Plastics time table

I'm almost a year out of my RNY and closing in on my goal.  I'm not in a hurry to get plastics but I'm thinking about the timetable and planning ahead.   For those of you who have gone through it, when did you first start visiting surgeons, how long did it take to get the surgery, how long after you hit your goal did you get surgery?    If I want to have tummy tuck and or breast surgery in March of 2016, how soon should I start looking for and talking to a dr?  If I want an arm lift too, how long did you wait between surgeries?

Thanks!!

Every surgeon is different, and if you are looking to self-pay or not (OHIP covers a breast lift and panniculectomy only, not a full tummy tuck). Regardless you should be 6 months at a stable weight....not gaining or losing, so most people wait until they are two years out when malabsorption is completed (a lot people stop malabsorbing earlier, but pretty much everyone is finished by the 2 year mark). I was almost 2 years when I had mine. I started the process too soon, and they wouldn't submit my request to OHIP until I stopped losing for 6 months (I reached goal at 13 months out, and lost a bit more after that). Well worth it to wait, as our bodies constantly shift and change. 

Good luck!

It's not a breast lift they may cover, it's a reduction.  Most surgeons will do a lift with the reduction but lift alone is not covered.

Gah!! Isn't that funny? That is what I was saying in my head, and I wrote lift. Sheesh. I had a reduction when I was 21. I would love a lift now, but will just make do with my golf balls in socks when i'm bent over situations I've got going on. LOL

Thanks for the correction. Coffee is necessary right now!

All surgeons are consistent on one point:  you have to be at a stable weight for six months before they will consider doing the surgery.  That being said, what I did was get to goal weight, wait a couple of months to see if I was moving up or down.  After getting there, I asked for a referral to the plastic surgeon.  That took a couple more months to get in and see him (and I think I was lucky and got a cancellation).  By the time I met with him, I was at a stable weight for about 4 months.  It was good to have the initial consult at that stage, but he booked me in to come back and see him two months later (six month stable weight).  Once I came back in after demonstrating the stability for six months, he was able to book me in for surgery (first round), which was a tummy tuck.  He submitted the paperwork for the panni (for which I was approved), but I upgraded to full tummy tuck.  I had the surgery within three of that.  So all in all, I think I waited about 9 or 10 months from hitting goal to getting the first round of plastics.

My surgeon would not do more than two procedures at a time, and as I was also having a hernia repair at the same time, he wouldn't consider adding in any other plastics at that time (and I'm glad he didn't because it was a fair amount of surgery).  After I recovered and at my 3 month follow-up visit, I booked my thigh and arm lift for 3 months later.  That is also a significant amount of surgery at one time.  And it was a day procedure (in and out of the hospital on the same day).  Note of caution, I relied on a friend to take care of me coming out of the hospital.  I think it was too much surgery.  If I had to do it all over again (the thigh and arm lift at one time), I would hire a private nurse for a couple of days -- and to accompany me home.  Even the nurses at the hospital were concerned that I was being released too soon, and barely signed off on the release.  If they had not let me go, and kept me overnight, because it was private, I would have been charged a couple of thousand dollars for the stay...or so the doctor told me!  But they were probably right...I passed out when I got home, but probably because I hadn't eaten all day, except for a piece of cheese and two crackers a couple of hours before my release.  Anyway, my friend freaked out a bit, hence the suggestion for a private nurse.  I was okay, and I really barely passed out...but enough to scare my friend (who I would note was a St.John Ambulance attendant...so had first aid training...!)  Anyway, my own experience and a piece of advice!

Good luck!

DD

I went for the OHIP covered pannilectomy as I couldn't afford a full tummy tuck for $5,000 I am not a spring chicken  and for me personally $5,000 is the cost of teh new roof or decent used car.

My surgeon was a female (Dr. Sarah Wong) in Scarborough and she was amazing.  she told me at the consult that she never does two surgeries in different quadrants of the body because she believes that you need to have one or the other mobile.

I haven't thought about subsequent surgeries, and although for me I would rather get rid of the ripples in my thighs... my arms could just fly away...LOL

All the best in your journey and search just choose a surgeon that you are 100% confident of and take it slow