TT plus arms together vs. TT plus thighs together? Advice/experience?

 Hi all,
  I've been "stalking" the PS board for several months now as I start to make decisions about what I'd like to do PS-wise. Thanks to all of you who share so openly and honestly about your experiences -- it has been a HUGE help.

I know I ultimately want to have three areas done -- tummy, arms and thighs. I have consulted with three different surgeons and am in the final stages of choosing one. I'm planning my first surgery in May or June.

I would like to combine my abdominolasty with one of the two extremity surgeries to combine recovery times so I'm not spending all of the next year unable to exercise and be active. (If you had told me 2 years ago that my big concern would be not being able to exercise, I'd've been floored! )

I had thought that I'd do abdominoplasty (TT) and arms first together. But I just talked with someone who has been through several PSs post-WLS, and she suggested that TT and thighs would be a better combo because she was able to  use her arms to help her when her abs were recovering...and then use her abs while her arms where recovering from a later surgery.

For those of you who have combined TT and arms or thighs, I'd be grateful if you could share any thoughts or advice on why to choose one combination over the other.

Thank you!

Laura


P.S. I know this is a long shot, but if anyone has done your PS in Durham NC with Drs. Ray or Erdmann, I'd love to ask you a few questions!

 THE ANSWER I GOT WHEN ASKING ABOUT ORDER OF SURGERIES IS THAT THEY DO NOT WANT TO DISABLE YOUR ARMS FOR LIFTING YOUR BODY AT THE SAME TIME AS SOMETHING THAT WOULD DISABLE YOUR LOWER BODY.  AND THAT THERE IS A TIME LIMIT FOR BEING UNDER ANESTHESIA IN ORDER TO BE SAFE.  MAKES SENSE TO ME.

Haven't had surgery yet, but we had a plastic surgeon come to a support group and he said he wouldn't do tummy and thighs together because you'd be under too long.
I guess it depends on the surgeon, too.

My surgeon will would not do thighs with stomach. I did circumferential lift and arms and it was fine. Just depends on your surgeon.

 Thanks, everyone!

One surgeon I consulted with prefers doing TT before thighs, since she said they pull in different directions while healing. (She actually will only do one procedure at a time for a variety of reasons.) Unfortunately, I hadn't thought about the idea of doing the thighs instead of arms with the TT when I consulted surgeon #2, so I'll have to ask his thoughts. And the advice I got was from a patient of surgeon #3 who did BL/BA and then TT/Thighs, so I'm guessing he doesn't have an issue with either combo, but I will certainly ask him when I consult with him again.

My oh my, so many questions and things to figure out before going through this! :-) 
It's all good, though!

Laura

Thank you for asking this question! I am 38 pounds to goal and have been thinking about plastics now as well, eventually of course. I do not want a lbl so I thought the TT/thigh lift combo would be a good choice. Best of luck to you!

 Good luck to you, too -- and congratulations on your success!

I had TT and Thighs done in December. You will definitely need your arms to take over where your stomach muscles can't perform. It is amazing how much we use our core and don't even realize it until you move in a certain direction after surgery and say...ooohhh that hurt...lol.

 Thanks, Penny! Yeah, I had been thinking that my thighs could compensate for the "loss" of the abs and arms for a few days...but now I'm wondering if being able to pull and push with my arms would be more helpful while my abs are out of commission.

All of a sudden, I'm looking at my bat wings and saying..."maybe they're not so bad"! What weird thoughts are jumbling around in my brain! 

BTW, LOVE the pic of you at the Tri! That's awesome -- congrats!

Laura

I went to Dr. Sauceda in Mexico in December.  I'm three months out from surgery.  I had my LBL done along with the long thigh lift and long arm lift.  It worked out fine for me, but I was in a clinic bed for the first 5 nights which really helped me get up and down.  On night six I moved to a hotel bed and still did fine.

I spent months doing pilates to strengthen my core so that I would be ok doing the combined surgeries.  Tons of crunches along with laying on the floor and getting up to sitting position without use of arms or legs.   The tightening of the stomach muscles made it feel like I'd just done 1,000 crunches when I got myself up to sitting position. 

I would do them together again, but we are all different.   I would use the guidance of your surgeon as far as what they prefer to combine for your best healing opportunity.