LBL or TT?

Still going nuts, but now trying to decide if should go for the whole LBL, or just do the abdomnioplasty (skin & muscle).  Just doing the abdom. w/lipo of flanks saves $1400.

Will I kick myself for NOT doing the whole shebang if I go that route?

ARRRGGGG?????!!!!

Yes, you will kick yourself if you do not do it all.

Laura

Hot topic of conversation during several of the general and plastic surgery q&a's at the OH conference in NY last month.  It really comes down to the butt --and the outer thighs.  If you don't have an issue with either then go ahead with the TT only BUT if you don't love them the way they are right now -- they are only going to look worse (to you) when everything else is looking good.

With the residency program, doesn't your LBL  cost in the 6k ballpark?  That is dirt cheap...so I would get it.  But I have major saddlebags, so I am considering a lateral thigh excision and skipping the belly altogether! 

If you're thinking it all needs help, then either it all needs to be done or you really need to change what you want to look like. There is a big difference between those two surgeries, and rhidunn is right - it's like painting your house. You paint the living room, and then the hall looks dingy so you paint that. Then the kitchen looks dingy so you paint that. Then it's the family room... and on and on and on, except that adding an LBL to an abdominoplasty later on won't give you as good a result as doing it all at once (based on what my surgeons said, as well as a couple people at my support group who tried it), so you may as well bite the bullet and go for it.

Best of luck - it's a real trip once it's all done!

adding an LBL to an abdominoplasty later on won't give you as good a result as doing it all at once

Rebecca, can you give any more info on why that would be so?  Thanks, Jenny

Jenny, all I can tell you is what I was told by people who had started with the abdominoplasty and then added the rest of the LBL, which I then checked with my surgeons.  I do not know of any studies about this.

What they told me was that matching the scars without overlaps (which will take longer to heal and leave a larger scar) or gaps (which can cause skin pulling making strange "pleats" later) is a problem.  Then you add in the way that they decide where to remove skin - the intent is to make a smooth line that is symmetrical around your lower section,  However, in reality, they need to remove the skin that is in worse condition, so you may not get a symmetrical line.  If they do it all at once, the line can be adjusted to remain smooth, but if they're connecting things you may wind up with more  corners, which take longer to heal and may not heal as nicely.

For me, taking the extra time (money was not a factor - my insurance covered the LBL, although I looked into separating things before I knew I was covered) was an easy decision.  For others, it may not be.

Rebecca, thanks for your help.  Forgive me, my brain is a little cloudy today.  I get the first part about the overlaps or gaps. In the second part...I think your saying that, for instance, if they need to bring the incision up higher in the back, that with the LBL, they can make the incision line be a nice gentle slope?

My problem is that I'm scared to death of the LBL because I can't imagine not being able to sleep on my front or my back.  (Lack of sleep brings me down fast,)  How did your sleep?  What position were you in?

Thanks, Jenny

Did I mention ARRRGGGGG??!!!!???


Hubby just plopped our tax returns from last year on my desk as proof that we can do this without going bankrupt. 

I guess I wouldn't feel so crazy if I "worked" and earned my own money .  Somehow I still feel that SAHM guilt even though when I DID work,l made more money than he did (I was an attorney) and he makes GOOD money. 

I think I've got too much going on that I have to make decisions on.  Picking a therapist for my son's behavior therapy, deciding on the plastic surgery yea or nea, picking christmas gifts for the entire family,  trying to finish a kid's book I'm writing (go NaNoWriMo for pushing me!) ...the list goes on and on....


Thanks for listening without throwing things at me.

Hi there.. I just recently ( 9-16-11 ) had LOTS of PS done at once whi*****luded....

Circumferal TT (which some call the LBL)
Lipo (LOTS!)
Brazilian Buttlift
Thigh Lift
Breast Augmentation
Scar Revision

I would honestly go ahead and def get the LBL if I were you. I never had an issue with the top of my thighs and around my hip area. The surgeon (during the consult before I took my pics for his office) told me with what I wanted done he could remove the excess skin and fat in those areas. I was taken back by this as I thought it looked perfect....that is, untilI i saw the pictures! NOW I LOVE that area even more because I REALLY see how beautiful, firm and smooth it is!