3 Months Postop

We have hit the 3 month mark! I wasn't able to make it to my 10-week follow-up appointment so this was also the longest I had gone without seeing the surgeon. Again, no major changes from 8 weeks to 12 weeks, although my swelling did gradually continue to decrease. This is the point where my surgeon had told me that most, if not all, my swelling would be gone. However, I think I still have a tiny bit of swelling along my lower abdominal area at this point....right in betweeen my belly button and the long linear incision. It is the main area of tightness that I still feel, especially after a long day of work or being on my feet. 

When I saw my surgeon, she wasn't entirely pleased with the red coloration to my scar line...but she did say that it would just take longer to fade away. Of course, I have been continuing to apply my silicone scar gel every day and have not allowed any sun to touch the area. She also felt like the left corner of my scar line looked a little too "pulled" down...so she wants to see how it looks in another 3 months and if it doesn't smooth itself out, she would likely do a tiny incision in the office to release one of the deeper sutures and reduce some tension on that corner. Funny enough, these things were not as bothersome to me...I am more concerned about wanting to see a flatter appearance to my lower abs. She advised me to give it a little more time to see, and told me that core exercises would likely help. 

Speaking of core exercise...she stated that I could slowly start doing some low-key exercises such as planks but that she would recommend avoiding hardcore crunches until another 4 weeks or so. So of course I have started adding some pilates-based core into my workout routine...and I will definitely let my body lead the way becaue I could really feel my abs in a whole new way. There is a deep slight sensation of discomfort with certain moves, but hopefully over time this will fade. 

On a side note...I do still like to wear my compression garments. I like wearing my "faja" to work since it's easy to wear under scrubs, when I workout I use my belly wrap, and at night I will often use my abdominal binder (much looser than when I needed it immediately postop) to give me a little extra support. It just seems to feel better to me to do so....I wonder if that will fade over time. 

On to the pictures!