What It's Like to Have Cosmetic Surgery

My personal journey of finishing touches after weight loss

January 18, 2011

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So here I sit — two weeks out from my body lift surgery, still in my pajamas and housebound — wondering where to start to describe what it feels like to have a body lift.

Does it hurt? Well, at this point it's mostly just really uncomfortable, but the first few days were intense. Really, really intense. Like cried-the-first-time-I-tried-to-get-out of-bed-at-the-hospital intense. But, like most things in life, that painful part passed and every day got a little easier.

A few days before my surgery, I started getting cold feet about the whole thing. After all, my procedure, a body lift, can take as long as eight hours in the OR. It was serious stuff. Then, the day before my surgery, my friend called and gave me a pep talk. She reminded me how tough women really are and told me I could handle it. Of course, I had to take her advice because this particular friend had once broken her leg while branding cattle on her ranch. Not only did she stay and finish branding the cattle, she then rode a wild, young horse all the way back to the ranch house (and since their ranch was several thousand acres, it was not a short trip.) How could I complain about a little plastic surgery pain up against that story?

One of the funnier parts about having plastic surgery is the moment in pre-op when the doc takes out his magic marker and draws all over you to plot out the surgery. I think that's the point when I started to relax and remind myself that it was necessary to get this done because my stomach and lower back were covered with a ton of black marks. My doctor was a patient and meticulous man – even in conversation – so I felt at ease after spending time with him. I think I had always imagined plastic surgeons as arrogant and annoying (I think I watched too much "Nip/Tuck" and "Dr 90210"), so my sweet-natured doc was a nice surprise.

Now, I've had surgeries before so I knew what it was like to wake up in recovery, etc. But I have to tell you that my anesthesiologist must've been a genius because I woke up feeling great. I chatted, texted a few people that night, even called the kids. My doctor had come into recovery to tell me the surgery went "perfectly" so I was feeling pretty good. Then, the anesthesia wore off and reality set in. Ouch and major ouch.

As you can imagine from an incision that goes entirely around your lower body, there's going to be some significant pain. I spent two nights in the hospital, and the second day was definitely the worst. I forced myself to get up and walk around, all the while hunched over because my stomach muscles were so tight (that's the beauty of abdominoplasty – it retightens your tummy). The more I moved around the better I felt.

I went home with four pumps in to drain the surgery area, and that part's a little gross but easy to get used to. For the first four days I was bandaged up and couldn't see what my body looked like underneath. When I finally got a glimpse, I almost fainted. There – although a bit swollen – was a flat, smooth stomach and firm lower body.

If you're wondering about the recovery time, I took two weeks off from work. But, honestly, if I had a job where I had to be on my feet all day it would require at least another week off. There's no heavy lifting or driving allowed yet (hoping to get cleared to drive tomorrow) so that means the family is picking up the slack for grocery shopping, house cleaning and laundry. I have to say, I could get used to that part.

Mostly, I've sat in bed watching TV because it's so much more mindless than reading. But at the point where I caught myself watching "Jersey Shore" I knew I was ready to pick up the laptop and start working again.

I've been overwhelmed by how many women have told me they, too, wish they could have some work done. The needs are all different. One lady said she wanted her neck done. Another wanted a tummy tuck. I guess we all have something at this age that could use improving.

At my first follow-up, my husband and I sat in the room waiting for doctor. There were all sorts of pamphlets about other plastic surgery procedures that piqued my interest. I have never been a big fan of facelifts because I've seen so many bad ones, but my doctor is so brilliant that I think I'd trust him for something like that.

But the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to think about getting more work done. Right now I'm just thrilled to have finally finished my long journey of weight loss with the finishing touches of cosmetic surgery.