Majorly Bummed after consult...

Well,  had my plastic surgery consult today with the Kaiser (NoCal) surgeon.  Nice guy and very thorough.  But, he told me that NOTHING would be covered by Kaiser.  Nothing??  Really??

Yep, nothing...what a total let down.  I was thinking that I would at least get the panni, but NO...doesn't hang low enough.  Forget that I have pain in my thighs and arms from the skin slapping around and get horrible rashes if I wear undergarments to hold it tight when I work out.  I can't win...

I am starting to gain a little and I am scared to death because I know part of the gain is from the lack of exercise, but what can I do?  Exercise using the undergarments that promote the rashes and yeast infections and make me stink or gain some weight and become more unhealthy due to not exercising?  It's a double edge sword!!  The surgeon was very clear that rashes are not enough for a panni to be covered...you have to meet the other criteria of how low it hangs and if it is impeding your ability to move in general. 

But, he did do a complete consult and examined me from head to toe and told me everything that he would recommend I get done...bl/ba, LBL with extend abd plasty, brachioplasty and thigh work (although he doesn't do thighs due to the high rates of infections).  He said he would do the arms and breast or the breast and abd at the same time, but no more than that at one time.  Also said that he prefers to do surgery only on patients that are less than 30 BMI and preferrably 27 or lower (they tend to heal better and have less complications).  I am 32ish right now thanks to the 5 pounds that I have gained.

On a bright note, he did say "for someone that weighed 450 pounds at one point and lost the amount of weight that I have, your breast look pretty good". Still recommended the BL/BA and I would do that anyway, but I at least got a positive out of the consult.   The cost for the arms, breast and plain abd plasty was just under $20,500.  Not sure if that included the hospital or not.  I think since Kaiser is a co-pay place it is just my co-pay which is nothing really.  I will have to check that part out.  I would still need to do my thighs or upgrade to a LBL and I have no idea what that would cost. 

Looks like I will be standing on the street corner with my bucket asking for handouts on my days off so I can head to Mexico to get done what I so desparately need done.  Until then, donations are gladly accepted....  Do you think if I had pictures of what my body looks like under my clothes I would get more donations?...or maybe just a bikini would do it?

Ok, I guess I have wallowed enough and it is time to pull up my big girl panties and accept that I will not be looking svelte any time soon.  Have a great day everyone!!

I am so sorry for your disappointment. It sucks. I had to pay cash for my surgery. It can be done. I am the primary breadwinner of my house and my husband is disabled. He only gets $800 a month on social security. I also have 4 kids. I saved. It took a while but I was able to save up enough money for my tummy tuck and now I am saving for my breast lift and augmentation with implants. It is worth every penny that I spent. I loved my surgeon. I never thought that I would be able to self pay for the surgery, but if you want something bad enough you can make it happen! I had my surgery in the states, NorCal actually. My pricing was not that far off from Mexico rates.
Good Luck with everything!

I'm so sorry. My kaiser quote for LBL, breast lift, arm and thigh lifts was $53k which did include the hospital. I think your quote is really low. Ask about the OR and stay. My friend just had a kaiser facelift for ack, sorry this should say $13,500 in San Rafael with dr. Le done as out patient, same day in and out.

I couldn't afford it and chose Dr. Sauceda where my surgery including airfare, two weeks clinic/hotel, private nurse at hotel two hours a day and daily visits to the hotel by my surgeon was under $20k. You can see the list of my procedures in my signature.

That is high for a face lift. The quote that I received from a different PS was less than that,  which was for everything, including the brow lift. Kaiser may be higher than most.

Lee had all of her body work and her face for that amount of money, not just her face.  Dr Sauceda does the face work on a different day than the body work.  He wants to give his full focus on doing the best work possible.  My body was done on a Tuesday and then my face was done on a Friday.  I stayed at the clinic/hospital for a week and then at the Hampton Inn for 10 days.  I also had the visiting RN every morning to help me shower, wash my compression garments, and help me dress my incisions and squeeze back into my clean garments.  My face work took almost 9 hours. 

I am sorry you are disappointed.

I never expected insurance to pay for my reconstructive surgery -- heck, they did not even cover my WLS.

IN the big scheme though, I paid 12K for my Realize Band, then 8K for my first round of plastics (Brachio and Breast Lift).
I am scheduled for a TT in March that will be 6,500

I choose to drive a car that is 8 years old to be able to have the life and body I want ---- not everyone's choice -- but my point is that there are ways to save to get what you want.

Maybe a second job for those days off (if the handout idea does not work for you!!!!!)

I have Kaiser No-Cal and nothing was going to be covered.  I went to Monterrey and Dr Sauceda to have everything done at once and one recovery period.  Like Lee, mine was less than 20k for everything including my face & neck lift.  I used my 401k for a loan.

I am so sorry that you were disappointed.

I did not expect my insurance to cover any plastic surgery and so I was self-pay.  From the time I hit my goal weight it took me five years of saving, just a little at a time.  I hope you are able to figure out what works best for you - and what procedures are most important.  I knew that I could only afford one procedure.  For me, even though my non-existent breasts are something most women would have repaired, I chose what bothered me the most, which was my lower body.  Like you, I have had to wear compression garments to work out, etc.

I wish you luck in your journey!
Gracie150

Congrats on losing so much weight!  I rarely see many who used to weigh 400 or more, I started just under 500lbs.  I was self-pay for my LapBand and self-pay for my plastic surgery.  I went with Dr Sauceda in Monterrey Mexico!  He has a lot of experience with people like us, who have lost massive amounts of weight.  He doesn't have a BMI requirement, also.

I have gone twice because my panni was causing me chronic back pain and I was living on pain meds.  My PCP said, I had to do something fast because he was very worried about what the pain meds were doing to my body.

I had an extended Tummy Tuck with hernia repair and an extended Brachioplasty with Lipo by Dr S in 2009.  Then I returned this year for a revision of my TT to an Anchor Cut/LBL/extended Thigh lift with Lipo, a full facelift with neck and upper eyes included.  All of this surgery was less than $25K.  This cost was for three sugeries, the 2009 and 2011.  All inclusive.  Send your pics to Dr Sauceda and see what he can do.  I trust him with my life and I think he is a very skilled surgeon with a heart of Gold.

Hey there-

I kinda understand what you're going through - I've just had consultations with two different plastic surgeons. I hear some people get the panni easily covered, while others get a "no way it's going to happen" response. First surgeon said they might cover it, second surgeon said he won't deal with insurance becausev he's never seen it covered in his practice. Ugh. My panni also doesn't hang a lot in the length and I don't even have rashes or pain like you, so I guess there's no hope for me.

BTW, I asked our surgeon for PSes that he would recommend, and got two names. I can PM you the info if you'd like. One is near Napa (I think) and the other is up near me in Roseville.