Abdominal diastasis: yes or no intervention? We asked a mom who did it!
Abdominal diastasis is a disease that affects many post-partum women. Far from being a single cosmetic defect - as some think - diastasis of the rectus abdominis involves considerable physical as well as psychological discomfort, impacting not a little on women's daily life and their health. In most cases, diastasis abdominal abdominal surgery is completely resolved exclusively with the use of surgery, but often women who would like to proceed with the operation do not feel safe and adequately informed also due to a poor information culture. For this reason we asked for help to Adriana Melchionna (in the photo on the right), a former diastatic mother who had been operated on several months ago, today among the Admin of the Facebook group Diastasi Italia, which gathers many members and who undertakes to intervene with concrete actions, offer service and testimonies and launch petitions, all to improve the state of things and spread a more informed and in-depth information culture. Here are all the answers to your most frequently asked questions about diastasis.
Before proceeding, however, we suggest some exercises useful in case of abdominal diastasis.
How did you know you had diastasis? Did you figure it out on your own or did you resort to clinical exams or ultrasounds?
After the second birth, despite having lost the kilos accumulated during pregnancy, my belly had taken on a strange, unnatural shape, swelling with the passing of the hours until it still looked like a pregnant woman's belly in the evening. I clearly felt my peristalsis, that is the classic bowel movements, very strongly, so much so that the first few times I thought I was pregnant again. The bowel movements, in fact, were very similar to the kicks of the baby in pregnancy. I was looking for answers in others, in other mothers, but I always only heard the answer "it's normal after two children!". A veil of ignorance has always surrounded me, but I felt that something was wrong, until one day I started a search on the internet and I read the word "abdominal diastasis" for the first time. I read the symptoms and recognized myself in what I was reading, I finally gave a name to my discomfort. Or rather, I gave a name to a "pathology" which until then I believed was only a defect from an aesthetic point of view.
What were your symptoms?
In addition to the psychological discomfort that should not be underestimated, I suffered from severe back pain in the lumbar region, I had assumed a position of hyperlordosis, I could not even sleep on my stomach anymore, I got up in the morning with back pain, under exertion I felt nausea, I no longer felt a sense of satiety as before and my stomach swelled out of all proportion. To all this, there was also an annoying and inexplicable instability of the pelvis. In some particular positions of contraction, I saw a strange protuberance (crest or "fin") that started from the sternum to the "navel. Only afterwards, I realized that my muscles were so separated that they no longer contained the stomach and that the protuberance was the organs which, in certain positions, pushed on the linea alba which, being dilated, did not contain them as it should have.
Did you try other ways before the operation? If so, which ones?
Honestly no, I still knew very little about diastasis and I had read on the internet that a recovery through physiotherapy would only be possible within the first 6 months of childbirth.
How did you find yourself? And why did you decide to resort to the operation?
The indications that I had found in addition to the exercise only led to the surgical route, which I initially attempted with a failed endoscopy operation when my doctor suggested that I repair the umbilical hernia. At the same time as the hernia, the general surgeon tried to stitch my abdominal muscles trying to bring them back to a normal physiological distance, but it was not possible as my diastasis extended from the sternum to the pubis and the gap (term used to indicate the distance between the left and right rectum) was about 10 cm. Following this surgery, I came across the Diastasi Italia group, of which today I am Admin together with other mothers, and there I discovered that it was possible to undergo abdominoplasty with plication of the rectum agreed by our National Health System. Unfortunately, my Abruzzo Region did not subsidize the surgery, so I was forced to move to the Marche, where I underwent abdominoplasty with closure of the rectum thanks to Dr. Luca Grassetti of the Plastic Surgery Clinic of the United Hospitals of Ancona. The right to undergo an operation should be the same throughout Italy, but this is not the case, so it is often necessary to move to other regions with consequent inconvenience in organizing home / work. For this reason, our community launched a petition in June for the Ministry of Health to pass abdominoplasty surgery for post-pregnancy diastasis in agreement, as happens for patients with previous obesity. In just a few months we have reached almost 40,000 signatures. To sign and share the petition click here. Instead, below you can see a video in which Dr. Grassetti explains in detail what diastasis is and what the operation consists of.
Loading ...Do you think it is useful to do targeted exercises or physiotherapy in less severe cases of diastasis?
A targeted physiotherapy is always useful to alleviate the disorders of a diastasis, which in addition to those listed by me could be:
- aerophagia
- Incontinence
- Digestive difficulties
- Breathing difficulties
- Abdominal pains
- Prolapses aggravated by the organs that do not remain in their natural location, but burden downwards
Obviously these disorders could also have other causes that should be investigated before tracing them back to diastasis, but certainly having the rectus abdominals separated does not facilitate the resolution of these disorders. Physiotherapy is suitable for those with minimal gaps and who do not have to resort to surgery or for those who cannot because they are planning a new pregnancy, but exercise is not a definitive solution, unfortunately. Its benefits are limited to the time in which specific exercises are performed, but since the rectus muscles are like all the others and especially since the linea alba is now dilated, they do not represent an alternative to surgery, which unfortunately is the only solution to the problem.
What is the cost of the operation? Is it passed on by the NHS?
To undergo the surgery you can choose two ways:
- opt for the private sector without waiting lists by independently choosing your own surgeon, at a cost that varies between 6,000 and 10,000 euros depending on the surgeon / area / facility
- Choose to be listed with the National Health Service, unfortunately often with long waiting times (from 1 year up to 4/5 depending on the structure).
The service we offer is precisely that of continuously searching for facilities in convection and reviewing surgeons through testimonials and photos of our members.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the operation?
From personal experience and from hundreds of women who share their stories in the group, it can be said that the disorders are resolved immediately after surgery; in fact, even if there are no scientific studies in this regard, we have a very large case history from which these data emerge in a striking way. Back pain, for example, disappears - unless it is caused by other causes - this is because, once the rectum is brought closer together, their function is restored, which is that of supporting the trunk and containing the internal organs. If not attributable to other causes, incontinence often regresses as well. The posture returns to be correct, the intestinal transit regular, the feeling of nausea disappears. The belly, which had assumed an abnormal shape and was subject to excessive swelling, naturally remains flat and loses that pregnant woman's appearance, disabling on a psychological level and which often affects intimacy. In the presence of excess skin, the intervention also acts on the imperfection, so in addition to the functional aspect, the aesthetic aspect is also greatly improved. The disadvantages, which I prefer to define as limitations, are: rest for at least two weeks, inability to load weights and make efforts for 8 weeks, a feeling of numbness in the abdomen that recovers over the months. As I experienced my surgery, the only aspect that should not be underestimated is the scar, which extends from one hip bone to the other. Before undergoing an operation it is good to discuss with a plastic surgeon to properly evaluate the risks and benefits that follow.
Would you do it again? And why?
Although the path on a psychological level was challenging, on a physical level it was painless and led me to the resolution of all my ailments. Today, after 7 months, I feel healed in body and mind, physical discomfort has had an important weight in my diastased period, today I feel good and happy!
What advice would you like to give to women who would like to have the operation?
Without a doubt, I recommend that you rely on a plastic surgeon who can evaluate the resolution of any imperfections in addition to diastasis, and who does it through a cut that remains as hidden as possible. Unfortunately I see disastrous situations every day, so I always recommend relying on serious professionals, because it is an operation that, if done badly, could leave blemishes worse than swelling from diastasis. Many women do not undergo surgery because they fear anesthesia and still remain held back by clichés. An interview with an anesthetist is recommended to dispel any doubts and make decisions in complete serenity. I also recommend having someone available to help them with home and family management at least in the first two weeks, considering that you cannot lift weights or make efforts, and these efforts include picking up your children. Finally, not to be influenced by others, only those who have diastasis can truly understand a diastasis, in its pains and discomforts. The dream is yours, follow it and make it come true!
