Need advice ...a complicated post.

Ok I had a consult with a local surgeon that has great recommendations from not only his patience ( well except my mom whos a pain in the butt nurse who complains all the time and misses her big boozums) but the nurses who work in the hospital think his work is top knotch...anyway...good news is that i dont need a cirrcumfrencial...but I do need a fleur de lis which is what i wanted anyway...and I could use an upper body lift though i am not keen on getting my arms done and they arent that bad to be honest...boobs are big and need a new attitude for sure especially extended more toward my back.
Anway, the surgeon will not do the upper and tummy at the same time. SIGH. I have pain issues in my back..top and bottom...skin integrity issues under the belly and the boobs at times...and a really bad neck. I know i can go to a surgeon who will do them both but my insurance is willing to pay for this guy or another group who will not do them at the same time...or have to drive 6 hours away and get them done at UCSF or Stanford. I would then have to stay down there extended period of time to do the drains etc...very expensive and well not be in the comfort of my own home. So...if i chose to stay local...which one should i get first and which one takes longer to heal? The surgeon i saw does miss kitty with the tummy tuck which is pretty cool i think hehe...but i understand that really hurts : (

HELP!!!!

I had an anchor cut (fleur de lis) in June along with a breast lift.  I wanted my arms done at the same time but my doctor said he didn't want me under more than 6 hours at a time.  The surgery i had was going to run 5.5 hours.  He said he didn't want me under longer than that nor did i want a tired doctor working on me more than that.  I trusted him and so very glad i did.  He is very highly recommended by doctors and nurses than use him.  Oh yeah i forgot to mention he didn't use drains which was wonderful.  He had used this technique for over 10 years.

I was flip flopping if i wanted my breasts done first or my arms I hated them both equally.  I made my decission to do the breasts first.  I am now going back Sept 21st for my arms.  I was asking what else i could do with them like butt lift, thigh lift or even face lift.  He recommended i don't do anything else with my arms because they will be sore and i won't feel like doing wound care on any of the other places with sore arms.  Its hard for me because i'm the type of person that wants everything yesterday.  :-)  I am learning to take it slow and easy and my healing is amazing.  Such small fine lines at only 8 weeks out from the first round.

I am the type of person that thinks i should have been up and shopping two days after my surgery.  Welllllllllll  it wasn't that way.  It slowed me down more than i counted on but was still back at work 2 weeks after my surgery.  I know its hard to wait but your surgeon has his reasons and if he comes so recommended why would you want anyone but the best for your surgery?

Wendy

In my opinion, the tummy will be the biggest recovery. My preference is always to combine procedures if safe, and this way you have a single downtime, expense, and exposure to anesthesia.  Most of my LBLs and TT includes breast surgery these days.

Isnt it reasonable to want to have him extend just a bit further than the middle of my armpit...i dont have to have my arms done...just dont want to have 4 boobs when im done LOL!! Please advise..thankyou!

I had an upper body lift that did not include my arms.  I had my back fat removed and had a breast lift with auto-augmentation.  Using my side boobs, he created volumne in my lifted breasts.  I need to post new pictures of my back.  My scar has faded a ton and I have lost 20 pounds.  I was glad I got my LBL first.

Loris

I also had a fleur-de-lis abdominoplasty, breast lift, and arm lift 9 weeks ago. I was on the table for 12 hours but we anticipated this-- my surgeon's background is in microsurgery and long procedures really don't faze him.

I also had a very large hernia that encompassed my navel and lost it in the bargain. It's the hernia more than anything else that hurts, even at this late date.

The abdominoplasty is by far the most painful of the procedures, the breast lift is, well, in my case it was totally painless. My abdominoplasty also encompassed a mons lift and some of my upper thighs as well.

Healing from all this at once was brutal at best. Now that the worst is over, yes, I am glad I did it this way, but I also might be more accepting of that sort of misery than many, I don't know.

My surgeon doesn't like to leave you on the table long enough to do both, either. He really dislikes doing blood transfusions and if he did both then a transfusion would quite probably be necessary. I had an LBL w/ extended thigh lift (cut to the knees), and contouring lipo. He (and the other docs in the practice) agree that this much work on the lower is harder to recover from so to do it first. Had mine done April 2nd, I go back for my breast and arms in December (could have done them in July, but work timing and schedules wouldn't allow it.

PS: The mons didn't hurt at all - my OUTTER thighs (where the drains where and where I had saddle bags removed via lipo) hurt a helluva lot worse than the 'mons work' - get it done! You'll be happy you did. You can't really tell what is mons pain and what isn't. Whether they work there or not, most docs will put drains in that area anyways for the tummy tuck and that hurts but you would have it anyhow.  SO... if you get the mons done or not, you won't notice any more or less pain, most likely - so get it done while you don't feel it ;-).

Cass

get a second opinion, I am sure there are other Drs. in your area that are just as good.

The mons lift doesn't hurt since it's just skin that is removed (usually), but the TT will since it involves your muscles.  I think it really depends what bothers you the most.  For me it was my stomach that I hated the most.  I would say the TT is the hardest to recover from but not nearly as bad as I expected.

Good luck with your decision!