Unrealistic surgeon.......nervous

Hi guys,
I haven't been on here in almost 8 months. I had a VSG on 6/28/10 and went from 408lbs to 208 right now. I am having an extended tummy tuck on May 9th and as excited as I am I am nervous. My surgeon says he would rather me get down to 180lbs before surgery.

I am stressed because I feel like he's calling me to "fat". I have been busting my hump to try to loose more but I like my size now. I wear a size 10/12 and I don't think my body is meant to be super small.
My hanging skin is very very bad. I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that I'm not too "fat" to have a successful surgery.
Thanks so much!

 Congrats on your weight loss, that's amazing.  From what I hear, if you loose more weight after your tummy tuck, your results are hindered. I think maybe he just doesn't  want you to have any regrets. But You know where your body is comfortable. I was not thin when I did my surgery 5 weeks ago. I also worried about being at the right weight. I was 161 and 5 7, and a size 12 when I had my surgery. I am very happy. Yes, I see places that could be improved, but I know i will never be skinny. I think the places that can be improved, can be helped by me tonning once I get released back to the gym. For me my goal wasnt to have a supermodel body, it was to be normal. 

Jennifer

You have done a tremendous job with your weight loss.

I would ask the reasons .... Is he concerned with you as a safety risk, is he concerned that you will not be happy with your results and might want a revision?

We had a PS speak at one of our support group meetings and he said that he is very reluctant to perform surgery on patients with BMI above the mid 30's.

I don't know how tall you are or what your bmi is, but maybe the doctor just has a "set rule" against things.

You should get at least 3 opinions before you choose a surgeon....so take his opinion and use it to ask questions of other surgeons.

Don't let this discourage you.

From what I learned from the several consults I had, it doesn't matter so much what weight you are - as long as you plan on staying that weight. As others have said, losing more weight after PS will definitely compromise your results. I thought I was done when I started my consults a few months ago, and I went on to lose another 15-20 pounds. For most of us, this is a one-time thing, so we want the best results possible for the longest time possible.

I was 8 pounds higher than you at 216, and a size 16 when I had my LBL. I was surprised my surgeon didn't tell me to lose more weight.. I was expecting it! So with my size I was even bigger than you. I also started at nearly the same weight as you. I'm guessing you are tall.. I'm 5'5.

My high weight was probably in the 400's but I didn't have a scale that would measure my weight (it stopped at 380 and I was too large for it) and I dieted before I got my official 388 consult weight. But I was at the same weight for about 8 months.

I was pretty steady with my eating and eating the same always which kept me maintaining, but I stopped exercising last July due to severe life turmoil, and that's when I stopped losing. I'm pretty confident I will be able to maintain this weight reasonably. I'm convinced if I start back with the exercise I will lose more. But like you I have a lot of muscle and a very large frame, and I am definitely not meant to be small.

You should find out your body fat percentage.. that's more important than weight. If you are 29% or below, you are at an acceptable percentage and I'd say go forward and find a doc that will do you. I was 36% so not even acceptable, but I had the money and due to a bunch of logistical reasons and my surgeons blessing, I really couldn't wait. I just posted my LBL results.

I am amazed at what my surgeon accomplished considering that I was still quite heavy and the raw material. I am thrilled with the results, and very happy I did this. I don't know if I ever will get to goal but I'm comfortable here for now. I will definitely try to lose more when the dust settles in my life more.

Also my surgeon refused to do a neck lift on me until I'm 10 pounds to goal. He said I would sag and that neck lifts are very weight sensitive. So I'm inspired to get to my goal. I also think that made me trust him more that it really was OK for me to have a LBL at a higher weight, and to work towards having my neck lift. He was very honest and realistic.

My neck really bothers me! I had my chin lipo'd recently and tightening treatments which have improved my chin about 60%. My doctor for that procedure was also very honest and saying he couldn't give me perfect results and I needed a full neck lift, but I wanted an improvement since I won't be able to get a neck lift for a while. I think the LBL made much more difference than a tummy tuck alone would make.

He took off my butt, my mons was pulled up and it was really bad, lipo'd my back, gave me new boobs (I also got a BL/BA), tightened my thighs and even managed to make my inner thighs look about 50% better, which made it less of a priority for me to get those fixed. I can live with them for quite a while longer.

I just posted full pictures the other day.  Scroll down in this forum to the bottom or look at my recent posts.

Hope that helps!

How did he manage to get your thighs to look better? I noticed the improvement in your pics.

I believe with a LBL they lipo and pull up the outer thighs as part of the surgery. That's what I read anyway. But the LBL does not address the inner thighs.. that is separate. From the way the skin is pulled all the way around the 360 degrees incision, it can't address the inner thighs at all.. the inner thighs require a separate incision based on their location.

However because my whole upper and lower body were pulled so tight and so much was removed, the inner thighs were naturally pulled up a bit. However they are not totally corrected. They go all the way around 360 degrees and pull the top and the bottom together, with lipo, naturally pulling the top and the bottom of the body tighter.

From my surgeon's website:

For patients who have excess skin in multiple areas, Dr. Behmand can perform a comprehensive procedure called a total lower body lift, combining treatment of the thighs, buttocks, and abdomen into one procedure.

well I was 195 when I had my TT, and then I lost 30 lbs after, the belly was ok from BB down but above BB I had some loose skin so I had that taken care of again.
I didnt want to get my TT at that time but I had cervical cancer & eeded a hysterectomy & i had them both done at the same time
Susan

I don't think he meant you were fat, it's just that, most people don't stop losing until almost 2 yrs out. I didn't stop losing until about 15-17 months out. I waited too long for the TT though. The other posters are right, if you get it now then lose more weight, it may hinder the desired results. Best of luck to you.

hello, I have also heard that you want to be near or at your goal weight so that they can remove safely all of the fat and skin left. I had gastric bypass in 2004 and lost 150 and looked way to thin. I am five ten and was in a size four. I looked emmaciated and still had a big tummy. In the last 4 years I have comfortably put on twenty five pounds and look so much better however, still have an even larger tummy. The rest of me is in a size 8 but my tummy is a 14. I am scheduled for a tummy tuck in june and thought about loosing a little weight for the reasons that I mentioned above. However, I do not want to loose weight and look horrible.

Teresa