2 years since my surgery - any advice on face lift?

I had my VSG done over in Europe (Dr Hruby, Municipal Hospital of Turnov, right outside Prague) back on 11-13-2007.  

I went from 201 pounds down to 128 pounds and seem to stay between 128 - 132.  The problem I have now is I went from being very overweight to looking underweight.  I lost a lot of the fat from my face and can't seem to make it go back.  Has anyone else had this?  How do you gain weight back where you want it to go and not where you dont?

I am planning maybe another trip to Europe in October to possibly get some fat moved from my stomach to my face, it is a lot cheaper over there.

I have CIGNA HMO and they would not pay for my surgery in 2007 so I was self pay, Dr Hruby charges $4,700 complete (is lower now I think).  I am happy I had it done just wish my face were not so hollow looking is all, the weight I gained back is on my waistline, although I went from a 44 inch waist to a 29 inch waist now.  Any advice would be great or email me at [email protected]

Thanks

sorry i dont have any advice but i did want to say congrats on your fantastic weight loss journey.

Hi Tony,

Welcome!  I am sorry that I don't have any advise for the facelift either...

I just wanted to say congrats on your incredible weightloss!!

It is encouraging to see you have lost all you wanted and then some, and that you have kept it for the most part.

Good luck with the re-arranging of your 'fat'...  hope it works for ya...

Cindy

Hi Tony - I was gaunt when I reached goal and wasn't happy with the way my face looked, either.  I thought 'well, this is great, my body looks younger but my face looks older, boo!'  I feel like I look better/OK, now, and here's why:  some time passed, and things rearranged themselves in a good way, plus I gained about 5 pounds back, and it really helped in the face.  So maybe give it a little more time and gain a few pounds and see how that does for you?  Regardless, good luck and congrats on your WLS success!

   I agree with Leslie. I have friends who had WLS 2-3 yrs ago. When they reached goal, their faces looked very gaunt. They did appear sickly. However, over the last year or so, as Leslie posted, it seems like things shifted and settled, and they gained a little weight back in their faces. They now look very healthy and not gaunt at all. Perhaps that will be the case with you.
   Congrats on your success!

"How do you gain weight back where you want it to go and not where you dont?"

You can't. Sigh.

This is why my shoulders are so bony, it hurts to touch them but my calves are thick.

I wanted to thank everyone for all the information and all the replys; it is good to not feel alone like the only one that ever went through this stuff.. most of my friends and people I know or work with cannot relate to it, they say "well it is your own fault because you ate too much" so it is good to vent with people who been through it as well.

As for controling where the fat goes, guess it was something I should have researched before I got the surgery, is reassuring to know I am not the only one having this problem.
 
I am pricing some of the other procedures to add fat back to my face, will update how it goes, like everyone else the economy sux and not a lot of left over funds becuase everything is self pay so it would be back to Eastern Europe.  All good advice, most important thing I guess is that I am healthy now, no more high blood pressure, no arthritus in the knees, no high sugar levels, all that stuff is gone.  Whats left is just cosmetic challenges.

As for the smoking comment left on my profile... well, I gave up something I loved a lot, "real food" so if I chose to smoke so be it...  gotta have some fun in life, right ;-)

 Nope - smoking is not ok - just as unhealthy for you as the fat was......and you should know that.  So I'm not letting you off any hook with it being ok since you quit overeating....make that your next goal - you don't need no stinking smokes!

I had a breast reduction and lipo with a fantastic surgeon in Costa Rica, and the price was right, especially for world-class care.  Costa Rica is HUGE for plastic surgery.  I had a great experience.  Several people in my recovery house had facelifts and looked great.