Tummy tuck too early??

Hi!  I am currently 1 yr and 17 days out from Gastric Bypass surgery.  I have lost 112.8 pounds which puts me 5 lbs under my surgeons goal and 5 pounds from my personal goal.  I have already seen a plastic surgeon for a TT and breast lift/augmentation consultation.  I was concerned because I am only a year out and have heard that i should wait atleast 1 1/2 years before having plastic surgery.  He stated that I would be ok because I'm not going to lose that much more weight.  I'm really anxious to have these procedures done but don't want to waste my money.  Has anyone else had these procedures done so soon after surgery and what were the results?  I have also heard that your skin changes in appearance the longer out you are.  Is this true?  I just can't imagine it changing enough to help me out!  :-)

 Hi, I am 14 1/2 months out and 153lbs lost.  I am going to be scheduling TT, BL and Aug for next month.  I am at goal and sureon said that it was just fine to do it now.  Good luck!

Hi Anna,

I lost 100 lbs between 2007 and 2008. I plateaued in 2008 but I'm still trying to lose my last 30-40 lbs. I had my brachioplasty done in 2008 1 year after surgery even though my bariatric surgeon adviced me against it, but my plastic surgeon did agree that the my skin is not going to change much with the rest of my weight loss. A year after that in 2009 I had my full tummy tuck and weighed exactly the same, still having intent to eventually lose the rest. I guess I can't say for sure since I haven't actually lost the additional weight, but as far as my skin changing, my tummy didn't get any tighter after 2 years post-op, so I decided to have the procedure. My plasic surgeon said the same thing about my TT in that he didn't think the additional weight loss would cause any more excess, and he did suggest I exercise regularly with toning exercises to ensure it stays tight.

I had my first stage of reconstruction one year to the day after my rny.

I was well under all predictions for my weight loss (i.e., over 100% excess weight lost), body fat at/under 20%, and had significant medical issues from the excess skin.

My reconstructive surgeons had come to my WLS support group and told us to not come to them until we'd been stable for at least 6 months, preferably a year, but once they saw my body and had the referrals from my PCP and the breast specialist at my gyny, they scheduled me right away.

So it's hugely individual. Talk to some surgeons about your specific case, and see what they say about you.

Hi Anna.  I had my tummy tuck and breast lift with augmentation 13 months after my wls.  I thought my results were great the first couple of months after surgery, but I started to notice fat accumulating around my love handles and back.  I went back to my plastic surgery surgeon and he did a revision of my belly and breast.  Once again I was happy but not overly happy.  Eighteen months after my tt I decided to do some research, I visited a couple of other plastic surgeons and I showed them pictures of my progress.  Each surgeon said I did  not wait long enough after my wls surgery to have my tt.  They actually stated my body is finally reacting to the weight loss and getting comfortable in it's own skin ( I hope that makes sense).  Anyway, I just had another revision to my tt, this time I have no love handles nor back rolls.  I agree, after weight loss surgery and the tt with a lot of liposuction, my body never really settled into it's own skin.  It seemed like my skin was becoming flabby without me gaining weight.

After saying all of that, I will say I know I had my plastic surgeries too soon after my wls.

Sherline

I don't have the correct answer but I wanted to share that my plastic surgeon would not do my TT  until I was 18 months out. My insurance paid for the procedure and they would not approve it until I was 2 years out and I had been a steady weight for over 6 months.  I don't really know why they had those requirements but I wanted to share. Also, I would do my TT again if I had to..... but I sure wouldn't want to have to go back and have it re-done.  everyone is different.  Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

I was 17 months out when I had my tummy tuck/hernia repair. I will say now in hindsight, I wish I had waited another 6 months for my weight to stabilize. I had reached goal weight right before I had the plastics done, but had not stabilized there, had bounceback gain (typical) of 20 pounds during the next year or so after the TT so my already damaged skin was re-stretched with new stretch marks.

-BJ

Hi - For my insurance to pay for the TT, I had to wait 2 years after the RNY and to have had a stable weight for 6 months which I did.  I couldn't wait and had my arm lift after 18 months.  Good luck to you.

I had my TT and arms done at 15 months post op RNY. He removed 23 pounds of skin from my body at that time. 17 lbs from my stomach and 3 lbs from each arm. Yes, I did go on to lose between 50 to 60 lbs more. My skin did begin to loosen up again but it didn't look nearly as bad as it did prior to the tt/ Sadly, I regained the weight I lost since my TT. However, recently I had my love handles and back fat removed (5lbs of tissue removed). My stomach is tight and flat again. This is a personal journey and you have to do what is best for you.

So you lost your weight, had TT and arms done, then gained some weight and had more plastics? Would have it been possible for your tummy to tighten up again if you had lost the weight you gained or would that have made the skin more loose?