After WLS

Lots of Q's & A's for before, during WLS.  What about after?  Year or 2 down the line when you have been successful with your WLS, and you have all this access skin? tummy, arms etc, is this covered through Medicare also, or do you have to pay 'out of pocket' to get it removed/corrected?
Anyone have any ideas/thoughts?  :) 

I know that a partial tummy tuck may be covered by Medicare. You have to have lost 100 pounds & kept it off for at least a year. Medicare will only cover the removal of the apron of excess shin on the tummy. Nothing else is covered.

I have already been to a plastic surgeon recently (very negative experience) and I asked them about this.  I also attended my pre-surgery bariatric clinic with Dr. Savoie's team yesterday and this same topic was discussed.  I am having my surgery next Thursday.

The current coverage through NB Medicare will allow breasts and partial stomach surgery but the other surgeries are not covered. 

I would have to get a full body lift after my weight loss and I was told that it would cost about $ 20,000.00 by a local plastic surgeon in a NB hospital.  He explained that I would have to pay for his time, the staff and the hospital stay out of pocket.  He also told me that it is very nasty and traumatic surgery and should not be considered lightly.   You also have to undergo a full psych evaluation before they will perform plastic surgery.  I was told that they will not perform any plastic surgery on bariatric patients until they have reached and maintained gola weight for at least 2 years.  The best results from plastics come in patients whose weight has stabilized.  If you are not at a stable weight and you lose or gain more the results will be much less than ideal.

To be honest I know that I will have excess skin everywhere but my goal is to lose weight and keep it off.  I know that I will never be a Playboy centerfold girl nor would I want to be really.  I just want to be healthy. Being a healthy weight will certainly be much better for me than where I am now. I am not expecting this surgeyr to turn me into Cinderella.  I also am reluctant to have plastic surgery unless absolutely necessary because I really do not want to look like Frankenstein's sister more than I already do now with my scars.  It may come to it that I will have to have a tummy tuck because of the skin fold which causes skin rashes and such but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. 

From the session we had yesterday, they discussed alot about your mental state before surgery and after and plastic surgery is one of the last things to consider.  There will be much more emotional and mental stuff to deal with before you cross that bridge.  You need to have your head togeather before any surgery. 

Thanks so much for you thoughts/experience.  I'm am just wondering about the 'whole' surgery life change all together.  Because, when we are all successful in the WLS I imagined all this excess skin that i do worry about.  Wherther exercise will help, or too much extra skin, that 'tummy tuck' would be necessary, and other 'fixing' :)

Excercise will help a great deal to tone you up and your skin.  I lost 100lbs on my own and my skin did shrink and tone up to some extent.  I know that with the next 100lbs I need to lose that no doubt there will be excess skin and sagging despite excercise and toning. Each person is different. Some experience more sagging and others do not. 

That is a very smart thing to do.  That is exactly what I have done and am still doing.  There are so many parts of the surgery other than the physical surgery itself.  It is good to try and determine as many aspects as you can. This forum is a wonderful place to learn. You also really need to look inward at yourself and determine your own motivations.

It would depend if you are having problems from the extra skin. A breast reduction and abimonplasty can be covered under certain cir****tances. I actually had an abimnoplasty covered by medicare before my weight loss surgery due to alot of problems. I will not be covered to have a second after weight lose but my surgeron said if i decided to have one it would be bewteen 3500- 5000. I am having mixed feelings about it at this point and I will have to see what I actually look like when I am finished.I have found since I started going to the gym this past sept and doing a weight circut that my arms have improved alot as has my  back and legs. I only walked and did alittle curves for my first year but since adding the weight circut I have noticed a difference. You may find teh same thing.

The amount of excess skin you have is greatly effected by your age as well. Most of us have stretch marks & that damage came undo itself, but younger skin contracts much better than older skin. It is good to ask all these questions before surgery. Good on you.