what I really worry about

As a nurse I have seen many women with protruding (nice word for fat) abdomens have their incision open post-op. I have a nice fat belly and I am scared to death this will happen to me. Has anyone had this experience. I have heard of the belly band velcro thingy- is this something comonly used? I am not really excited about having to have my partner pack a belly wound for weeks cause my sutures pop. I know I will get great advice from someone

There was a thread recently on the post op board from women who had fears during recovery. These women had been considered obese, their words, not mine by the doctors. You might try posting there. I am sure they will help you out.

I'm also a fairly large woman, but I had no problems at all with my incision. I had a vertical incision and the doctor used staples. After 9 days, the staples were removed and steri-strips put in place. Some women post that they have their staples removed before leaving the hospital and maybe that's the problem. If they want to remove them too soon, perhaps you could ask to have them left in longer. I don't think 9 or 10 days is too long. I don't think it's common for incisions to open, but I have read of a few cases here. (BTW,I never used an abdominal binder.) Best wishes,

Hi lesparent

I am overweight also and have had 2 c-sections, another surgery like that to have 1 tube and ovary removed and a TAH. I've never had any problems with any of my incisions opening up. I had staples with all of them and had them removed 7 days post-op. I don't really know what causes that. Maybe it might be over doing it when you come home. My doctor said not to pick up anything over 5 pounds. At least for the first few weeks. That was fun with a 2 year old that is very attached to me. When I got home I showed her mommy's "boo-boo" and told her that I coundn't pick her up for a little while and she said "ok momma". Even now, 8 months after, she still wants to see my "boo-boo" sometimes. Just take it easy and you should do fine. Good Luck

Dona
TAH
3/31/00

I have that "gut" as my GYN called it, too. (He really is a great Dr, but tells it like it is.) I had staples with my hyst and glue with my c-section 10 years and 40 lbs earlier. (I preferred the glue.) The staples stayed in for 7 days and I never had a problem with the incision trying to open up. However, because of that fat flap, I did have to take extra care to keep the wound dry. Those extra pads stuck to my underwear worked wonders for that. Remember you see lots of wounds opening in your profession, but it happens to a fairly small percentage of all the women who have abdominal surgury. In over a year and more than 7000 women who've posted here, I've heard of about 20 women who had to pack their incisions because they opened.(about 1/5th of a percent.)

Hope this helps,

I was one of the women who posted previously about being big across my abdomen. And when I talked to my gyn about my TVH, I asked her "what if you get in there and for some reason it has to turn into an abdominal incision? Should I be concerned due to my weight?" and she shrugged it off as if it were nothing. She said "Girl, I've operated on women much larger than you (I am a size 22--true confessions, here) and they do fine. First of all, we do the bikini line incision, which is under most of your stomach area, and we will keep it dry, and it's not a big deal at all, wound seperation is really not an issue this way"

It made me feel better, hope it helps you, also. Good luck!