Here we're in conversation with Angharad, about her experience arranging skin removal surgery.
Hi Angharad. Lovely to hear from you.
Could you start by telling us about your weight loss journey?
After having three beautiful BIG babies, I had a lot of skin laxity on my tummy and was living with an apron of skin that hung down. The loose skin really impacted my life - the skin would hurt, it would get infected and it destroyed my confidence. I wouldn’t feel comfortable exercising.
I wanted to have a tummy tuck to get the loose skin removed but because my BMI was over 35, I wasn’t a candidate. To help bring my BMI down, and be able to have a tummy tuck, I had a gastric sleeve fitted. For me it wasn’t about weight loss. It was about being able to wear clothes, to feel more confident and be able to get the tummy tuck to remove my loose skin that I had dreamed of for so long.
By 2020 it was lockdown and my beauty business was closed. With extra time on my hands I started to prepare for my weight loss surgery. The week after my gastric sleeve surgery I set up an Instagram account - mainly to document my journey but also to make friends in the weight loss community for support and advice. As I started to lose weight and gain confidence, I gained followers, some of whom were in different part of their journeys. I was so grateful I could support and be there for people at the start of their journeys as I knew how isolating it could be.
How did you research options for your skin removal surgery?
About six months in to my weight loss journey, I started thinking again about a tummy tuck to remove my apron - about a year before I actually had it done.
I started looking for plastic surgeons online - not knowing about reconstructive plastic surgeons. I started following surgeons on social media and did lots of background research on them - verifying them, reading reviews, speaking to their secretaries, looking at websites, as well as direct messaging other weight loss patients for advice on Instagram and looking at real life before and after photos, especially after massive weight loss.
I then started to come across surgeons talking about reconstructive surgery and a procedure called an FDL (Fleur de Lis Abdominoplasty). I soon realised that post-weight loss skin removal surgery is a specific specialty within plastic surgery and is quite different to your typical aesthetic plastic surgery.
In the end I met with five different surgeons. I’d researched them via Google, looking at their hospital directories, the GMC, BAPRAAS and review sites. I narrowed down my list based on location and prices and what realistic results they could offer.
I knew I wanted a Fleur de Lis Abdominoplasty and a lot of surgeons don’t do it and some even tried to talk me out of it.
How did you come to choose Mr Fitzgerald O’Connor?
I saw Mr Fitzgerald O’Connor’s name tagged on a post within a Facebook group set up for people interested in tummy tucks and support with cosmetic surgery. I checked out the before and after photos on his Instagram account and saw that he’d operated on patients that had previously been very heavy, removing a large volume of skin. I saw a live interview with him online and felt reassured that he had trauma reconstruction experience in the NHS - I realised he could perform under pressure and I felt in safe hands.
When I met Ed (as he introduces himself to his patients) I just liked him. I felt heard and understood, never judged, and that he would do his best job for me. He was confident in what he could do but also realistic. He felt relatable, a human being, a family man that loves his dog.
How did you find the procedure?
The surgeries all went smoothly. I had an FDL and arm lift.
Although you’re warned about the recovery, I was quite shocked at the pain I felt on day two after the anaesthetic wore off and how long the recovery took overall. It’s a bit like after having a baby - people say it’s hard having a newborn but nothing can prepare you for it.
