Rebecca shares her FDL Tummy Tuck Patient Story. She is a mum of 3 who with her partner run a successful business. Her weightloss journey started with a gastric sleeve in 2016 and she’s just commenced her skin removal surgery, which so far has included a fleur de lys extended tummy tuck. We ‘met’ Rebecca in a closed FB group and wanted to share her journey with you because at only 2 weeks post-op from a Fleur de Lys and extended Tummy Tuck, Rebecca was so upbeat and positive about her experience and recovery, that we just had to share it with you 🙂
Trish: Good morning everyone here in podcast land. I sound so American then. Everyone in podcast land. I’m really, really excited today ’cause I’m talking today to Rebecca. Rebecca lives in, I think she lives in Sydney, we’ll find out if that’s right or not but Rebecca’s just had multiple procedures for … well plastic surgery after having had a bit of weight loss. We’re gonna have a really interesting talk to Rebecca today. You’re just gonna love her, as do I. Welcome, Rebecca.
Rebecca: Hi, thank you.
Trish: Pleasure, pleasure. So good to talk to you today. Give us a bit of insight, so you’ve just recently had surgery. How long ago did you have surgery?
Rebecca: I had my plastic surgery, I had a fleur de lys extended tummy tuck just on the 2nd of February.
Trish: Here we are in the middle of February now, so just barely two weeks ago. For those of you out there that don’t know what the fleur de lys is it’s when basically, and you correct me if I’m wrong Rebecca ’cause I’ve never had one of those but I want, I would love one, where they kinda cut you from just below your breastbone down to your groyne, one straight line down the middle, and then from hip to hip and you kinda get, you get the skin lifted from top to bottom, but also from the sides. Is that right?
Rebecca: Yeah, yeah. My actual incision … sorry I’ve got two dogs here vying for my attention. I’ve got an incision, so my incision starts a bit higher it’s actually kind of in the middle of my breastplate, like where my breasts sit. Then it goes all the way down to my groin, which you said, and then hip to hip but also right around the back, like I’m literally only like … it’s only three inches at the back that’s not cut. So it’s nearly fully circumferential.
Trish: Oh wow. It’s almost like a full lower body lift.
Rebecca: Yeah but she calls it an fleur de lys extended tummy tuck.
Trish: Why was the choice made to do that?
Rebecca: The choice was made to do that because I’ve lost nearly 60 kilos.
Trish: Go you, go you. Well done, well done.
Rebecca: Thank you. I had my gastric sleeve surgery on the 16th or 26th of September 2016. And I’ve lost I think it’s 57 kilos thus far. I’m not planning to lose anymore but to get back to your question I …. she ….I just went into her office and she said what bothers you the much … the most. I said my stomach, have you seen it? It’s disgusting. She said no not yet but I certainly will. She just advised me what she thought would be the best thing for me to get the outcome that I desired
Trish: Okay and have you got a belly button?
Rebecca: I do have a belly button! Apparently it’s my own so that’s a bonus.
Trish: Oh great ’cause sometimes when they do the fleur de lys they’ll get rid of your belly button.
Rebecca: Oh my god no, that is so strange.
Trish: Some people like it.
Rebecca: They would, but I just, I think I’d look like an alien to be honest. That’s a bit weird.
Trish: You had the fleur de lys with the extended tummy tuck and is that the only procedure that you had done on that day?
Rebecca: Yes. On that day it was ’cause it was a massive operation, so she took I think five kilos of skin from me.
Trish: Oh my god, that’s massive.
Rebecca: She sent me a photo, it was so grotesque.
Trish: Oh wow.
Rebecca: She asked me first, but don’t worry. That was the only operation I had that day, sorry Amira doesn’t like to operate for over six hours for safety reasons obviously. I was just on that six hours, that was the only operation she performed on that day but I am going back in June to have a bra line lift, a breast lift with implants as well because I have potato sacks.
Trish: Okay. Well actually one of the girls on our group said she’s just had her bra line lift as well, I think she lost close on 100 kilos and she’s pretty much had everything and the last thing for her was the bra line lift to the boobs.
Rebecca: Yeah, good on her.
Trish: Oh, yeah. Totally. She’s just amazing. So tell me, I know that I know because we’ve had a talk, so you had your surgery with Dr. Amira Sanki?
Rebecca: Yep.
Trish: In Sydney, and where did you have it done?
Rebecca: I had that done at Kareena Private in Caringbah.
Trish: Okay, so that’s some Southside?
Rebecca: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Sutherland Shire.
Trish: Okay. So tell me, ’cause I think you know for you to be two weeks post-op and I’ve been seeing you in the group, you know you’re really funny you’re really good writer by the way.
Rebecca: Thank you.
Trish: I’ve been seeing you in the group and like you seem to have, I mean I know you’re not fully recovered but you have really good spirits. So can you tell me like, tell us a bit about your trip for start, like you know what made you decide to go to Dr. Sanki and what’s your plans that you’re, what are your plans moving forward?
Rebecca: Yeah, okay cool. Well, so I had a friend who had an extended tummy tuck from Amira and I just saw her, you know she changed, like her body. You know her body changed so much and she had such a vast improvement. And I was like, fuck this I need that in my life. And I just thought, I’ve just gotta make this happen and yeah I spoke with my long term partner about it and he was happy to, you know, use our money to pay for it. So I didn’t need to get a loan or use my super or anything like that or ask relatives for cash, so that was bonus.
But yeah, and I just read so many amazing things about Amira. I legit did not hear or have not read, seen or heard one negative thing about her and just like, all you need to do is google her name.
Trish: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Rebecca: And you’ll get a mirade of like phenomenal reviews about her. So I just thought, I live in Milton on the south coast, which is like 2 1/2 hours south of Sydney, so I just trekked up there one day with one of the kids and I, yeah I went and saw her and I loved her instantly and the day later I booked in.
Trish: Right.
Rebecca: It might have been two days, I don’t really know. But I just feel like, in regards to your comments about like being positive and sort of upbeat, like my mom always raised me to adjust say the positives in every situation. Like don’t look at what you don’t have, look at what you do have. And if you want more, work harder. So yeah, that’s just what kind of like you know a testament to why I am how I am.
Trish: Yeah.
Rebecca: Pretty much. In a nutshell.
Trish: Yeah, no that’s great. It sounds like, ’cause I know that sometimes people struggle with the expectations so did you have any expectations, ’cause you’ve obviously got a friend who’s had an amazing job or similar surgery to you an amazing job.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Trish: So did you go in with like, how did you, how did she deal with your, you know ….
Rebecca: Expectations?
Trish: Yeah, so how did Amira deal with that?
Rebecca: She just basically said to me that, you know when I had my consult with her standing there in her waiting room, you know in her consult room stark naked. Very confronting.
Trish: Yes.
Rebecca: Not the point. The point is, yeah you know I just said to her, you know just this flap of skin has just gotta go. It’s killing me.
Trish: Yeah.
Rebecca: And she was like, “You know I’ll do my best.” I said, “Do you think I need a lower body lift?” And she said, “No, I don’t”. I said, “Do you think I need liposuction?” She goes, “No, but if you do I’ll just do it” and I said, “What do you mean you’ll just do it?” She goes, “I just do it for my patients.”
“I don’t charge extra for that, you know I just, it’s just something if I do. If I stitch someone up and I’m not happy, I’ll give them liposuction. But I don’t think you need it.” I said, “Okay, alright.” So you know surgery day come and I was standing there in my room at Kareena Private and she came up to see me and she measured me up and she had a spirit level. And she had that ruler and you know the surgical texts and I said, “What the hell are you gonna do with a bloody spirit level?” She’s like, “Do you want wonky scars?” And I’m like, “No” she goes, “Well I’m keeping the spirit level.” I’m like, “Well, okay then”
And so yeah, she measured me up and she just said, “Look back like you know you’ve got a lot of skin, I’m going to do my absolute best to make sure that you are trimmed, taught and terrific. But I can not promise that you’re gonna come out flat as a board.” And I’m like, “Okay. Alright. That’s fine.”
You know, it’s a little deflated but she was honest and that’s all you can ask for in a surgeon. And I kinda prepared myself for, you know maybe it won’t like a certain way or it won’t be as flat as I’d like or what have you but I just kind of tried to again just keep positive and it turned out that she, yeah I’m flat as a tack. You know when your vagina sticks out more than your tummy it’s a good day.
Trish: Yeah. I like that.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Trish: So tell me, how long were you in hospital for?
Rebecca: So I was operated on the Friday the 2nd and they took my first drain out on the Tuesday, my second one out on the Wednesday and I come home on Thursday afternoon, like Thursday afternoon.
Trish: Okay, so like 6 days?
Rebecca: Mm-hmm (affirmative) 6 nights, 6 nights. Yep, it was a medicated holiday.
Trish: Yeah, nice. I think that’s a really civilised time out. I’m one of those that likes to stay in a bit longer rather than sooner.
Rebecca: Me too.
Trish: And I really like the sound of the 6 days.
Rebecca: Yeah, it was not sad, you know and I had the morphine PCA for like the first 2 1/2.
Trish: Yeah, yeah.
Rebecca: It was great.
Trish: Yeah, I mean you need it for the pain relief. So tell me, was that your first lot of surgery after your sleeve?
Rebecca: Yep.
Trish: Okay, great. And you’d maintained your weight for a set amount of time basically it’s just all skin?
Rebecca: Yeah it was, it was all skin. I was at like 70, what was it, 76 kilos and like I just couldn’t get any lower. I mean I could have protein shakes and you know eat like tremendously and nothing would happen and it was so frustrating. And then when I saw Amira and she’s like, “Babe. It’s because of your skin” like she was like, “Hello. Knock, knock, anyone home?”
Trish: Yeah.
Rebecca: Yeah. So she just kinda reaffirmed to me that, you know your body does need a certain amount of fat and you do need to have some fat on your bones but like this flap of skin can go sister. You know?
Trish: Yeah.
Rebecca: I’m at 68 now so I’m happy as Larry.
Trish: Oh, that’s fantastic. So you’ve had, and that’s all skin so it’s not like.
Rebecca: I know. Yeah.
Trish: That’s fantastic.
Rebecca: It is.
Trish: So I want to ask you about, ’cause I know that it’s really hard to tell people what to expect and sometimes if you don’t document it as you go you kinda don’t remember.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Trish: But for anyone having a massive weight-loss procedure, what would you recommend to them?
Rebecca: Just, like, keep positive. Like, don’t let other people’s judgements, comments get to you because at the end of the day the only person that you have to please is yourself and if you’re lucky enough to have one, your family. So I just feel like you just gotta keep true to yourself and do this, and remember that more importantly that this journey is for you and you alone. And if you have a husband or a partner or a wife or a girlfriend, whatever I don’t care, just you know let them support you, let them be there for you but most of all just remember that you’re human and that you know everything happens for a reason, well that’s what I believe anyway. Just stay real and just be the person that you are.
Trish: Yeah.
Rebecca: But don’t let other people affect you or get you down or try and you know sway how you feel about a certain aspect of your body because it’s your vehicle at the end of the day, nobody else’s.
Trish: Totally. And people do make judgement , it’s just
Rebecca: They do, fuck them.
Trish: It’s like we can’t help ourselves, it’s kind of like, you know.
Rebecca: Yeah. It is human nature to make judgements but, you know I also feel like and I’ve been taught if you don’t have anything nice to say to someone or positive things, like just shut your cake hole.
Trish: Yeah, yeah.
Rebecca: Just don’t say it, you know?
Trish: I know, I know. And that can happen in the group, sometimes people just like just say things that some, I mean it’s great having an open forum where people can actually express themselves but sometimes like, nobody asked you for that opinion, like really.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Trish: Do you have to even give it? You know?
Rebecca: Yeah, totally.
Trish: So I want to ask something else, so your next steps is what, so your bra line and are you having implants?
Rebecca: Yeah. So the next step for me is the bra line lift and then breast lift with implants. I had a solid DD before I lost all that weight. So now I’m just left with these kind of like sand bags and they’re really saggy and gross. So yeah, they’re gonna get fixed next. That’s the next step this year.
Trish: Do you know when you’re doing that at all? Like how long after your first surgery has she said that it’s okay?
Rebecca: I haven’t, we haven’t really discussed a timeline and such regarding when she advises that it’s okay but sometime this year, like after June I’d say.
Trish: So give you a good 6 months, you know give you 6 months to get over what you’ve had done.
Rebecca: Yeah. Yeah ’cause you know it was a massive and that’s what she just said to me, she said “You know Bec this is like, this is a big one. You know, this is the big daddy of the day” So, yeah.
Trish: Totally. And do you work or did you get time off work or?
Rebecca: No, so me and my partner are self-employed and I do the books for our company and I’m starting my masters degree on the 26th of February and I have three children. So, that’s work enough.
Trish: Totally, totally. And when you came out of hospital, like ’cause obviously you’re not going to pick up your kids and stuff like that and you need that support network there don’t you?
Rebecca: Definitely, yeah. Yeah, so we’re just kind of lucky, I mean we do have that flexibility of being self-employed so he’s really taken a lot of the slack where the kids are concerned. You know like I can sit down back orders but I’m not bending over doing up their cloaks, shoes you know, their school shoes and all that and doing the washing or anything like that, I mean I do the cooking. He’s really just is like daddy daycare when I wander around here these days.
Trish: That’s where you’re even doing the cooking ’cause two weeks post surgery I’d probably still be doing nothing.
Rebecca: Oh yeah, no I’m okay to do the cooking but I like cooking so, yeah.
Trish: Yeah. I’m just really surprised at how quickly you’ve bounced back because I know that like we always get people in the group and they’ve just had their surgery and like two weeks is generally not really that great a time, you know?
Rebecca: Oh, really?
Trish: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely.
Rebecca: Yeah, no I feel great. I’m popping Panadol like they’re M&M’s but that’s fine.
Trish: Yep, yep.
Rebecca: But I feel relatively good, I mean you know at nighttime I might have one of my quick release tablets, you know but I just take two slow release, I don’t even know what they’re called, two slow release tablets one at 6 a.m. and one at 6 p.m.
Trish: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Rebecca: And then I have my two Panadol every, you know 4-6, 8 hours whenever I feel I need it and if I’ve got extreme pain I just have like an immediate release, plexiure I think they’re called.
Trish: Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Rebecca: Yeah, but I haven’t had to have one of those in two days.
Trish: It sounds like you’ve got your pain management totally under control, because.
Rebecca: I’m all over it like a rash.
Trish: Yeah.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Trish: Yeah, ’cause some of us like to be, me I like to be a hero I think, “Oh yeah, if I could come off these as soon as I can” and you get off them too quickly and then you find out really how to manage that pain and you’re sort of like, just wanna you know become suicidal practically.
Rebecca: Yeah, no I’ve got no time for that. I’ve got a friend who’s a pharmacist and he said to me, “People recover a lot quicker when they take the meds”
Trish: Yeah.
Rebecca: You know. “If you want a long and treacherous and basically really shitty recovery, don’t take them. I don’t care. But if you want to feel okay, you want to heal quick, take the damn medicine”
Trish: Yeah, yep.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Trish: That’s true. That’s true.
Rebecca: Yep, totally.
Trish: Do you know how long that you’ve gotta take that for or you’ll kind of gradually wean yourself off it or what do you do? Do you have a plan?
Rebecca: Yeah, no I don’t. When the box is empty, that’s my plan.
Trish: Yep.
Rebecca: When the box is empty is when I’ll stop. You know?
Trish: Yep.
Rebecca: I’m not one for taking them willy-nilly or if I don’t need to but I know I need to right now so I’ve just gotta keep it up until such time when the box is empty I guess.
Trish: Yep. Yeah that’s true and you’ll know. You’ll know anyway.
Rebecca: Well I hope so.
Trish: Yeah, you will.
Rebecca: Yeah, well we can’t buy the Codeine and Panadol anymore, so you know we just kinda gotta buckle up.
Trish: That’s true, yes that’s right this year that started. Yeah.
Rebecca: What a let down.
Trish: Well this been great, Becca I really, really appreciate your time and you know just chatting with us today because I really wanted to get you on here and just to you know for anyone who’s thinking of either having a procedure that’s gonna be a little bit extra. It’s the positivity thing is really big, keep your meds under control, choose a good plastic surgeon and going with a positive mental attitude pretty much.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Trish: That’s in a cat pipe.
Rebecca: Yeah, definitely.
Trish: Awesome, awesome. Well thank you so much Rebecca.
Rebecca: No worries, thank you for having me.
Trish: Thank you and ladies and gentlemen if you guys are looking, want to find out a little bit more about Dr. Sanki or if you’re looking for a surgeon close to your area or if you want to know someone who does lots of the massive weight-loss patient surgeries, just drop us an email to [email protected] or just check out the website.
Thanks a lot Rebecca.
Rebecca: Bye, no worries thank you.
Trish: Bye.