when to consider plastic surgery

Hi -

I'm new to this site. I've been lurking for awhile and finally decided to post. To give a bit of history, I had lapband surgery on March 27, 2009. I started at 289. I am currently at 215. I was hoping to not have all this extra skin (kind of unrealistic, I know), but it's becoming quite apparent it will not just snap back.
I'm still at least 45lbs. from goal. I'm wondering when is the best time to consider plastic surgery, such as a tummy tuck of breast lift, possbily thighs and arms as well. Is it best to wait until I reach goal and maintain for awhile? I plan on asking my PCM about it at an appt. tomorrow, but I would like to get the opinions of those in similiar situations.

Thanks so much.

Karyn :)

For me personally, I am going to wait until I reach my stable goal weight, I wouldnt want to mess up my plastics if i was to lose more or gain a little. My weight loss surgeon told me that I needed to be at least 12 months out from surgery and have a stable weight. For now, I am not in a big hurry but I am reading as much as I can about procedures and doctors. I want to make an educated decision when the time comes.

Best of luck to you in your journey.

I guess it is different for everyone but I am almost 2 years out from VSG and have been at a stable weight for over a year.  I am just now emotionally ready to tackle another surgery and recovery period.  I felt it was very important to get physically and emotionally healthy once I could maintain my weight in order to go into surgery as prepared as possible.  Your body is still pretty run down while you are still losing weight and it takes a while to get your strength back and establish exercise and eating routines.  I can honestly say I am finally ready for plastics :)  Robin

Thanks for the replies. It certianly does makes sense to wait until my weight has stablized. I don't think I could wait much longer than that though. For me, I see the numbers on the scale and the difference in my clothing size, which both indicate I have lost weight, but when I look in the mirror, I don't see much change. I still see myself the way I did when I first started this journey. I guess I feel that having plastic surgery would be the thing to make me physically see that I have in fact lost weight. In my senior year of high school I remember weighing around 180 and feeling like I was ginormous. Now I look back and 180 really wasn't that bad for my body and I wasn't ginormous like I thought. I guess it's all a mental thing. Does that make sense?

Thanks again.
Karyn :)

Sort of depends on what kind of plastics you are considering and the surgeon you intend to use, as well as how you intend to finance it.

If it's an insurance payment, you will likely need to have reached a stable weight for a minimum of six months.

With some surgeons and doing major reconstruction, you may need to be ten to twenty pounds from your goal so there is enough of you to do the reconstruction. 

Your best bet is to do your plastic surgery consults early, especially if you intend to use insurance as your payment method.

I do hope that my insurance company will pay for at least some of what I'm going to need. I, too, think that I should start the process early so I can get whatever documentation that I need and be all set once I reach or at least get close to it.
I intend to talk with my PCM about this tomorrow.

Thanks.
Karyn :)

There is a lot of information on my website about Plastic Surgery after weight loss with a whole section dedicated to post-bariatric procedures and many before and after photos.  You may find the information helpful.  You can also download a copy of my patient guide to body contouring.

All the best,