Plastics scheduled!!!!!!!!!!

Hey all! Well, Aetna finally approved my surgery and the date is set! I am having an extended tummy tuck, mons lift, and abdominoplasty on 6/13 @ 7:30am!!!!!! I am sooooo excited! I just wanted to shout it out to everybody and dance around for a little bit! Whooo hoo! Everybody have a great rest of the day! ~Phoenix 287/147/135 PS on 6/13/06 p.s. If anyone has had these operations, how long did your recovery take? What was the pain level? Back to work when? Saw results and could wear clothing normally? Back to activities? Just some questions... Thanks so much!

Hey Phoenix, good to see you and there you are stepping on my toes again trailing right behind me just like out RNY's. I am scheduled for 6/2 for circumference tummy tuck. getting my butt lifted Since this surgery is over 5 hours I will have a breast reduction and lift done soon afterwards when I feel I can handle it. I tried to go to your page to see who was doing your surgery but my computer is acting up and when there is music it closes my browser right down so I haven't seen your updated pictures. Hope someone comes to answer these questions I would "sort of" like to know the pain level but surgeon promised me no pain just uncomfortable, that I can deal with but I have a 2 and half hour ride home from Tampa so that I am not looking forward to but next week it will only be hours and I will be on my way. My surgery is 8:30 but must be there for 6:30. So send me some prayers and I will cover you on the 13th. Good luck sweetie,

LOL, we are always neck and neck huh? My next and final round of plastics is scheduled for December, I am having a BA, thigh lift, and arm lift! I just wanted my tummy done now...My surgeon is Dr. Joseph Aguiar. who is yours? I will definitely be praying for you and thinking good fortune on ya!! Isn't this exciting? I am also wondering what the recovery is like. I am going to Tampa General for my preop next Thursday and see my surgeon one last time before surgery on 6/5, so we'll see what answers I get if I can't get any here. Thanks again and GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!! ~Phoenix

Had my preop on Tues....the drive up and back same day killed me...didn't sleep the night before and still have not slept. Had to get my hubby to an appt at BayPines today so another 5AM wake up call. When I know I have to leave the house that early even with a sleeping pill I can't go to sleep...then as soon as I got home I got word my uncle passed away and of course I have been on the phone since....won't be able to go back to Pa for the viewing or funeral which starts tomorrow night due to holiday weekend so hopefully I will catch my "beauty" sleep tonight and clean all weekend and get the garage in order so I can pull my new car in there if the hurricanes come early. I won't be able to do that stuff afterwards so gotta be prepared. My surgeon is chief of plastics at TGH, Dr. David J Smith. I was very impressed with his background and would you believe he shares the office with Dr. Murr. I had no idea when I seeked him out. I looked at who was on my list. So I got rave review from Dr. Murr about him, called him his partner...will let you know how thinks work out when I get back next Sun or Monday, we are playing it by ear to see how many nights he keeps me. Here's a link from when he was named chief. http://hsc.usf.edu/publicaffairs/newsletters/hsc+news+september+2,+2004.html#plasticsurgery

Phoenix, you will have to copy and paste the entire link in, it cut off. Here it is again; http://hsc.usf.edu/publicaffairs/newsletters/hsc+news+september+2,+2004.html#plasticsurgery

How did you get your insurence company to cover plastics? I want to do this but dont know if Humana, HMO, will cover it or not.. Any advice...? Thanks Betty

Hi Betty, It was not easy...but I first got a referral from my PCP to see a plastic surgeon and a dermatologist. My dermatologist saw me over a 3 month period and documented that the surgery would be a medical necessity due to the excess skin causing rashes and skin conditions that were a medical problem. Then my plastic surgeon submitted the procedure to my insurance (Aetna HMO). They denied me back in March, stating that there wasn't enough info stating that I had skin probs for the removal to be necessary. So I went back to my dermatologist, got another letter and ALL of her clinical notes from my visits. I also wrote out a long personal letter with all kinds of stats and quotes from Medical journals and publications, including my personal journey on weight loss and dealing with the extra skin and the complications that come from it (both physical and emotional). I also took MANY pictures and sent that all in. Aetna claimed they lost my appeal 3 times over the next few months until finally I contacted an AMAZING rep through Aetna who kept on my case EVERY day and called me with updates at least 2-3 times a week. We finally had to omit the pictures, have me fax her all my documentation, and she submitted the appeal for me electronically and HAND delivered my appeal to that department. They reversed their decision and approved me 10 days later. Good luck and if you need any more info, let me know! ~Phoenix