Plastics

Hey guys,

Who had plastics after their wls? How much excess skin was removed?

Greg

Greg,

Howdy.

We only have a few guys who have.  Scott (Beam me up Scottie) and Russ (Go to guy) are two with LBL's.  There are a few that have had their pannys removed but not a full LBL.  Don't see that many guys, if ever, on the Plastics board.

I wonder how insurance companies are about paying for plastic surgery after WLS?

Unless it is to remove you pannis from your stomach generally they don't.

ETA:  If you have a CPA worth their money they will know to write off your taxes.  It is considered to be "reconstructive surgery after obesity".  The IRS recognizes obesity as a disease. 

I have been approved for hernia repair but not panni removal.  It isn't medically necessary and I hate to admit it but they are right.  There is no real reason that I need it except to look/feel better.  I do think that it will help my back a bit.  To add the panni removal to the hernia surgery is going to be 5700.  Hopefully next summer.

I had a LBL and the excess skin around my breast area removed. I lost 300 lbs, and they removed about 8 lbs of skin. There was no fat left, otherwise it would have been more. My insurance company paid for it, it was about 80k worth of surgery and I paid about 300 dollars in copays.

Scott

Scottie... Was it all done in one operation and how long was it before you could return to work?

one operation, about 8 hours long, and it will take 3 or 4 weeks to return to work, if you have a desk job.

Scott

You say 3 to 4 weeks, please compare that to the WLS itself. For instance, I had surgery on Tuesday and was back to work that Friday. So is plastic worse than WLS as far as recovery? I'm guessing yes it is.