Does anyone have any experience from diastis recti surgery?
After our second kid it looks like she will need to get this surgery that seems like an extra invasive tummy tuck. Our little girl looked like a snoopy nose at 2 months to go. Her belly got damaged and we suposedly have a referal to a plastic surgeon. Im hoping there is some experience lurking here.
Thanks for any help.
Who’s getting the surgery? Your wife? daughter? Why?
I’m not clear here.
Mom… it’s a tummy tuck…
If it was the kid, I’d wonder why.
I couldn’t be sure, from the context.
Yep. it’s mommy.
On our(her) second baby her belly got really big and stuck out alot and did some permanent damage. This is how i understand it: On your belly, from outside to inside, there is skin, then your abs, then a thin layer of tissue that’s like saran wrap that keeps all you guts contained, then guts, uterus etc. So when you get pregnant the ab muscles seperate and move to the side and the belly grows. After birth everything goes back to normal. A tummy tuck fixes excess flab etc… I guess hers is different because the layer of “saran wrap” tore due to the size of the baby. So now when she leans forward her guts spill out the hole. I guess it’s pretty common but not to her magnitude. Hers is pretty bad. when she lies on her back the hole is about baseball size, she’s 5’3", and you can feel her guts through the hole very easily. Sometimes it sticks out and looks like a tennis ball under her shirt. You cab basically feel dinner in there passing through. Its very uncomfortable and is dangerous since the guts can fall out and get twisted.
Sorry for the details. I guess the procedure is a vertical incision from pubic bone to sternum to stich up the hole like a shoestring and then close everything up much like a tummy tuck. If anyone has any info regarding the insurance aspects or details on how to not have a stapled closure down the front that looks like train tracks would be great. The referal is to a plastic surgeon but might be covered by insurance. We have the Blue Cross Access Plus HMO in California. If anyone can lend a helping hand i’d appreciate it.
Thanks
I would look into whether this could be done via a scope. I’m not a surgeon, but there are many procedures for which there is now a scope option. Or, could this be done with a low transverse incision and and scope since some sort of a tuck is going to happen anyway. Ask around.
I am not a surgeon, but am a physician and have heard many discussions about whether to fix this problem or not. For many women, the defect is small and the repair is only cosmetic. In your lady’s case, it sounds like the defect is large and uncomfortable. A plastic surgeon should make it look real nice and since a strong argument can me made for her situation being medically necessary, and not just cosmetic, insurance should cover it. Might take a bit of discussion though.
She had the surgery this past Wednesday. Done by a plastic surgeon. He used a cadaver skin product to reinforce the muscle and fascia repair. I saw about five double take’s , and an “i must have the wrong patient”, from the nurses and staff, all expecting her to be 300+ lbs. The surgery was almost 4 hours. It was done outpatient at a local hospital (not a more desirable and sanitary surgery center)and total time at the hospital was about 9 hrs. It was all handled by a $50 co-pay plus about $30 in Prescription co-pays, plus some homeopathic scar and bruising stuff. The drains are still in. The pain pump is out. The Percoset is flowing heavily.
I hope she is feeling better. I don’t think there is anything worse than abdominal surgery. Please spoil her!