When to get a consultation?

Just wondering when I should get a consultation. My starting weight was 287, current weight around 190. My surgeons goal is 173, my ultimate personal goal is 150. I would be looking at LBL, arms, and boobies. Thanks

Maybe have your first when you are a year out. It would be good to get quotes and see what different surgeons have to say about what you should get done, your weight loss, and how much more they think you should lose, etc. I had my arms done 15 months post-RNY because I hated them. But I waited another 18 months before my lbl/bl. I wanted to make sure I could maintain my weight because I did not want to mess up my results.

ok thanks!

I didn't do my consults until I started transitioning to maintenance.  Then I gave myself 3 months to stabilize and get into the maintenance groove before scheduling.

The general recommendation is to not do plastics until you are a year out from your bariatric surgery.

When you do consults, do several.  I chose to work with surgeons who were experienced with bariatric patients.  I looked for the surgeon who did the most thorough clinical evaluation and presented a detailed surgical plan.  A few things that swayed me to the surgeon I chose are:

1.  His office was a doctors office, not a beauty parlor.  He had lights, exam tables, clinical tools - not a couch and pretty music.

2.  His exam was thorough.  At our first meeting, he palpated the skin and underlying musculature.  He noted not only a separation in my abdominal muscles but measured it.  

3.  The after exam consultation was extremely thorough, he showed me before and after photos of patients with very similar backgrounds and weight loss to mine.  He detailed what to expect during the surgery, post op period, and recovery.

4.  His new patients forms were all medical related with one page of financial information.  The other surgeons asked almost NO medical history and had 6 or 7 pages of financial questions and disclaimers.  This made me feel like I had ATM stamped on my ass to them.