Cancelled - *Pre-ops READ THIS*

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm...... there's a lot I want to say about this, but... **holds her tongue to prevent an argument**

What you imply by commenting at all is enough said.  I get you!

I hope if you are having issues with skin, you have a good outcome, and don't get caught up in the bureaucracy if you are trying to fix it for your health's sake.

 Yeah so....

As a pre-op - which I understand your message is targeting me - I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to take anyway here.  I understand your lifestyle has had to change greatly from having lupus and going on disability and I would just have to imagine that's a really tough thing to go through. 

My observation though is that everyone has a pretty tough time getting insurance to pay coverage for plastic surgery.  

I don't understand your opening paragraph - because one doctor you had a surgery scheduled with didn't "request proper authorization" (for what, billing insurance?), you'd have to cancel a different procedure with a different doctor?  I don't get this.  And this doctor "lied" about approving Medicare - but it's Medicare that grants an approval, right, not the surgeon?  Are you saying you were thinking he was lying and trying to entrap you into having surgery with him and then sticking you with the bill afterwards?  Did you mean to say that the first surgeon doesn't accept Medicare as a form of payment?  The really interesting part is the claim that you've been dumped as a client because you asked questions - I'm very curious what kind of questions you could ask an office to make them cease working with you as a client.

Honestly, while I feel bad for your situation, but I'm not sure what you're really advising us pre-ops.  Dummy-up meaning to not ask questions?    I guess.... I would have to phrase it like this.... (1) What were your expecations and (2) How were they not met?

Finally, I would encourage you to not be discouraged - yeah, I'd be bummed to cancel plans after getting really excited myself!  But if you had a plan to have surgery now and attend some sort of school in the fall - that's still possible. It may be possible to still have surgery in the summer with plenty of time for recouperation.  And if not - you can still be in school in the fall and schedule surgery during the holiday break.

I don't want to seem unsupportive in my support... but perhaps you're not really surrounded in darkness?

The second doctor's billing & insurance clerk flat out refused to even submit to insurance, just like the first one, even though this is a medical necessity.

I will post pictures,   The healing from the amount of of skin I need removed is going to require more than a  week of spring break or a couple weeks of Christmas break, and may also require some physical therapy.  This is not about looks, it's about life!

I researched the skin removal issue after my PCP kept advising me to get the skin removed after the cellulitis bouts.  She said it could go into sepsis, which means blood poisoning/infection, if I kept getting it and all of a sudden the antibiotics don't work. It been all over the news for at least the past ten years how germs mutate, and build up immunity to antibiotics.  That's why they keep having to come up with new, stronger ones.  I've even had other illnesses where one antibiotic wouldn't work, and I had to switch to a different one.   That kind of infection can kill a person!

I have found a website where I can get a  ready made compression garment, the same mmHg as my custom made ones, by the same company! I will have my sister measure me, and take the length from my old garment.
Problem is, they don't have capri length, which would allow me to put on regular sheer knee-highs and wear a long skirt to hide the elastic of the compression garment. 

If you've never seen a compression garment, the fabric looks like an Ace bandage, but is very tightly woven, with very little give. It's similar to the masks and skin coverings worn by burn victims.

Sorry-

Here's the list of questions I asked...seven in all, and which any patient would ask a doctor before undergoing an extensive surgery like I need.

Plastic Surgeon Questions

1) How many thighplasty/lower body lifts have you performed this year? In your career?

2) Have you ever done this type of surgery on a post bariatric patient or ANY patient?

3) Explain to me what you are going to do to reduce the skin on my thighs, and remove the fat deposit on my left calf.

4) What type of anesthesia will be used?

5) Are you confident that you can correct my deformities with a good aesthetic result, i.e. no extreme asymmetry, for instance, the appearance of huge chunks of flesh missing, at an extreme. Why or Why not?

6) I have read this type of surgery is best performed with a team of surgeons. Do you use the team approach? Why or why not?

7) Is my leftover skin of sufficient quality to be donated to burn victims? If so, can your office assist with this?

So this list of questions got you 'fired' as a patient?

Yes.  More insurance issues, more doctor issues as we enter 2013.  I just turned 55 this week.

Took what was supposed to be a year off from return trip through college to get this done, only to face more roadblocks, which now throws everything off.

I am *getting* my legs fixed, so help me!