PS Question - Is this common?

I had WLS (open RNY) 13 months ago (259-118) and have sharpei upper abdomen, lower abdomen and thighs. Previously I had open gall bladder (16 years ago). I had a PS consult who said he would have to do the upper and lower abs separately. This would mean a bikini cut for the lower and a waist cut for the upper. This is common practice? I don't want to shop around for a Dr to do it with 1 cut if it's common. Thanks in advance for your feedback !

Hi Gale, if I understand your question, I believe you are referring to an anchor cut....meaning that you are cut across the bikini area and then straight up the center of your stomach....yes, this is somewhat common, depending on the skin amount of extra skin....also, many patients elect to have muscle tightening at the same time...meaning your abs are sewn down, for the want of a better description... I am 5 weeks out from a FULL tt, meaning from back of each hip across and muscle tightening....I went into surgery expecting an anchor cut and was surprised when I had to reajust my binding and didn't find the anchor...in fact, I was VERY upset in that I had wanted muscle tighening... As soon as I went into the office on my 3rd day out, I quickly started asking questions about the lack of an anchor cut....I was quickly assured that he was able to do it without an anchor cut...but it just depends on the amount of skin you are trying to get rid of...I lost approx 8 lbs between my tt and some lipo in my hip area....so that is not a small job... If you are planning to get a few more consults in, that should help answer your questions. My surgeon's name is Dr. James Vogel....he is in Baltimore...if you are interested in getting another consult with a doctor that obviously can make do without an anchor cut some of the time. Best wishes to you on your journey, RAE

Gail, I had the same experience that Rebecca had -- full TT, single cut, with muscle tightening -- on Aug. 31. My surgeon, Dr. Navin Singh at Hopkins, removed 10.2 pounds of skin. I'm thrilled with the results. Best of luck. Kasey 365/215/195 (nonop)