This is the moment surgeons lifted a 17lb flap of SKIN from the stomach of a mom-of-three after she shed half her bodyweight – just in time for her wedding.
Olga Hernandez, 41, shared the revealing footage to give an insight into her weight loss journey, which has seen her shrink to a slim 192lbs (13.7stone).
The palliative nurse tipped the scales at 405lbs (28.7stone) at her heaviest point and had a gastric sleeve to reduce the size of her stomach.
Combined with healthy eating and exercise the procedure helped 5ft8ins Olga drop from a six XL on the top to a size large.
But the mom-of-three was left with unsightly saggy skin as a result of the dramatic transformation and was forced to wear baggy tops to cover it up.
Olga, of Tucson, Arizona, has now shared footage of the shocking moment surgeons removed a huge hunk of skin from her stomach.
In October she also had 1.5lbs of loose skin removed from each arm and 10lbs from her upper body in a string of surgeries which set her back $24,000 in total.
She is now recovering from the most recent op, which took place exactly six months before she’s due to marry fiancé Daryl Auclair, 34, in the dress of her dreams.
Olga, who says size medium sweaters are now loose on her, said: “I felt like I had been hit by a bus after the surgery but it was worth it.
“I would do it over and over and over again.
“I hated the thought of having wedding pictures of me looking chunky and puffy. I had to buy clothes two sizes bigger so my arms would fit in.
“My skin had become insanity. I had to tuck and roll and hide and I wore compression garments to smooth it out.
“I had a terrible top area of skin above the vagina area and I had to wear long shirts to try and cover it up.
“I became insecure and was constantly critiquing my body. I thought it was disgusting. I didn’t want that for my wedding day.”
“When I first saw the pictures it made me cry. I knew the flap was big but I couldn’t believe it was me.
“It has been completely life-changing. I’m excited for life now.”
Olga piled on the pounds in her late teens after falling pregnant at 17 and later comfort ate to cope with depression and traumatic memories of childhood abuse.
In a typical day she would eat a breakfast burrito first thing before gorging on huge KFC meals with sides for lunch and hearty home-cooked dinners like chicken and potatoes.
She also munched through six sharing packs of Doritos a week and hoarded food, hiding it in the bedroom closet to hide it from her kids.
Doctors warned she was at risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol and advised her to lose weight.
In 2013 she began to lose weight through dieting and exercise before having a gastric sleeve which restricted her stomach capacity to 8oz.
On the day of surgery, in December 2013, she weighed 378lbs within six months she had dropped 90lbs.
In April of this year Olga had her first surgery to remove excess skin – liposuction and a vertical arm lift which removed ‘side-boobage’ fat and 10lbs from her arms.
Then on October 28 she had an eight-hour operation, conducted by surgeon Alejandro Galvez in Tijuana, Mexico, to take away the excess skin from her stomach.
She said: “I was very nervous going into surgery. They wheeled me in and the next memory I have is waking up in hospital at 10pm thinking, ‘Where am I?’
“I’m shocked at how tiny I am. I put on a sweater, a size medium, and that was loose on me.
“It is the weirdest feeling in the world. I never ever in the world thought I would be a size medium.
“I’m in total shock. The surgery has been completely life changing.”
Olga, who has three children – Helana, 23, Eryka, 21 and Khristopher, 20 – now faces up to six months of recovery and is set to tie the knot to Daryl on April 28 2018.
Once the swelling goes down she plans to buy a tight-fitted, A-line sweetheart wedding gown – something she never would have been able to wear before.
Olga added: “When my fiancé first saw me he said ‘wow’. He constantly tells me he looks amazing.
“I never would have been able to reach this point if it wasn’t for the surgery.
“The thought of walking down the aisle in my dream dress makes me cry tears of joy.”
Daryl, Olga’s partner of five years, added: “The excess skin around her tummy has been a major problem for Olga, but it is finally gone.
“She looks amazing and I feel like this opens up a new chapter in her life both physically and mentally.
“I am so blessed to have her in my life and can’t wait to finally call her my wife.”
To keep up with Olga’s progress follow her on Instagram at vsg_4_life or join her soon-to-launch weight loss community at https://wlscommunity.com/
