Plastic Surgery questions/advice

[gracie1]

Since I noticed the breast augmentation thread, I have decided to see if anyone has had or is having plastic surgery to the body, such as tummy tucks, brachioplasty, thigh lifts, lipo, etc?? I have lost over 100lbs in the past two years and my body is just nasty. I do the exercising, etc., but at this stage the skin is not going to firm up.
I have already met with one plastic surgeon and will be meeting with two more in August or September. However, I would love to hear from people who have had something done or are planning on having it done, just to get some feedback.
I hope to start with a brachioplasty (arm lift) for sure and get rid of these batwings!
Thanks!

 

[PatMcDuck]

My daughter has been sick for a few years, and one illness was treated with high doses of steroids. She gained about 65 pounds, in 8 weeks. She was 15 years old. We now know that she is unusually effected by steroids (her bones were severely impacted as well). When she lost most of the weight, 4-5 months later, she was left with lots of loose skin, on her abdomen, breasts, and arms. The arms are not TOO bad. What happened to her is rare, and gaining 65 pounds should NOT cause the damage to her connective tissue like it did..... the DRS are stumped (lots of stretch marks too).

In April, she is now 18, she had breast lift, implants, and abdominoplasty done (same surgery). I had lots of drs saying it was medically necessary (not the implants!), but I lost the appeals and had to payout of pocket. Because she has a complex medical history (she is on Coumadin, for example) we had it done in a regular adult hospital. TOTAL bill for the combined procedures was $12,000. She did stay overnight one night. We could not afford it, but we did it. It was not too bad, she wanted it SO bad, she tolerated it. They left these drains in her for 2 weeks, sort of gross but she was a trooper. She has large scars from this, but she is happier. At least in clothes she looks more normal. The implants were because all she had there was skin, not much breast tissue was in there. She looks normal now, they are not fake looking at all (got silicone).

 

[gracie1]

My daughter has been sick for a few years, and one illness was treated with high doses of steroids. She gained about 65 pounds, in 8 weeks. She was 15 years old. We now know that she is unusually effected by steroids (her bones were severely impacted as well). When she lost most of the weight, 4-5 months later, she was left with lots of loose skin, on her abdomen, breasts, and arms. The arms are not TOO bad. What happened to her is rare, and gaining 65 pounds should NOT cause the damage to her connective tissue like it did..... the DRS are stumped (lots of stretch marks too).

In April, she is now 18, she had breast lift, implants, and abdominoplasty done (same surgery). I had lots of drs saying it was medically necessary (not the implants!), but I lost the appeals and had to payout of pocket. Because she has a complex medical history (she is on Coumadin, for example) we had it done in a regular adult hospital. TOTAL bill for the combined procedures was $12,000. She did stay overnight one night. We could not afford it, but we did it. It was not too bad, she wanted it SO bad, she tolerated it. They left these drains in her for 2 weeks, sort of gross but she was a trooper. She has large scars from this, but she is happier. At least in clothes she looks more normal. The implants were because all she had there was skin, not much breast tissue was in there. She looks normal now, they are not fake looking at all (got silicone).

Wow, that is crazy on those steroids. I understand completely about it being the elective surgery, and have actually decided against vacations (and cancelled them) to try to put the money together. I have decided to get the surgeries separately so that I can pay cash for them instead of grouping them. My insurance company has asked my doctor to submit a code for the surgery to see if anything is covered, but I doubt it.
In your case, insurance should've covered some of it due to the fact she wouldn't have had this problem had it not been for trying to treat another condition!
I am hoping that I will not need the drains for the brachioplasty, and actually when I had my first consulation I never even asked about drains on anything as I knew nothing! lol. The surgeon asked what kind of questions I had and I said none. He told me not to make a decision and to wait and think it over and make a list of questions and come back. I felt so at ease with him, I just love him! But I also know this is something I need to shop around, so I will see two more surgeons.

How long did it take for your daughter to recup? Was she in a ton of pain? Did her scars heal relatively well?
I have never had surgery (well, the only thing I have had is wisdom teeth out) so I don't even know how I will react to surgery!!!

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

I had a breast reduction (paid by med insurance) about 3.5 years ago. I did have drains and they weren't too bad. I couldn't shower with the darins in - for about 2 weeks. I had a bed recovery with a wide range of issues. Infection was one problem that I had to deal with and a real issue with surgery.

I am glad I did it, but it did take me almost 2 months to recover and stop having side effects. 2 of my DSis also had the same surgery that I did and they had really speedy recovery. You never know.

Best of luck with your decision.

 

[Mickey527]

I had some reconstruction after my mastectomy and am having it completed this year. I wanted to wait till I was 6 years cancer free before doing anything permanent. I had a TRAM flap, where they take your stomach muscle and use it to replace the breast, so I basicly got a free tummy tuck. It looks great, but the chemo caused the tissue to die in the flap and I had to get alot of debridement. the Dr I used is the best in CT, NY and NJ, terrible bedside manner, personality of a brick wall, but does fantastic work.
My sister had gastric bypass and lost almost 150 lbs. She had a tummy tuck that looks good but she had the skin on her legs reduced and the scars are worse than the extra skin looked. I blame the surgeon, he did it once but it looked terrible so he did it again and didn't use the same cut and now she has double scars. she went to him because she had to pay herself and he was cheap. Cheap should not be one of the deciding factors when it comes to any type of surgery.
Definately check whatever you can do to make sure the Dr you go to does good work.

 

[gracie1]

I had some reconstruction after my mastectomy and am having it completed this year. I wanted to wait till I was 6 years cancer free before doing anything permanent. I had a TRAM flap, where they take your stomach muscle and use it to replace the breast, so I basicly got a free tummy tuck. It looks great, but the chemo caused the tissue to die in the flap and I had to get alot of debridement. the Dr I used is the best in CT, NY and NJ, terrible bedside manner, personality of a brick wall, but does fantastic work.
My sister had gastric bypass and lost almost 150 lbs. She had a tummy tuck that looks good but she had the skin on her legs reduced and the scars are worse than the extra skin looked. I blame the surgeon, he did it once but it looked terrible so he did it again and didn't use the same cut and now she has double scars. she went to him because she had to pay herself and he was cheap. Cheap should not be one of the deciding factors when it comes to any type of surgery.
Definately check whatever you can do to make sure the Dr you go to does good work.

I totally agree, sometimes cheap is not better! It seems that some of the best surgeons have the worst bedside manners!! The surgeon that I have met with has been considered the top one in Delaware. It seems like the "top surgeon" recongnition is always between he and two other surgeons. He normally wins it and periodically the other wins it. But he is board certified and works with the childrens hospitals as well.
Thank you everyone for your individual stories!!! I am starting to make my list of questions, and I figure if I get the brachio and I feel as though it was a painful recovery, then I will tuck all the other fat away!! lol

 

[plutolovr]

I am 4 1/2 weeks out from having a tummy tuck.

I carried twins full term 22 years ago and always wanted to do this.
I have been working out pretty hard for the past 2 years and the loose skin and stretch marks on my stomach really bothered me. I had a "pouch" over my naval that always made it hard to wear anything form-fitting, especially when wearing pants that sit on my hips. I had some recommendations for a PS in my town and his work is really good. When I decided to have it done I really concentrated on getting my abs in good condition by doing lots of pilates and ab work. It paid off.

My surgery took about an hour and I had no drains. The doctor told my DH that my abs were fabulous. I was up and taking long walks 3 days after and am now back to my regular exercise routine (6 days/wk), with the exception of ab work. My abs are still very tight and ab work is not recommended for a while, but I do an hour of elliptical and/or spin class.

I recommend if you're trying to decide to get work done that you get yourself in physical shape so your recovery will be quicker. Good luck!

 

[gracie1]

I am 4 1/2 weeks out from having a tummy tuck.

I carried twins full term 22 years ago and always wanted to do this.
I have been working out pretty hard for the past 2 years and the loose skin and stretch marks on my stomach really bothered me. I had a "pouch" over my naval that always made it hard to wear anything form-fitting, especially when wearing pants that sit on my hips. I had some recommendations for a PS in my town and his work is really good. When I decided to have it done I really concentrated on getting my abs in good condition by doing lots of pilates and ab work. It paid off.

My surgery took about an hour and I had no drains. The doctor told my DH that my abs were fabulous. I was up and taking long walks 3 days after and am now back to my regular exercise routine (6 days/wk), with the exception of ab work. My abs are still very tight and ab work is not recommended for a while, but I do an hour of elliptical and/or spin class.

I recommend if you're trying to decide to get work done that you get yourself in physical shape so your recovery will be quicker. Good luck!

Wow pluto, you did fantastic!!! I am planning on "interviewing" the plastic surgeons this year, but I think if I decide to do it I will wait atleast until the end of next year (maybe the following) to not only save the money but see if anything else happens with the skin. The more research I do the more I doubt the surgeries because of the side effects/pain! But then I will read a post by a few people where they were back to work in 4 days or something and once I get myself built up again I read another about the nerves not coming back in the arms and having numbness, etc for a full year!! My job includes a lot of typing daily and that is not a risk I can really take! The ps said I could be back to work in 5 days, but how does he know?? We have no idea how I will heal because I've never even had a surgery.
It's definately a tough decision to make! I don't want to regret not getting it done, however I don't want to regret having it done. Does that make sense at all??? LOL

 

[DISdreamin']

It seems that some of the best surgeons have the worst bedside manners!!

Absolutely agree! I had breast reduction surgery (and it was one of, if not THE, best things I have ever done for myself), and the surgeon was phenomenal...but extremely egotistical. And you know what? That's okay. Anyone who believes he can take me apart and put me back together better than my maker...well, a little God complex is just fine there.

Good luck with your surgery, OP!

 

[PatMcDuck]

DD recovered well with no complications. For the tummy tuck, she did NOT need the abdominal muscles repaired, they were tight under the extra skin. Most women have loose muscles there, if they have had children.

I just want to add that allowing my 18 year old to have plastic surgery is something I NEVER thought I would do. I can only say, that if you SAW the before photos, you would get it. This was not done lightly, for a minor cosmetic issue. I can only say that she looked like she lost 200 pounds, not 40.It was seriously effecting her both physically (pain, esp from the loose breast skin) and mentally. And after the surgery, she is still far from "perfect". In her case, because she was still just a "kid" she went thru counseling for over a year before the surgery. (for many issues related to her long severe illness) and thru the counseling we got her to understand that this surgery was NOT going to solve all her social problems.......