Anchor vs. Regular incision
(deactivated member)
on 3/8/10 4:32 am - Manassas, VA
on 3/8/10 4:32 am - Manassas, VA
I had a LBL with lipo in the lower back....and was told that he couldn't do lipo and the anchor cut at the same time. Most of my skin was below the belly button so I think it will be ok. I currently have a hematoma that surrounds my new belly button but it's going down, so I won't know final results for a while. :)
This has absolutely nothing to do with age (as some people seem to believe). It has to do with WHERE you carried your fat and how liberal/conserative the sugeon you are consulting with is.
I carried almost all my weight in my middle. Even though I was big everywhere, I was built like an egg with fat arms & legs sticking out of it. When I wore a lot of my summer clothes, I would be mistaken for an overweight pregnant person vs simply a big old fat girl. (More than once I was actually asked at an amusement park "should you be riding this in your condition?" when my only "condition" was being fat - which I happily informed them of immediately before getting on whatever ride I was about to get on.) As such, after I lost my weight I had a lot of loose skin under my breasts. (I could literally grab handfuls right under my breasts and pull it outwards from my ribs.)
Most US surgeons are fairly conservative. They don't want to cut/scar more than they have to. So they weigh that with the results you are expecting/wanting. Hence you hear many US surgeons use the phrase what you can "get by with". In other words, he/she believes they can "get by with" only cutting/scarring you that much to get you close to the results you are wanting. That's why it is SOOOO important to be blunt with them about what you are expecting. Otherwise, you will NOT get the results you are wanting and will have to have another surgery later. (Or want to even if you can never afford to.)
That brings up another factor. Are you planning to do your PS in stages or is this a self-pay, whatever-I-can-pay-for-this-one-time-is-it type of procedure? I can't fathom going through procedure after procedure every year for a few years to get to my final results; but I've seen people on here do it. I paid for my PS out of pocket. I can't AFFORD to pay $10,000 this year, then another $10,000 next year to FINISH what should have been completed in one procedure this year.
I was very blunt with my surgeon. I told him that I did not CARE about scarring. I've had 3 abdominal surgeries already anyway. So what's one or two more incisions? Who cares. I told him that the most important thing to me was to be SHAPED correctly/normally under clothes/bathing suits, etc. I had an anchor incision and would not change that for the world.
My mother had what you call a "regular" incision because the surgeon told her that he believed that's what she could "get by with". She wishes she had had an anchor incision now like mine because she still has the extra skin above her belly button.
There is only so much you can "pull down" skin and people that rely on that will not all be satisfied. That would always work if skin only stretched up and down. Then you could just pull it down and be fine. But skin stretches in all directions. If you just get it pulled down, what happens to the extra skin across? In my case, it would not have worked. Which brings me back to - it is all about where/how you carried your extra weight.
These are the same issues that surgeons consider when deciding whether to do a "regular" incision or what I've seen many on here call a "spare tire" incision that goes all the way around.
Cutting/scarring vs weight distribution vs desired results.
I carried almost all my weight in my middle. Even though I was big everywhere, I was built like an egg with fat arms & legs sticking out of it. When I wore a lot of my summer clothes, I would be mistaken for an overweight pregnant person vs simply a big old fat girl. (More than once I was actually asked at an amusement park "should you be riding this in your condition?" when my only "condition" was being fat - which I happily informed them of immediately before getting on whatever ride I was about to get on.) As such, after I lost my weight I had a lot of loose skin under my breasts. (I could literally grab handfuls right under my breasts and pull it outwards from my ribs.)
Most US surgeons are fairly conservative. They don't want to cut/scar more than they have to. So they weigh that with the results you are expecting/wanting. Hence you hear many US surgeons use the phrase what you can "get by with". In other words, he/she believes they can "get by with" only cutting/scarring you that much to get you close to the results you are wanting. That's why it is SOOOO important to be blunt with them about what you are expecting. Otherwise, you will NOT get the results you are wanting and will have to have another surgery later. (Or want to even if you can never afford to.)
That brings up another factor. Are you planning to do your PS in stages or is this a self-pay, whatever-I-can-pay-for-this-one-time-is-it type of procedure? I can't fathom going through procedure after procedure every year for a few years to get to my final results; but I've seen people on here do it. I paid for my PS out of pocket. I can't AFFORD to pay $10,000 this year, then another $10,000 next year to FINISH what should have been completed in one procedure this year.
I was very blunt with my surgeon. I told him that I did not CARE about scarring. I've had 3 abdominal surgeries already anyway. So what's one or two more incisions? Who cares. I told him that the most important thing to me was to be SHAPED correctly/normally under clothes/bathing suits, etc. I had an anchor incision and would not change that for the world.
My mother had what you call a "regular" incision because the surgeon told her that he believed that's what she could "get by with". She wishes she had had an anchor incision now like mine because she still has the extra skin above her belly button.
There is only so much you can "pull down" skin and people that rely on that will not all be satisfied. That would always work if skin only stretched up and down. Then you could just pull it down and be fine. But skin stretches in all directions. If you just get it pulled down, what happens to the extra skin across? In my case, it would not have worked. Which brings me back to - it is all about where/how you carried your extra weight.
These are the same issues that surgeons consider when deciding whether to do a "regular" incision or what I've seen many on here call a "spare tire" incision that goes all the way around.
Cutting/scarring vs weight distribution vs desired results.
I think it really all depends on how much you trust your surgeon and his expertise and results in his feild of work.
I am NOT getting an anchor cut - and am not worried because I do trust that my surgeon is fantastic and knows exactly what he is doing and will minimize the possiblities of other resulting complications.
If you feel like you are confident in your surgeons judgement and abilities - then don't worry about what everyone else is getting!
I am NOT getting an anchor cut - and am not worried because I do trust that my surgeon is fantastic and knows exactly what he is doing and will minimize the possiblities of other resulting complications.
If you feel like you are confident in your surgeons judgement and abilities - then don't worry about what everyone else is getting!
Surgery Date 1-29-09
Surgery Weight 317
Lowest Weight 175
Current Weight 195
Surgeon Goal 180
Personal Goal 165
Total lost since surgery 142 pounds!!
Surgery Weight 317
Lowest Weight 175
Current Weight 195
Surgeon Goal 180
Personal Goal 165
Total lost since surgery 142 pounds!!
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