Plastic surgery after DS

Sem,

I live in Wichita and have had consults with Reiger and Conrad. If I was still having surgery in Wichita, I would have went with Conrad. He is young, but very thorough and seems to be a caring Doctor. He is also who my WLS doc recommended.  My dilema with ANY of the Wichita Docs is that NONE of them specialize in massive weight loss patients. I asked in every single consult I went to, and no one would give me a definitive answer, or even address my concerns. That is one of the reasons I chose to go to Dr. Sauceda instead.  The skin of someone who has been morbidly obese their whole life is different than the skin of someone who just lost their 30 #'s of baby weight.

Please fee free to PM me as I have met with several other PS docs in the area.

 

You might try checking the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons website:

https://www.asbps.org/find.php

I am heavy in the research process too though that phase is coming to an end for me. I found my PS by clicking on the link at the top of this page to browse for plastic surgeons then I clicked on my state (VA). I read the patient reviews on the different docs. I highly value patient reviews because they will tell you the real story on the doc. Any surgeon can advertise and make himself sound good, but the proof is in the pudding.

Another one of my criteria that was already mentioned was that the surgeon be experienced in bariatric plastic surgery. In my opinion, it's a whole different ball game than procedures done simply to counteract the aging process. The PS I chose actually sent me a book that he co-authored that was very helpful, including tips on finding a PS, what questions to ask, what each procedure entails as well as recovery time, etc.

Additionally, I don't think there is anything wrong with starting the research process now. Just a word of caution--the more you research, the more excited and impatient you get!  I've been reading the board off and on for the last year with increasing frequency the more serious I got about doing this. However, I would advise on holding off the actual consultations until your body is ready for the procedure because you want an accurate assessment and recommendation. I also would not rule out going elsewhere other than Kansas if there are no surgeons that meet your criteria.

As for financing, I think that will be affected by what your personal principles and financial situation. For instance, my personal principles are to never borrow money or finance anything except my house which means that I will save the money before I have the procedure. Not everybody feels that way which is why it is a personal decision. While some procedures are covered by some insurance, the majority are not. I would procede through the research process as though it wasn't going to be covered. If you then find that some of your cost is covered, so much the better. Some surgeons have a financing plan you can apply for that are fairly reasonable in rates. All this will be part of your research.

Hope this was helpful in some way.