Need Advice

I was going to have a TT but my surgeon has changed her mind and believes that a panni would be a safer surgery for me.

I am on coumadin and had two TIA's three days after my gastric bypass surgery so I am a high risk candidate for surgery.

Has anyone had just the panni? Were you satisfied? How long were you in surgery for panni? for TT? How many consults did you have before picking a surgeon?

Any suggestions?

Maggie B (from Ontario board)

Hi Maggie

I'm from Ontario also ......nice to meet you.  I had two consults and found the surgeon I have complete confidence in.  but i think my answer to you would be ...go to as many as you need to until your gut  tells you they are the right one.  also I would say not necessarily the doctor that tells you what you want to hear.  If your at high risk then maybe you should listen.  If you keep going to enough you will eventually find a doctor that is willing to give you what your asking for because they are in it for the money.  You have to do whats the best for your health.

In saying that .......the first guy i went to told me i needed implants and ohip would not cover any of it and he answered what i asked but didn't offer any information.  I'm new at this and didn't know what to ask.  I figure i don't buy the first house i see or car so why go with the first surgeon. The second surgeon had great posts of his work and the fact a lot of his patients have been nurses and stated how they did not feel rushed or that he recommeded anything that was not needed to pad his pocket book.  I had that same feeling.  I felt COMFORTABLE when i left his office.  He put through the paper work into OHIP and they did approve part of it (not a lot but every little bit helps) and he did not recommend implants in my case.  He offered info to me......i felt like time stopped and he was there just for me to answer MY questions. He invited my daughter into the room also if i was comfortable with it.  He told me i didn't need lipo and that from the working out at the gym he felt my stomach muscles were tight and i don't need them done but we left it that when he does the surgery and he feels any different that he has my go ahead on it.  He is the "right gut feeling"

Listen to your instincts but be reasonable and don't put your health and life on the line.  My full tummy tuck and breast lift is scheduled for June 29th and then i am doing my arms in september.  what part of Ontario are you from?  This surgeon is in Toronto and if your interested i will give you his name and you can google him and read all about him and what previous patients have posted.  also google "rate your MD" and read posts on plastic surgeon you have gone to and anyone your thinking of going to.  Best wishes

Wendy

Thanks Ladies,

I am okay with how the doctor (anyone I might chose) will handle the coumadin.  It is a process that they will have me go through to switch to a better blood thinner before surgery.  I would like the name of your surgeon, thanks you can PM me directly with his contact info if you like.
How long did you wait between consult and your surgery date?

Maggie

Hi Maggie,

I had just a panni 3 wks ago.  Didn't have a tt b/c my insurance wouldn't cover the muscle tightening.  You can look at my pics on my profile.

I had an anchor cut panni which made a big difference.  I didn't mind having the vertical scar because I felt like without it I wouldn't have gotten the results I wanted.

I met with 3 surgeons and ended up going with the first one I met with.  The other two were highly recommended and I'm sure they would have done beautiful work but one refused to do the anchor cut insisting that insurance wouldn't cover it (when I already had approval for it)  and the other one wanted to add a bunch of cosmetic procedures such as the muscles, lipo and butt lift in an effort to boost the $$ aspect since I would have to pay out of pocket for so much of it because it was cosmetic.  He had no interest in doing just a panni.

The surgeon I went with was one that is at the same hospital where I had my GB done and I was referred to him by my GB program.

I am very happy with my results.  From my initial consult to date of surgery was 4 weeks.

I'm not sure exactly, but I think my panni surgery was 2 or 2.5 hours.  They removed 7.5lbs of skin/fat.

Caroline

Thanks that information was very helpful.  My panni is covered but I wanted the tummy tuck. But I will defer to the surgeon who thinks that is too high a risk for me for a purely cosmetic surgery.  I just wanted to know if people are happy with the panni only. I don't want to go through with all of this if I will not be happy. Your post is helpful, thank you.

Maggie

Aloha Maggie.,........I was wandering around in the Plastics Forum. I'm usually in the "over fifty forum" (OFF) where I have many friends but not so many have had plastics so I pop in here occasionally.

I had a panniculectomy back in Dec......almost five months ago. I am delighted with the results!! What I have is a nice scar from hipbone to hipbone that looks like a belly chain, AND my belly is FLAT!! I'm very tall (5'10") and went from 320 to today's weight of 156....so I basically lost half of myself. Everything sagged! But, with the panni removal, I now feel almost svelte......Ha! I could use a thigh job and a boob job, but those aren't covered by my insurance where the panniculectomy was.

I wish you good luck in whatever you choose. We are all so different I'm discovering that what works for one might not work for another. I hope your experience is a problem free as mine has been.

Aloha nui loa,

Maui Karen
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