Tummytuck Surgery After Childbirth & Weight-lost at Shens Clinic (Photos and Recovery Updates)

I finally completed the post that  everyone has been patiently waiting for...the journey of my tummy-tuck surgery.

Why I Choose to go for a tummytuck procedure?

I've always fantasized about just cutting off that piece of loose saggy flab hanging on my waist.  Yes those dreadful multiple folds that were fixated upon my entire life after my two pregnancy births and massive weight lost.

 If you have followed my previous post, I gained nearly 30kg during my pregnancy and continued to gain more until I was a whooping 80kg body for my small frame. It took me slightly over a year to lose all the crazy weight. In fact now I weigh even lesser than my pre-preg weight, but infuriatingly, my tummy still disappoints me . I lost a lot of weight at such a short period of time so this caused my skin to stretch and get loosen even more. They started to hang like small folds of apron all over my entire belly. The tissue that binds the main abdominal muscles has stretched beyond natural repair and regardless how much exercises I did or how much weight I lose, the loose skin is unable to reverse back to its original state. I desperately want the hanging skin to go so my tummy can look normal again.  Each time I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt so self-conscious of my saggy scarred tummy and always think of ways to hide them. Not many new how serious my condition is. Many doctors have already confirmed that my only option is a tummy tuck surgery to fully repair it. I do have people advising me to change my diet , take more collagen or do certain kind of toning exercises , thinking that it will help to solve this loose skin problem. I can tell you that anything under the sun you can think of, I've tried.Maybe it helps to improve a tiny bit but it definitely wont solve my problem.  After several years of consideration, I decided to go the surgical route, to get rid of it once and for all.

How "Bad" Was My Tummy Before Surgery? (photos before surgery)

After my rapid weight-lost, my skin became so loose and saggy that it even droops over my bellybutton. You can not believe that this 70 years old look-alike tummy belongs to a 30 years old. And now you know how much I want to repair this wrinkled apron that I've been carrying for the past few years.

What is a Tummytuck/Abdominoplasty? 

During tummytuck/ abdominoplasty surgery, your abdominal skin is stretched down over your incision line and the excess skin is removed after tightening the abdominal muscles with sutures. In a FULL tummytuck, a long horizontal incision is made just above the pubic bone , curving up to the sides of the hip bones. Drainage tubes will then be inserted into the incisions to prevent the buildup of fluids beneath the skin. The tummytuck scar will be incorporated to the existing scar of women who have undergone cesarean section and may take several months to fade. 

A tummy tuck is NOT a substitute for weight loss . A good candidate is one who has lost a lot of weight, finished having children, already committed to a healthy lifestyle but struggle with increased amounts of skin laxity or separated abdominal muscles. 

The Consultation with Dr Shen from Shens Clinic

Tummytuck is a big surgery that takes long hours with the use of GA (general anesthesia ) .Therefore, it's very important to look for a board-certified cosmetic surgeon with specialized training and significant experience. Dr Shen from Shens Clinic is very professional because after he reviewed my medical history, he is able to explain the procedures in detail, and understood the result that I desired.

Dr Shen is also a perfectionist and has high expectation of his work. After analyzing my condition, he decided that I need a full tummy-tuck, bellybutton reconstruction, diastasis rec-ti repair (stitching back the separated abdominal muscles walls) and liposuction of my flanks to create that dramatic improvement that I expected. He was confident that he can easily help me retrieve back my long-lost pre-pregnancy figure or achieve one that is even better. 

The Day of Surgery 

Honestly I don't remember much about the surgery day. I knew that I'm really thankful to the anesthesiologist who helped me sleep comfortably throughout that 5 hours while Dr Shens carefully worked his magic on me . I woke up with my torso swathed in thick bandages and was still a little googly from the after-effect of the GA. I didn't manage to experience any real pain yet , just the discomfort from the super tight body garment that they squeezed me into. I thought that the real pain would hit me immediately after I gained consciousness. However probably due to the leftover anesthesia, I was even able to get up slowly and walked to the reception sofa myself to meet my hubby there. 

This photo is taken right after my surgery.... I looked a little pale-looking but feeling rather fine. Well, except for that disturbing bag of blood hanging between my legs. 

Nothing could prepare me for the worst part of my recovery and that is mainly contributed by this bloody bag above. I had two thin tubes on each end of my (hip to hip) incision that helps to drain fluid from my abdomen. They are connected to this bag that collects the blood and fluid over the next few days. The tubes of the bag really gets on my nerves as they always got in the way .If I accidentally pull or trip over them ,it would lead to this unbearable painful burning sensation that shot all the way up to my entire torso. Therefore I need to be really careful with these tubes and bag for the next six days. Once the bag is filled up with my accumulated blood, I had to drain them into the toilet bowl multiple times a day. This is definitely not for the faint of heart . For that week, my toilet was filled with the puking stench of my blood. Furthermore I've to survive in this ugly beige post-surgical garment that was so tight and uncomfortable that it made me gasp and pant for breath, causing me sleepless nights. 

The First Week Of Recovery

The first week is all about gritting your teeth and pulling through the recovery period. I was pumping myself with painkillers and sleeping pills , trying to pass by the discomfort stage. Getting myself up and down the bed was extremely tedious because of the raw flesh drain-holes from my incisions that had me constantly wincing in pain. Whenever I accidentally stimulate those abdominal muscles with a cough or sneeze or even a laugh, my tummy felt like being stabbed by tiny burning knives. This was due to the stitching of the muscle gaps in my abdomen. It hurts very badly if it got tensed just a little.  For nearly two weeks, I've to keep my hips flexed and walk hunch over like an old lady. It made my lower back ached so much.  At times I wonder why am I putting myself at peril for the sake of vanity? This was the time that I've to constantly keep my mind focus on the results, and convince myself that everything is all worth it. And by doing so, I did online shopping for new clothes and bikinis that I can wear after I recover. It has proven to be a very good way to comfort myself at this period. 

The 7th Day Of Recovery

The drains were finally removed on the 6th day at the clinic. I was so damn happy to see them go . This is how my tummy looked like on the 7th day without the tubes, bag and corset. My entire torso feels so rock hard and is still swelling with bruises. My new bellybutton has yet to be healed so it had to be covered with a plaster to prevent infection. When I reached home, I cant wait to stand in front my mirror and slowly examine my naked tummy. It was already obvious that my wrinkled skin had been evenly ironed out and for first time I can remember; I've a waist finally!
 Dr Shens advised me to wear my compression garment as long as I can, to give me the support I need, as well as to recover faster with better result. 

The 14th Day Of Recovery

At this stage although I cant really stand up fully straight yet and is still hunching a little,  I'm already quite comfortable enough to resume most of my daily routine around the house, like cooking and handling my two kids. My waist has became much more defined , even though the skin is still tight and looked stapled down in an unnatural way. My new reconstructed bellybutton was a straight line instead of a round naval. However Dr Shens assured me that I'm still at the healing stage and my tummy would soften and become much natural-looking soon. 

The Scar of a Tummytuck

Tummytuck is a surgical procedure that requires a long incision across your abdomen, therefore it would definitely leave a long faint scar. However, Dr Shens is careful when placing the incision so any scarring will be easily concealed by underwear or a bikini bottom. Also, I was advised to use certain products to minimize scarring and it will fade dramatically with time.If you are curious how the scar of a tummytuck looks like, here you go. This is the scar two months after the surgery.  Truthfully, I can live well with the scar in exchange for my perfectly stretched skin and flat tummy. Oh and I finally have a cute bellybutton too!

3 Months Post-surgery - The Result (Photo)

It has been 3 months since my surgery and I didn't regret any bit for going through this even if I've to repeat the pain that I endured during the first few days. Dr Shens has amazingly gave me the result that I've always been dreaming of for a long time; he managed to magically turn back the clock and get my pre-pregnancy body back for me. My saggy and wrinkled tummy skin and loose protruding bellybutton are finally gone, and now I've a perfect new waist to work on.

I would like to point out that doing this surgery doesn't mean that I didn't love myself or didn't appreciate the "battle scars" from my pregnancy. I love what my body had given me;  two beautiful children that rock my world. However I don't need the presence of loose skin, stretched marks and wrinkled tummy to remind me how much I love my children. I still love them the same, more than anyone in the world. And it's not that I don't love my body anymore. In fact it's because I love my body so much that I wanted this surgery to be done with no regrets. 

Once again, the recovery journey of a tummy-tuck is no joke. You really need the help and support especially if you have kids at home. I'm proud to say that my hubby has been my steady rock throughout this entire ordeal of mine. He tried his best to help around to ensure my recovery journey was a smooth and easy one. Lastly, a great thank you to Dr Shens who've created this miracle for me and also to the rest of the staffs from ShensClinic. Everyone there has been pretty helpful and showed concern and patience to me during my recovery journey.  

If you have questions for me , do drop me a message or follow my 

Instagram @adebabysuns for more updates. 

To all females, mothers and my sisters out there, I'm not exactly trying to convince you that this tummytuck surgery is a MUST-DO. However if you made a good candidate and are already sure that you really want to go for it, I like to remind you again that tummy-tuck is a big surgery so it is extremely important to find yourself a reputed doctor with experience in this surgery.

 Of course due to my personal good experience and result , I would highly recommend my doctor, Dr Shens from ShensClinic. More information can be found below. 

Shens Clinic

Address: 3 Killiney Road, Winsland House 1, #09-08, Singapore 239519

Telephone: (65)69044488, (65)96416744

Email: enquiry@shensclinic.com

Website: http://www.shensclinic.com

Article on ShinMin Newspaper

The news article about my beauty pageant on ShinMin chinese newspaper. It mainly describes the journey on how I raised my premature firstborn who was diagnosed with the risk of learning disability but turned out to be gifted. Click HERE if you like to learn more about his story. 

The article also talks about my amazing 30kg weight-lost transformation before I won the runner up title for Mrs World Singapore pageant. The photo in the article was taken when I hit almost 80kg, my heaviest weight ever. Click HERE to read more about my transformation. 

My Post-natal Weight Lost Transformation (Before & After Photos)

After two pregnancies, my body has certainly gone through a tremendous and unbelievable physical change. At my 2nd pregnancy, I gained 27kg and unlike most moms who managed to lose all of their post-pregnancy weight by their baby's full month, I actually gained more kilos during my confinement period which added up to nearly a total of 30kg of weight gain. I had reached almost a horrendous weight of 80kg for my petite height.

Without warning, I had transformed into the "3 Os" ; Obese, Overweight, Oversize.

During that time I was depressed that I let myself go. With all my time and energy trying to adjust my new role being a new mom of two, I really didn't think of what I want to do with my weight. I started wearing oversize tee-shirts, my hubby's boxers, baggy pants... anything that could hide my chunky frame and bulging tummy. I couldn't make my fats disappear so I attempt to hide them...but it didn't work that well. I only turned myself into an overweight woman suffering major wardrobe malfunction.

To cut the story short, it took me slightly more than a year to transform myself back to my "original state" and finally as promised to many who are still questioning me on how I do it,  I'm here to share my very own weight lost journey in this blog entry.

Before & After Photos

During my "heaviest" time, I didn't really take many photographs because I hate the camera. I hate to face the reality that I was FAT. I hate to find my "best angle" because there wasn't any! So it took me some time to dig out those past "fat" photographs of myself for this post.
To make it more interesting, I took extra effort to wear exactly the same outfit for my "before and after" photos.

(The "before transformation" photos are taken between the year 2014-2015. The "after transformation" photos are all taken early this year 2016. )

This photo below was taken either when I was still pregnant or I've just given birth to my second one. Very sad indeed that I cant even tell the difference whether I was still pregnant or not in this photo. Anyway this was at my friend's daughter's 1st year birthday party. I remembered that day I had something on and couldn't attend the party but since I was near the birthday venue, I decided to drop by to pass her girl a birthday present. That day I was dressed rather shabbily without makeup and so was not prepared to have any photos taken. However before I can leave, the host requested for a birthday photo together and I had to be gracious to accept it. Still I was glad that this photo was taken because I managed to find this black dress again in my wardrobe! I even attempt to tie my hair the same way in the "before" photo. One advantages of losing weight is... it lifts off ages to your looks. The years melt away with the pounds! I look less haggard and much younger after my weight lost.

I'm glad that this tee-shirt is still around as it has already been used as a rag (That explains the stains on it) Here you go, another good comparison.

 My mom took this photo and saved it in her handphone because she was amused that I was so fat and refused to let me delete it.

I don't have much to say, the photo shows it all.

This photo was taken during my god-son's 2nd birthday party which was held around six months after my second birth. In my "before" photo, I was in the midst of my weight-lost journey and had already lost quite a few pounds, but was still chunky & chubby looking. It took me almost another 6 more months to reach my "after" photo here.

The Motivation

As pathetic as it sounds, one of the things that really motivates me to begin my weight lost journey was looking at my old photos when I was the slimmest and comparing myself in front of a mirror. My pre-pregnancy weight hovered around the 50kg range. I was not very skinny but at least I was pretty far from the obese range unlike then. Then next, I cry my eyes out in disbelief and asked myself "what I've done???" This includes trying to visualise people around me secretly mocking over my looks and body and displaying sympathy to my hubby, pitying him for marrying a wrinkled hippo. Basically I put myself in an extreme depressing state and finally asked myself the golden question, "Do you want to stay like this forever or do you want a change?" And finally I made the decision to become a good role model for my kids by making health and fitness a priority in our family.

The Method - How I did it

I'm sorry that's no instant magic here. I didn't lose that 30kg overnight....it took me at least the whole damn year to succeed. I do not have any magical product or slimming treatment to advertise either. Everything still goes back to the two dreadful words that you hear every single time when you are in the battle of losing weight; DIET and EXCERCISE. Believe me that during my ultimate desperate state, I've already tried like 101 types of weight lost methods and the only "magic" I can offer you now is by sharing what really works for me.

DIET- Most of the diets do work...and that's unless you stick to it. Soup diet, apples diet, juice diet, carbo-less diet...you name it and I've tried it. It is not about which diet works, instead it is HOW LONG you can last with that diet if you're looking at long-term weight lost. You can go for 3 days on that particular diet and you'll definitely witness that weight lost on your scale, but by 4th day you are tortured by hunger and self-pity, and compensate your body with the appetite of a dinosaur. 5th day, you gained back everything you lost, lost all motivation and started hating yourself. You just get yourself stuck in that repeated vicious cycle. Sounds so familiar isn't it? I'm sick of trying to control what I eat and counting the calories of every meal. I can't be deprive of the food I love for long and it always takes over my desire to lose weight. Therefore instead of controlling the food that I eat....I play with the TIMING that I consume my food.

So my golden rule number 1 is, eat only from 8am to 5pm. NO FOOD INTAKE after the cut-off timing at 5pm. This gives the body a longer time to burn the calories. I continue to eat the food I love, fries, pasta, ice-cream , bubble tea, waffles...but everything in moderation of course. If I want to see better result, I would restrict or reduce my carbohydrates (rice, noodle, pasta..etc) intake during the daytime too. As long by 5pm, I fast till the next morning. It wasn't easy in the beginning, considering I was an late night owl and I've the habit of having suppers. By night falls, my tummy was already crying out in hunger. When that happens, I cheat a little by chewing on some nuts. drinking hot honey or tea , or even sucking on a candy. It doesn't totally take away my hunger but it helps to take my mind off and last through the night easier. It is a new habit that the body takes time to be accustomed to. This new diet routine is  not as difficult and complicated comparing to the daily counting of calories and restricting myself to the food I love. Most importantly, it worked very well in erasing the first 10kg off my weighing scale in a couple of months, solely by this method.

EXERCISE - Changing your eating habits is a good start to begin your weight lost journey. However soon you realize that the pound-dropping begin to slow down. This is when exercise has to come in.

With a baby and a toddler to care for, squeezing exercise into a busy schedule is a challenge for any mom. As a result, exercise is often the first thing to get scratched off from the daily routine. Furthermore, the kids need so much of my attention everyday and I do feel guilty taking time away from them just to do a structured workout myself.

The first discipline you need is the constant mental battle with all your excuses! Here are my 3 tips on how a busy mom can find time to keep fit.

1) Combine your workout with the kids' playtime.

Every children indoor playground, swimming pool, parks and beaches became my bootcamp where I do my workout. I took the boys out without stroller, play with them, chase after them, carry them, carry loads of their stuffs, scream at them, laugh with them...all these little burst of energy do add up the burning of calories! On some nights I blast my favourite Kpop music and made my boys dance together with me. The key is getting your kids involved in your workout. It is obviously a win-win, I had my "gym session" and the boys have a great time!

2) Enroll in classes

If you cannot get away from the kids, lack the perseverance or are not consistent enough to have an exercise routine, then just join workout classes that require you to attend with your child. Sometimes paying "school fees" is also a way to force yourself to do your workout. During babyK's first year, I enrolled ourselves in "mom and baby" classes, such as Zumba catered to mothers and kids. Babies are strapped on carrier, and together we enjoy the high energy and motivating music with fun dance moves that can be done together. The mommies achieved their high intensity workout and babies get to have fun together with their mom and other babies too!

(7 months old babyK in our Zumba class)

Other classes that I joined during my post-natal weight lost journey were baby swimming class and baby gym class. Dancing, swimming and gym...these were my exercise almost every week and I get to bond with my baby at the same time! Everything still comes down to whether you're willing to place exercise as your priority and making the right choices.

3) Home exercise equipment

If you spend most of the time at home, consider investing in some home exercise equipment that you can use when your kids are taking their nap or go to bed at night. While you're having your "me-time", eg. watching TV, playing the iPad or using the phone, you can continue to do so by involving some workout such as leg treading, jump rope or using the dumbbells. The Kayla Fitness is one of the workout highly recommended and many have seen very good result after completing the routine. I've tried to attempt the Kayla Fitness but wasn't very consistent with it, instead I came out with my own night exercise routine instead.

I'll spend at least 45 minutes on this home exercise equipment called the "Wonder Core". Please take note that I don't mean to advertise this and it is not a sponsored item either. I paid this with my hubby's cold hard cash ok.

What I like about this equipment is the ability to do various of exercise such as sit ups, bicycling, forearms/biceps , scissor kicks.....all these workout while chasing after my Chinese drama series on TV.  It fulfilled my three requirements for an exercise home equipment; small and takes up less space in the house, easy and convenient to use, and lastly very effective for body toning.

There are lots of moments we can squeeze in exercise. It does not have to be long hours of workout at one go. Most importantly is getting our butt off to start doing it and turned it into a habit/routine.

...

 All women have their pre-baby bodies that may have changed after the birth of our beautiful children. A sacrifice that we made in exchange for our honourable battle scar that we earned through pregnancy. The early goals that I set during my weight lost journey have changed gradually. I no longer focus on the numbers I lost or struggle to work towards getting my dream body. My goals became health and strength-related instead. 

Now my aim is to become a fit mom for my kids, taking pride in my transformation ,maintaining discipline to overcome excuses, and placing health and fitness as the top few priorities in my life. I have grown to learn that if you want to be a great wife and a great mom to give your love ones the best care ever, the first person you need to take care of is ....yourself.

Last but not least, I wish my postpartum journey and weight lost motivation is inspiring enough to bring hope and encouragement to other moms on the same journey as mine.  There will be moments of failure but these are also part of the journey to success. What's most important is that we don't allow the setbacks to overcome us and lose sight of our bigger goals.

  

Let us all strive to be a beautiful, healthy and fit mom for our love ones and ourselves.