I'm only posting this because it is really bothering me.
When i spoke to a private CS, he told me i had a large diastasis (gap between abdominal muscles). However the nhs surgeon seems to disagree, he wrote to my GP stating that there is no divarification of the recti (abdominals).
Who do i believe? did the private surgeon say that so he could bump up the price? I'm really confused.
The NHS surgeon did check my abdominals, i know that because he used the same test we do on postnatal women to check the same thing. The private surgeon did not do this, he simply looked at me standing, and lying.
Should i mention the difference in opinion to my nhs surgeon before the op? confused!!!
At my first consultation, the assistant plastic surgeon checked my upper abs as I lay on the bed and said that he thought they would benefit with the repair procedure.
At my pre-op assessment, I was seen by a doctor from the plastics team (but not one of the surgeons) who was taking my medical history and answering any of my questions about the surgery. He asked me if I understood what I was having done and what they were aiming to achieve. I mentioned the ab repair work and he said 'Oh it doesn;t mention that here.' He lay me down and checked me and commented that he thought I wouldn't need it, although the surgeon himself might not even know in some cases until I'm on the operating table and he can see for sure.
On the day of my op when my PS was preparing me before theatre, I asked him about it and he said he would not know for sure until he could get under there and have a proper look.
I knew as soon as I came around that they had done it because it felt so tender and sore. And then it was clarified when one of the staff looked at my notes for me as I lay recovering in my bed on the ward.
If you look at my before pics from the side, you can see that my upper abs hang forward and on my post-op pics they are back in the right place.
The problem I suffered was nothing to do with lack of exercise, just as the excess skin wasn't. There was nothing I could do about either problem. I had very strong abs before my first pregnancy - I was a fitness freak and had a part-time job at a gym. I had tried and tried in vain for years to sort the problem out with crunches but once they are damaged there is little you can do to fix it without surgical intervention.
They literally needed to be weaved back together. There is no miracle exercise plan that can sort that one out unfortunately.
If you have the same problem as me, I think it can only heighten your chances of developing hernia related issues in older age so it would probably be in the NHS' best interest to sort it out while they are doing your tuck.
Good luck with it hun.
x
