Just had this done on July 1, 2009. I had a colostomy and developed some hernias. The surgery went great, the doctor removed the hernias, took down the colostomy, did a bit of extra tummy tuck work and I was home in 5 days.
It is now seven weeks since the procedure. Two weeks after the procedure they removed the staples, then last week (6 weeks) I went back in and he removed all these stitches that were there from all the extra work.
At first I would not recommend this to anyone because I was having a lot of intermittent pain from the stitches, got bound up a couple of times, but a mild laxative worked great. A lot of my problems were not from the actual surgery but other things. I would feel great for half a day then feel miserable.
Now that the stitches are out, WOW, I feel wonderful. They were causing most of my problems. Still have to wear the girdle thing to keep everything tight. Go back to my surgeon next week for another check-up, (need to find out if I can start bowling). Hitting the throne every day regularly. Using the Activia with fiber really helps, much better than playing around with laxatives, stool softeners or other stuff.
Don't hesitate on having this done. The first few weeks are the hardest to get used to, then WHAM, you will feel great again and get back to a normal life. A regular take down is probably a lot easier than what I had done and you will recoup a lot faster.
GOD BLESS GOOD LUCK