Cost of body lift
Dr. Capella in NJ/NY has about the largest experience of all plastic surgeons on post massive weight loss patients and his prices are reasonable. He did my total body lift -- extended arm lift, breast lift, medial thigh lift and body lift (abdominoplasty, monsplasty, butt lift, outer thigh lift) for $25k all inclusive of surgeon's fees, hospital, anesthesia, care center, and ambulance transport. I am flying to NJ on Monday to meet with him for my last surgery, which are the breast implants. He gave me incredible results. I went from a size 14 jeans being tight to a size 2 jean. I lost 39 pounds and 46 inches so far and I am only approaching 5-mos post op.
There is another patient on this board who had her surgeries with Dr. Stephen Kovach at UPenn and she is very happy with him and her results. I do not recall what she paid but the prices were reasonable. Hopefully she will chime in.
Good luck to you!
on 3/12/14 10:48 pm
Dr. Capella in NJ/NY has about the largest experience of all plastic surgeons on post massive weight loss patients and his prices are reasonable. He did my total body lift -- extended arm lift, breast lift, medial thigh lift and body lift (abdominoplasty, monsplasty, butt lift, outer thigh lift) for $25k all inclusive of surgeon's fees, hospital, anesthesia, care center, and ambulance transport. I am flying to NJ on Monday to meet with him for my last surgery, which are the breast implants. He gave me incredible results. I went from a size 14 jeans being tight to a size 2 jean. I lost 39 pounds and 46 inches so far and I am only approaching 5-mos post op.
There is another patient on this board who had her surgeries with Dr. Stephen Kovach at UPenn and she is very happy with him and her results. I do not recall what she paid but the prices were reasonable. Hopefully she will chime in.
Good luck to you!
I learn something with each of your posts.
So you did a breast lift and now are doing implants? Was one a stop-gap (or in my case, stop-FLAP) measure in preparation for the other? Or did you think you'd be okay with a lift and decided that you'd prefer implants?
I stood in front of my mirror today and examined my naked body yet again. Each time I look I think I want to focus on a different area. :) Very torn about doing implants, but had just assumed the lift/implants would be at the same time.
One thing I am 99% sure I won't do are my inner thighs. I can live with them and it seems to be the #1 complaint ridden surgery as I go out and about on various message boards. The mons lift is one I go back and forth on. Parts have shrunk right up, but I still have a large 'lump' at the front that hangs down. Is that ever done via lipo or always a cut and lift?
Did you consider anything like Thermi or CoolSculpting or other non-surgical procedures for anything or since you had a great surgeon do knife work for it all? My husband has some love handles remaining and we're thinking CS for that. I am a little afraid of brachioplasty and thinking Thermi for that. But I feel like the more I read and ask...the less I know. So I am all about learning more, hearing opinions and 'did you know' items.
:)
HW333--SW 289--GW of 160 5' 11" woman. I only know the way I know & when you ask for input/advice, you'll get the way I've been successful through my surgeon & nutritionist. Please consult your surgeon & nutritionist for how to do it their way. Biggest regret? Not doing this 10 years ago! Every day is better than the day before...and it was a pretty great day!
My surgeon is one of the best. For those of us with "long folds" (super-droopy as I call it, which mine were), he does them in two stages. Lift first, then implants. Letting the skin heal in between causes less sagging in the future and a better look overall. I had the lift and am still debating if/when I will get implants.
Laura in Texas
53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)
RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis
brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco
"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."
on 3/13/14 3:43 am
My surgeon is one of the best. For those of us with "long folds" (super-droopy as I call it, which mine were), he does them in two stages. Lift first, then implants. Letting the skin heal in between causes less sagging in the future and a better look overall. I had the lift and am still debating if/when I will get implants.
I look like I robbed a blonde Basset hound of their ears and stapled them on for boobies...so I am right there with ya!
What was the lift alone like--did your nipples stay in place or were they moved? Did you have visible stitches on top or was everything done from below? How about recovery time and pain? I realize it is different for everyone, but hearing someone say "Eh, it was fine" and "OH MY GOODNESS, I thought I would die" are usually good indicators for me, lol. :)
Thanks!
HW333--SW 289--GW of 160 5' 11" woman. I only know the way I know & when you ask for input/advice, you'll get the way I've been successful through my surgeon & nutritionist. Please consult your surgeon & nutritionist for how to do it their way. Biggest regret? Not doing this 10 years ago! Every day is better than the day before...and it was a pretty great day!
Boobs were the easy part of the recovery (I had them done the same time as my lbl). My scars on my breasts look like a modified lolipop scar, more like a letter J, not the classic anchor cut. The bottom of the incision goes outward, so nothing shows from the front. My nipples were moved. I love my breasts, but wish I had more fullness on top which is why I am considering implants (but still not 100% sure I want them).
Laura in Texas
53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)
RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis
brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco
"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."
Thank you!
Dr. Capella does a 2-step lift and implant on massive weight loss women for the best result. Some women are lucky and do not need the lift. But most do. I believe he will do a one step lift and implant on small breasts women. I am a DD. I have been dreaming of beautiful nude breasts ever since I began my body contouring journey. They look great in a bra but not nude. That is why I am getting implants.
My thigh lift recovery was easy. The tummy tuck was much harder. Even the arms were harder than the thighs. As for the mons lift I think it would be a very bad idea to get a tummy tuck and not a mons lift. And if you get lipo without skin removal you will just have deflated hanging skin. It would be unsightly. And remember that the tension runs in both directions - the tummy tuck incision runs above the mons and will pull the mons up as it pulls the belly down. I do not think it would be possible to have tension only from the tummy down and not from the mons up.
I think that brachioplasty is the only solution for massive weight loss patients. You probably have a lot of deflated excess skin and tissue that needs to be removed. As far as procedures like cool sculpting etc. I really don't believe in them. I would want to see a whole lot of results on MWL patients before I'd sign on for any procedure.
There are many new procedures that come out all the time. When it comes to my body I want to see long term results and safety. I do not want to be some surgeon's science experiment. Think about how silicon breast implants were on the market for a long time, put into many women, and then years later pulled off the market for safety reasons. I would not take the risk with something that has not been in market for a long time with a proven safety profile, as well as proven long term results.
I am the patient who used Dr Stephen Kovach at the hospital of the university of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. When I started this journey, I never dreamed I would go this far so I pretty much did every surgery separate. I am brca1 positive so my plastic surgery started with a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction from my abdomen. This got me most of a tummy tuck and a breast lift covered by my insurance. This procedure was actually done by a Dr Joseph Serletti - he was recommended by my breast surgeon for the reconstruction. After this was complete he introduced me to his partner for the additional work that I wanted done. That partner was Dr Stephen Kovach. First on the agenda was a large hernia repair. This was followed by a thigh lift, arm lift, and just recently by a face lift. I really cannot believe what a wonderful job Dr Kovach has done. I am so happy with the way that I look and more importantly with how I feel. Dr Kovach also does abdominal and breast work. He fixed my hernia and made my open Bariatric scar so much better looking. While I did each of these procedures individually, I did get discounts being a repeat customer of the practice. I have spent over 20k but remember my abdominal and breast work was covered by insurance and that number also includes a face lift. Dr Kovach is a wonderful surgeon.