar of your bf ?

Could you do me a big favor and ask him a couple of questions for me ?

1- How long untill the scars were barely noticable ( like they are now ) ?

2- How long did he have to stay away from the gym after surgery ?

3- Why didn't he asked the surgeon to remove his stretch marks with the extra skin that was to be removed ?


Seriously , all this hard work to lose all this fat and you still don't look good because your skin is loose and you have a bunch of stretch marks .

Life ain't fair


Victor

I'll ask him for you & post up tomorrow.....

In regards to downtime......he teaches martial arts for a living, so knowing him he didn't wait till he was 100% (so you would be better to ask your surgeon this!)

He did not have a 15 inch incision! He has 2 incision scars (by his hip bones on both sides) This may be why he didn not have the frontal area done - I will ask him to be sure. Also, I'm not sure about your body fat, but he has reduced his in the past year (he's 6.4% right now) he still has that layer of skin, but it looks fine.....I don't think he will ever have a 6 or 8 pack because of this, but he looks great IMO. His scars look to be about 1-1.5 inches on each side - but like I said, I didn't even notice them because they are faint.....I thought they were faint stretch marks.

I'll ask him to be sure, but I think he didn't have all the stretch marks removed because he has them all over his love handle area & his butt. You would not notice his stretch marks unless he had on low pants or was naked.

How deep are your stretch marks?

A 15 inch incision?? Is it going straight across your abdomen?

I'll ask him your questions & let you know tomorrow

 

[skittles]

Found this on the same site :

Where are the scars after abdominoplasty?

There is always a scar around the navel. There is almost always a low horizontal scar across the lower abdomen just above the hairline. Sometimes there is also a short vertical scar above the pubic area. A person whose problem is only laxity of the muscles, rather than skin excess, may be able to have endoscopic abdominoplasty, leaving only the scar at the navel and a short scar above the pubic hairline.

that sounds better

Victor

By the sounds of this my bf had a different type of surgery to remove the extra skin. He does not have any scaring around his navel. I'll have to ask him..

 

[VictorBR]

I'll ask him for you & post up tomorrow.....

In regards to downtime......he teaches martial arts for a living, so knowing him he didn't wait till he was 100% (so you would be better to ask your surgeon this!)

He did not have a 15 inch incision! He has 2 incision scars (by his hip bones on both sides) This may be why he didn not have the frontal area done - I will ask him to be sure. Also, I'm not sure about your body fat, but he has reduced his in the past year (he's 6.4% right now) he still has that layer of skin, but it looks fine.....I don't think he will ever have a 6 or 8 pack because of this, but he looks great IMO. His scars look to be about 1-1.5 inches on each side - but like I said, I didn't even notice them because they are faint.....I thought they were faint stretch marks.

I'll ask him to be sure, but I think he didn't have all the stretch marks removed because he has them all over his love handle area & his butt. You would not notice his stretch marks unless he had on low pants or was naked.

How deep are your stretch marks?

A 15 inch incision?? Is it going straight across your abdomen?

I'll ask him your questions & let you know tomorrow

>>> Exactly , Maybe that is why he didn't do the lower abs , because it was going to leave a big scar , My stretch marks are pretty big and ugly , I have them on lower abs and love handles . About the 15 inch incision , yeah that is what I see on the pics on the net . My body fat is around 12 % , but I am going to reduce it to 6 % before going to the surgery , like I said , the goal is to remove excess skin , not fat , fat you can lose with diet and training , no need for surgery to lose fat .

thx a lot for taking the time to reply, help me and ask him the questions , I will come back here tomorrow to see what he had to say .


Victor

 

[VictorBR]

What are you doing??? Giving birth?

>> A lot of people go to 40 inches waist and down to 30 inches TONS OF TIMES , and they don't have loose skin or stretch marks , skin elasticity is an individual and genetic matter in case you didn't know . So if you don't have anything positive to say , it would be good if you could stay away from the thread .


Victor

 

[skittles]

>>> Exactly , Maybe that is why he didn't do the lower abs , because it was going to leave a big scar , My stretch marks are pretty big and ugly , I have them on lower abs and love handles . About the 15 inch incision , yeah that is what I see on the pics on the net . My body fat is around 12 % , but I am going to reduce it to 6 % before going to the surgery , like I said , the goal is to remove excess skin , not fat , fat you can lose with diet and training , no need for surgery to lose fat .

thx a lot for taking the time to reply, help me and ask him the questions , I will come back here tomorrow to see what he had to say .


Victor

No problem

One more thing - what is your skin type? I'm sure that plays a factor on the outcome of your scar. (for example, I am fair skinned & when I scar it does not fade . when I was little I had a cut that was about 6 inches long...the scar is about 4 1/2 now.) Any cut I have ever had, the scar is noticeable.

Have you had any major cuts / stiches? What do your scars look like now?

 

[VictorBR]

No problem

One more thing - what is your skin type? I'm sure that plays a factor on the outcome of your scar. (for example, I am fair skinned & when I scar it does not fade . when I was little I had a cut that was about 6 inches long...the scar is about 4 1/2 now.) Any cut I have ever had, the scar is noticeable.

Have you had any major cuts / stiches? What do your scars look like now?

>>> I have broken some bones , but never had a major cut ( only minor stuff ) so I can't really say if my skin type is a good one when it comes to heal and fade scars , one thing I know is that I never smoked in my life and I am very HEALTHY , so I think that this probably helps ....


Victor

 

[gjohnson5]

>> A lot of people go to 40 inches waist and down to 30 inches TONS OF TIMES , and they don't have loose skin or stretch marks , skin elasticity is an individual and genetic matter in case you didn't know . So if you don't have anything positive to say , it would be good if you could stay away from the thread .


Victor

Relax , I was joking.

I get them too in the shoulder / trap area
Also with that type of fat loss , I would think that you'd have much loose skin on the face and neck?

 

[jenscats5]

The scar around the navel really isn't that noticeable....what they do is if your loose skin is large - they "take out" your belly button - literally undo it from your skin & pull the skin down, cutting off the excess then create a new hole for the belly button. The belly button hides the scar pretty well. It's the scar going across your lower pubic area that will be more noticeable. Hopefully your surgeon will be enough of an "artist" to leave you with a good scar. And whatever stretch marks are located on the skin that's cut off will be gone permanently.

Also a tan - like with a self tanner can hide any remaining stretch marks pretty well. Just watch - for the 1st year after surgery NO TANNING on the scar areas!!

 

[VictorBR]

Relax , I was joking.

I get them too in the shoulder / trap area
Also with that type of fat loss , I would think that you'd have much loose skin on the face and neck?

>>> my bad , t-rex is making me moody sometimes

For my surprise no loose skin on my face and my neck , looks good

I also have stretch marks on my bis and just ONE on my shoulders ,, but they really don't bother me .

Victor

 

[gjohnson5]

>> A lot of people go to 40 inches waist and down to 30 inches TONS OF TIMES , and they don't have loose skin or stretch marks , skin elasticity is an individual and genetic matter in case you didn't know . So if you don't have anything positive to say , it would be good if you could stay away from the thread .


Victor

Also I seem to remember a conversation we were having and you said that everyone uses carbs when bulking. Maybe you should take my original advise and start using fats for calories and energy instead of carbs so your midsection won't balloon and then you have to burn the fats from "carbing up"

 

[VictorBR]

The scar around the navel really isn't that noticeable....what they do is if your loose skin is large - they "take out" your belly button - literally undo it from your skin & pull the skin down, cutting off the excess then create a new hole for the belly button. The belly button hides the scar pretty well. It's the scar going across your lower pubic area that will be more noticeable. Hopefully your surgeon will be enough of an "artist" to leave you with a good scar. And whatever stretch marks are located on the skin that's cut off will be gone permanently.

Also a tan - like with a self tanner can hide any remaining stretch marks pretty well. Just watch - for the 1st year after surgery NO TANNING on the scar areas!!

>>> thx for the update jenscats , no tanning on the scar area , but I can tan the rest of my body right ?

I agree with you that this will depend also on the surgeon's abilitie that is why I will choose the best , I don't think I will have much of a loose skin so they have to take out my belly button , but I still have 20-25 pounds to lose to get me where I want , so we will see . I was also thinking yesterday and nothing in life comes free , it is always a trade . But you gotta evaluate and see if the trade is worth it . In this case I am 100 % it is .

You know what ? To have somewhat of a BARELY noticable scar , that 99 % of the time will be hidden by clothes even when I am shirtless , is a small price to PAY to achieve a muscular , flat , tight mid - section . That is why I am 100 % decided to go for the surgery .


Victor

 

[VictorBR]

Also I seem to remember a conversation we were having and you said that everyone uses carbs when bulking. Maybe you should take my original advise and start using fats for calories and energy instead of carbs so your midsection won't balloon and then you have to burn the fats from "carbing up"

>>> Bro the fact that I went from 34 inches to 42 inches waist a COUPLE of times in my life has nothing to do with carbs or fat intake . I was not BULKING at all .

All the time that I gained that much fat , I was not working out at all , and eating crap food 24/7 . Whenever I was off the gym for some reason I was eating crap food because I always said to myself " Oh what the hell I can lose the fat again so fast when I get back on track , so I don't care "

And yes all the time I was able to lose the fat AGAIN and AGAIN , BUT I cannot aford to do this EVER AGAIN , since it really takes a toll on your body , it fucks up your skin , etc... this yo-yo thing is just horrible for your body .

I guess I had to learn the hard way


" You must spread some Karma around before giving it to gjohnson5 again "


Victor