SO UPSET! Fleur-de-lis tumy tuck vs. LBL Surgery next Monday. HELP!

So I am scheduled for a fleur-de-lis at the Kaiser in Los Angeles next Monday.  I had my pre-op yesterday and the doctor left me feeling VERY upset and almost like I was either bait and switched or that he's just giving me different info on the FLS than what I have researched and disussed with other doctors.  I was told that the fleur-de-lis was necessary but multiple surgeons because I have excess skin in both my pannus and midsection.  And that a FDL tuck will address both areas, giving me a better waist line, etc.  But then yesterday the surgeon said I could still have some overhang of skin on my hips and waist because they perform the tuck when I'm laying down?  WTF?

I was willing to live with an extra scar in exhange for having all of this awful skin removed.  But to have TWO scars and have the surgeon not remove all the extra skin?  It just doesn't make any sense to me.  Why wouldn't he remove all the extra skin?  When I was pulling the skin together at my waist where the vertail cut would be made he said to me "I'm not going to be pulling it together that much" and showed me how much and it was only a few inches.  What the hell?  Am I not paying all this money to have the skin removed?  And he told me that my back skin wouldn't be affected at ALL by the surgery.  How will my back not show ANY change if they're cutting me vertically and pulling the skin forward?  So much of this just doesn't add up.  *cries*

Anyone who has had this type of surgery, can you please give me your input on your experience?

I'm wondering if a LBL would be better for me, but it's so expensive.  What have you LBL ladies paid for your surgery?

Was this the ps who'd be doing your surgery?  If not, you need to call him/her now and clear this up.  If it is the ps who'll be doing the surgery, you need to reschedule and step back and reassess your choice in ps.

This close to surgery, the person doing the cutting should be very confident in what you want and be able to make you feel very comfortable with your decision.  If you don't have that connection now, you're not going to be happy.

In some respects, I can understand why they wouldn't pull you absolutely tight.  As muffin said, if you start pulling the incisions open you have a bigger problem on your hands.

Step back and rethink this.

Good luck.

I think you need a second opinion. you dont want to pay all that money and not be happy.

Hi!
I had the FDL and it gave me a GREAT hour glass waist.  I can't visualize what your surgeon just described.  If I were you I'd call first thing in the morning and tell them you need clarification.

Every FDL I've seen pics of does a great job of pulling the skin in from the sides, get rid of everything in the middle and pulls it all down to the horizontal incision.   I was left with no hanging skin anywhere in my midsection/waist.  The only skin I had to deal with was on my thighs and the bottom of my butt which was all taken care of once my LBL/Butt lift was done.

I am 100% thrilled with my results...actually my surgeon exceeded my expectations with my FDL TT.

Best wishes!!!
Ruth

I had lower body lift done in February.  It removed all of the tummy, roll that hung over my hips and lower back.  However, your surgeon is being honest with you.  Tummy tuck does not address "sides" or back at all.  He literally CANNOT pull it as tight as you can with your hands or you would not be able to bend over at the waist!  I noticed just last night that when I sit I still have a little tummy that is visible but when I stand up, it is perfectly flat and smooth--that extra skin is necessary for movement.

I can still "pull up" loose skin at my saggy butt that makes my thighs look better--but again I feel the tightness across my lower back when I bend over--so I think the doctor did all that he could while avoiding pulling too much that would make stitches difficult to heal.  I went from size 8 to size4-6 with the surgery in pants size.  Thighs still need to be done.

My next surgery will be arm lift and facelift in October.

My lower body lift was $9000 but my doctor gave me discount because years ago he did my breast reduction (before gastric bypass).

It's perhaps more pricey, but I have seen literally hundreds of results on bariatric patients and hands down would have a Fleur de Lis over a LBL, any day of the week. So I did.

Generally speaking-- and this is one woman's opinion-- the LBL seemingly removes bulk but doesn't give such a feminine and rounded result-- it can't. The large central scar can be an issue, unless you already had one (as I did). I chose instead to have the FDL last year, and a backside lift a week ago--and am very happy with the results.

My FDL TT was about $8k.

I think he's trying to explain the limits of the procedures, particulalry on how much tension you can safely gather in the middle.. You may ultimately need both a FDL and LBL procedure in stages to address your excess. They do different things and resect excess tissue in different directions. It's probably safest to do the LBL first and go back and do the FDL later (less issues with wound breakdown at the T junction) if you have to have both procdures. 

Are you referring to Dr. Lee because he lacks bedside manner and class!