Bariatric PS consult

Dear hubby and I drove 3 1/2 hours yest to Detroit to appt with Dr. Sayeg.  He spoke at Cincinatti OH Conference last summer and I had a mini consult with him there.

I want brachioplasty but wanted input on lower body.

He only keeps people under anesthesia for 6 hours max.  He said I probably had 7# excess skin on thighs and buttocks.

He mentioned he could combine a couple areas but not be able to do them all at once.  He wants to do surgery in a hospital because of my asthma and heart irregularity (he has his own surgicenter) and said I would have to stay overnight.

I'm 61 and don't know if I want to go through the lower body lift.  I look good in jeans - just horrible with legs exposed - but don't plan to wear shorts or a bathing suit. (I look fine in capris)

He said arms would be 2 hours, abdominoplasty 2 hours, inner thighs 3 hours and lateral thighs and buttocks 4 hours.

My breasts are hanging and pathetic - but with a bra on - who would know?

I'm considering doing arms and abdomioplasty at the same time as soon as I get medical clearance and they schedule it.  That means if I want lower body lift in the future it would need to be done in 2 separate surgeries.

He suggested I do the arms and inner thighs in one procedure.  Then, do the tummy and lateral thighs and buttocks in the 2nd procedure.  That would make the 3 1/2 ride and weekly trips for post op checks very uncomfortable.

Since I think I can live with covering up thighs and butt (shapewear if I have a close fitting dress) and DH of 43 yrs doesn't give a hoot.

What do you think.  Of course it's all private pay and with a hospital OR and stay that ups the cost.  Should I take my chances - even if I would have to have 3 procedures or just go with arms and tummy and forget the rest???

Thanks for your input.

 Well, my opinion is no one should have to convince you. I don't mean that in a snarky way, I just think no one can decide that for you. You have to decide if the temporary inconvenience is going to be worth the results. My opinion is that it very much would be. You will probably only need help driving back and forth to the first or 2nd appointment and then you should be fine to drive yourself.

I hated the fact that I wouldn't wear certain clothing due to my skin issues. I now love having the freedom to wear whatever I want. There are no limitations.

Do what feels right for you. Good luck in whatever you decide!

When I went for my consult, my Dr asked me "what areas bother you the most".  With that, you choose and prioritize based on how you feel about certain parts of your body.

Its a hard decision and a lot of information to process.  Talk it through with your hubby - sometimes the answer will come to you when you discuss the different combinations and possibilities. 

I was due for surgery this week - but got postponed - for a few reasons:
1) my urine culture came back with e.coli anhnd even though I was on the antibiotic  at my pre-op on Th, as a catheter would be put in during the op, it was a factor in postponing. I finished my last dose of antibiotic today.
2)my asthma/mild copd med is a 2x/day inhaler but is a steroid and steroids can be a problem for the immediate recovery period - I was advised to discontinue until after the op.
3) a DS friend who already had Plastics suggested I take Vit K 10 days prior to my op, however my Plastics doc was dead set against it (after I had taken 7 days) so another reason for pstponement.
4)"blubber rash"-the fungus rash under the belly on bikini line - even though I am often treating it with various creams, it is still (again?) rashy and needs to be cleared up before the op or else fungi might enter the body.
5)sceduled medical strike throughout the country.
I need to see reg surgeon to talk about hernia/s to be dealt with at same time as the Plastics.
I'm hoping to be resceduled for within the next 2-3 weeks (as Plastics docs said).
Good luck on your upcoming continuous journey to health and feeling better.
Mikimi in Israel

"3) a DS friend who already had Plastics suggested I take Vit K 10 days prior to my op, however my Plastics doc was dead set against it (after I had taken 7 days) so another reason for pstponement."

Dang that is weird.  Why would someone tell you to take a blood thinning/clotting supplement prior to surgery!   Crazy.

I know my surgeons also told me to prioritize what was the biggest issue, but then they did some tweaking to the order.

One thing they did recommend was that I keep the thighs until the end as a separate surgery. That way, after the arms, and breasts I could use my legs to lever myself out of chairs and on/off toilets, and after the thighs/lower buttocks I could use my arms to do the same. They felt that if the arms and thighs were done at the same time, I'd pretty much be stuck in place unless somebody else helped me up.

The torso (circumferential LBL and anchor cut) could go with either of the surgeries.

I opted for everything but thighs first, as I had 2 1/2 weeks to recuperate without taking time off work, and then thighs alone as I only had 1 1/2 weeks. So far, it's worked.

As far as *should* you have specific things done - that's entirely up to what you can live with. Other than the thighs, I had enough medical issues that there really was no other option, and since insurance considered the thighs medically necessary, I did a flabby happy dance and had them done as well.

Good luck with your decision(s)!