R U Ready for Plastic Surgery Yet??

Hi All.. I'm oh-so close to my goal -- just 49lbs to go -- and have started looking into plastic surgery. It looks like I have 2 shar-pei dogs attached to my thighs . And I know I can get into 14's if I could just zip them up over the skin that was my stomach fat. If I take a running start, I can get actual lift-off with my "batwings" Are there any of you August 2003 grads who have looked into PS yet? I have a friend who had wls 15 months ago and has lost 340 -- he was 545 lbs at the start. He told me about a burn center in NJ that takes donated skin but the donor has to be ready at a moment's notice..skin is a living organ and hasto be used w/in a certain time frame. I live in MD and state regulations forbid that. So, I'm looking into PS as my next step. I'd like to know if anyone has started or has already had the surgery...and what I can expect along the journey. Have you checked out insurance coverage? Financing? Surgeons? Where and how did you start finding all this info out? I've gone on this website to their PS link and found out a bit, but not the amount I'm looking for. I spent so much time investigating WLS that I want to do the same for PS. I'd appreciate any direction you can give me. Thanks...Freda 304/199

i had ps at 6 months out and 50 pounds from goal. i had a 7 years history of bloody rashs under my stomach apron.my skin was so bad that it ripped when the doctor touched it to examine me. i had all of this in my medical history. after losing so much weight it got worse. even taking a shower was painful because of the rash. now i'm 15 pounds from goal. i love the way my new stomach looks. i also had a inner thigh lift. the important thing is to show that you have an on going medical problem with your skin. don't wait untill you are ready for ps to start telling the doctor about skin rashes, boils, tears, back aches ect... tell your pcp about any problems with your skin even if you think it is minor so that it can be put in your medical records. if you get approved for the tummy tuck and not the thighs it is cheaper to pay alittle more and have both done at one time than if you were to have your thighs done at a different time. it's about 50% cheaper because the insurance is already paying for the hospital, meds used during surgery and for your follow up visits.

I'm thinking about it, but just don't know if I'm willing to go back into surgery yet. My weight loss is very like yours - I started at 305 and am at 197-198 now for the past 2 months. I also have the bat wings, shar-pei thighs and the jiggle belly. I just have to work up the nerve to go under the knife again if I want to get this stuff off. For those of you who have had p.s., how much weight did it take off of you? How was recovery? Would you do it again?? Thanks, Jane

me again lol. i had a tt, inner thigh lift and hernia repair. the doctor took off 8 pounds of skin on my stomach and i have no clue how much off my thighs. I WOULD DO IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT!!! the recovery was a breeze. it was nothing like having wls. i love my new body. i can't believe the difference it has made in the way i feel about my body. it is like the icing on the cake after losing so much weight. it's almost like a fresh start with a completely reconstructed body. it makes buying clothes easier too. no more trying to find something to hide parts of my body that i hated....now i show them off with more fitted clothing. i wasn't thrilled about having another surgery either, but boy was it worth it. there was hardy any pain at all because everything stays numbs for weeks.

Can you share more about the thigh lift? I am going in on August 3rd for tummy tuck and breast lift. I need to get my thighs and arms done. The Dr says wait 6 months and he will do the other two procedures. I am sure my insurance will cover the tummy, but i dont know about the breast lift. I will pay on my own. What did your legs look like before and what about now? Do you have any post-op pics you can share? Ohh my current weight is 161 and i am 5'4", so i am about 16-27lbs from ideal body weight, depending on what you consider ideal. Most likly 10 - 15lbs is excess skin. Thanks for your sharing. Lori