Going to plastic surgeon for consult thurs

Mangopickle

I have said I wouldn' t do the surgery because I am allergic to pain meds and I hear that it is extremely painful but I never really thought the excess skin would be so problematic. I have zipped my belly at least 5 times in the last month. I get heat rash under the panus because of the way my pants fit. I obviously can't leave it dangling like the worlds ugliest muffin top to keep it aerated. Has anyone else had the panus removed? Would love to hear your experience.

jkern9110

Congrats on making it so far that you could be eligible for surgery! I'm eager to hear what the doctor says today. Once I get to goal, I would like for my skin to be magically perfect and I will pretend it will be for the time being. But I'd love to know how the process works for when I do need to consider the procedures.

pawoodhull

Oh boy, this is something I want so badly. The tummy yes, but the thighs and upper arms as well. It's embarrasing the way everything flaps around when I move and how it pools around my knees and elbows when I stand still. Sigh. Wish the insurance companies understood that removing the excess skin is really part of the whole thing.

Mangopickle

Nothing covered by insurance. But it was good to find out approximate costs. $8000 for belly $6000 for breasts, they will call me back about thighs, arms and butt. Basically $20,000 to $24,000 for the whole thing. I thought it was pretty reasonable, people pay more for cars. I don't but I will just save the money while my weight stabilizes.

jkern9110

Well that is much less than I would have thought with paying out of pocket.

spfldpam

I went to a plastics consultation last year and it was like $40,000 to have all I wanted to have done. I decided I would just live with the loose skin. It doesn't seem to matter with clothing sizes as I can wear size small tops even with the bat wings and size 4 or 6 pants/jeans with loose skin in belly. Sometimes the loose skin in the upper thighs area prevents me from wearing skinny jeans I have noticed.
I am very self conscious about it but my boyfriend I met after WLS doesn't seem to mind. I still wear shorts in the summer and tank tops in public...bat wings and all!

I worked out alot pre and post surgery but that only does so much. The rest has to be actually cut off. Even the trainers at the gym have agreed with me.
Good luck!

jkern9110

If I could get down to wearing a size small and 4/6 pants I don't think I would care all that much about the skin either! Y'all are amazing

homerismyhero

There's talk on a lot of forums about a clinic in Mexico- CosMed- Dr. Quiroz. I work in insurance and am very skeptical of "medical tourism" - but I have to say, the cost - even including air fare and residency- seems to be so much more reasonable than in the US. The reviews and reputation seem good as well. I'm not sure I would do the surg, funds are very limited in my family right now- but if I did and I had to pay cash, I'd consider traveling.
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wilrhy

I went pre-surgery to a seminar about plastic surgery. Wow so expensive! But even at 6 weeks post-op I see all the hanging skin.

jkern9110

medical tourism...no thanks. Watch a couple of episodes of the tv show "Botched" and you wouldn't even remotely consider traveling to Mexico for plastic surgery. Saw one story where the woman went to there for a tummy tuck, not only was her pelvic area pulled up so high that her pubic hair was at her navel, but she wasn't put under anesthesia. They numbed the area using giant blocks of ice while she was still completely conscious the entire time.

homerismyhero

I've seen Botched a few times too- it is a nightmare- but the majority had thier crap surgury in the US! Again, not sure I would do it- but I would explore the option. When I was looking to have this surg - the VGS, I found a lot of people that didnt' have insurance coverage went to Belgum and few other places that had perfected it with good results. There's a few thing s other countries do better, like transplants in Iran (they have a living donor program where each party lives in a facilty for a few weeks prior) sex change in Thiland, and some cancer treatment in Germany. We're used to the US leading in medical care, and in may ways it does- but not on a cost for qulaity level- just something to keep in mind.
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pcoppock

One of the things they shared at the initial seminar was that once you lose all of the weight, you are going to have problems with your extra skin. They advised not to treat it ourselves, but to go to our PCP for help with rashes and infections. Once you have established documented history of medical issues it can sometimes be covered by insurance as medically necessary.

-Phill

authorwriter

20 to 24K sounds pretty reasonable. I can already tell loose skin is going to be a nightmare for me.

DJRonnieLINY

@jkern: Ok, that visualization is really funny. Lucky she didn't get a goetee!!

But on the serious side; I had felt the same way but now when I look in the mirror I see the potential to finish the project. I am down to 20% body fat, the whole package looks so much better but for the bit of extra skin around the midsection. The realization is that no matter how much I exercise now the skin will remain. So I do expect to have it removed at some point.

Mangopickle

I still have people trying to convince me that this personal trainer or this product will make it go away. It is quite laughable. I am 45 not 16. I have gone from a size 21 pants to a loose size 4. Excess skin is just part of it. I am quite happy knowing i can fix it if i want to.