My Shape Back

An abdominoplasty, week by week, from the decision through the long recovery.

A tummy tuck, week by week, as it really went.

Reader forum

Readers swapping honest accounts of abdominoplasty: the strange first fortnight, the drains, and the long months of swelling between surgery and the finished shape. Rebecca moderates, Mr Okafor keeps the clinical facts straight, and nothing posted here replaces your surgeon's follow-up.

The first two weeks

Hunched walking, drains, sleeping propped up, and the shock of the early days.

Swelling and the long middle

The months between surgery and the final result, when the mirror keeps changing its mind.