Considering total body transformation, all advice and opinions welcomed

I had very nice results with my tummy tuck. It was an amazing transformation and I will post the before and after as soon as I am able. When I had my TT I felt that it was the worst of my problem areas, followed by my inner thighs and sagging / jowling on my face and neck.

But I am looking closer and closer at my body these days and I am noticing old lady's back and old lady's square butt. I do not feel like my back side matches my front side. That said, it is not an egregious difference. There would be improvement but it would not be the startling transformation as was my TT. Think of it more like optimizing my body.

With my thighs, it seems that to get the level of correction I want, it is not only an inner thigh lift but also completing the LBL, which I guess is a butt lift. Right now I have the scar to my hips. It would continue around my back as in an LBL. That would help to get rid of the cottage cheese look in the front of my legs. It also would tighten the looseness in my back skin and pull up the buttocks to get rid of the cottage cheese look there. My surgeon will not do fat injections to improve the contour of my buttocks. So I am not sure if I will still have a square *ss or not.

He also would do flankpasty to improve the back fat and what is on the sides of my body under the bra strap. Again, I do not have a lot there. This is really optimizing my body to be the best it can be. And completing the upper body, he would do the arm lift and breast lift and make my areola smaller. My arms are not that saggy and my breasts are not that saggy. With a bra on, my breasts look spectacular. I always get compliments. Even with my bikini top on they look good. I would like them to look spectacular without a bra. I am a 38 DD but I know the Victoria Secret extreme lift bra is doing a lot to make my boobs look great. I would like to be a full DD without the bra... I would like to be wider in the boobs to accent my smaller waist. So, I am looking at gel implants. He says that I do not need them. What can I say, I like big boobs... And I am a large framed person especially in the upper body, so I think that I need to have large boobs that suit my body size. I want to be curvy. Otherwise I will look like a tree trunk.

So... Here are the things I am mulling over... My biggest concern is the trade off perfecting my body versus short and long-term side effects and risk. My body looks good the way that it is, and I could just do the inner thighs for improvement and the face and neck lift. Or I can do the whole thing and perfect my body. When I say perfect, what I mean is to make it look the best that it can look. I don't know what that will look like - probably pretty freaking great but surely not like a 20 yo centerfold model. I always say that I want a body like a young Anna Nicole Smith

I am concerned about cutting so much into my lymphatic system. I am concerned about long term or even permanent numbness. I am concerned about the long term effects of all this major surgery.

My surgeon wants to stage me as such - I had the TT in April. My next surgery would be 4-6 weeks and consist of flankpasty, butt lift, arm lift, breast lift, medial thigh lift. It is a 6-hr surgery. He said i would be up and walking in 2-days. from what i have read on this forum, patient experiences do not seem to support that. Three months later we can do the face lift and implants. It is a 5-hour surgery.

I am concerned about so much trauma to my body in such a short amount of time.

I appreciate all opinions and personal experiences to help me in forming my decision.

If this is what you really want and you can afford it, then go for it.  However, I must say that it does sound like a lot of surgery in such a short amount of time.  Every surgery puts stress on your body and may affect healing or weaken your immune system.  Plus think about the amount of blood loss during the surgeries.  I would think your white and red blood cell counts would be affected.  I'm sure the doctor feels it is completely safe or he would not suggest doing all of it.  But sounds like you would be laid up for quite some time and once you start feeling good again, you will go back under for surgery again.  There is risks with everything that we do.  With surgery, there are a ton of risks and even with the confidence of your surgeon something could always go wrong.  It's just the way that it is.  And when we have any surgery (myself included) we are willing to accept those risks whatever it may be.  If you are really unsure about what you want to do, give yourself time to think about it. You don't have to do these surgeries all at one time nor rush getting them done within a certain timeframe.  Maybe do the surgeries that you consider "a must" for you and go from there.  I mean, you might decide after your breast lift that you won't want the implants or you might still want them but are okay without them if it means one less surgery.  For me, I have gotten an lbl and arm lift done together.  I'm going in for my arm lift revision next month.  I still need an additional abdominalplasty since the lbl did not remove everything.  I will need a fleur-de-lis cut.  I will then probably pursue a thigh lift and breast lift.  I could use implants (I'm very small up top) but decided against it since they usually need to be replaced after like 10 years, maybe less, maybe more.  I will have had 5 surgeries (not all plastics but surgery nonetheless) in the past 7 years and 2 pregnancies in there too.  I personally feel burned out but I would still like to get the additional surgeries that I mentioned.  I can't afford them all now but hoping to get them done within the next 5 years.  And is probably a good thing since it helps to spread them out a bit too.  I spent 24 years getting fat and destroying my body so transforming it back close to "normalcy" will take some time too.  

          

Yes, it is really what I want. He gave me a good price on doing the procedures as I outlined them. Don't get me wrong, it is not cheap, but the price to bundle is very good. He did give me an option for three surgeries but it is more expensive this way (several thousand dollars). So I am inclined toward the larger surgery, although have not made a final decision.

Yes, he feels it is safe to do the surgeries. But I feel that he under estimates the level of pain and complications. That said he is an excellent surgeon. My plan was to do smaller surgeries but more of them. But he is suggesting this approach. I am trying to get them done while I am between jobs. That and the desire to get on with my life is pushing me to get them done sooner rather than later. I am 49 yo. So the clock is ticking.

I was told by two plastic surgeons that the new gel implants do not have a 10 year shelf life. I was surprised to hear thwt because even the mentor site and the president of the ASPS says that they need to be replaced about every 10 years.

Why do you need to revise the arms and why was the LBL not successful in removing everything?

The reason why I am in need of the arm revision is that the doctor did not remove enough.  My arms are very uneven right now.  The revision will just be on the left arm. She left a considerable amount of skin on it.  Why????  I have no clue.  I still don't understand how it happened and even she is clueless.  I do have a dog ear on the right arm but it is small and I am unsure if I will have that fixed or not.  The LBL was not successful in removing all the skin as I have a lot of elasticity from the sides on the belly and it kind of folds in at the center.  It did not appear to be this way pre-LBL.  I did not have the belly fold in the center before.  So when I pinch the belly up & down, there isn't much there.  But pinching sideways I get a lot still.  This is why I would need the fleur de lis cut.  And by what I read on here, apparently it is not completely uncommon for people to need more than just the lbl or regular tummy tuck.  I heard several stories on here about people getting the lbl and then needing the fleur de lis later on anyway.   I was told pre-surgery that I would probably need a 2 part surgery to remove everything but they recommended the lbl first and to go from there.  I'm still glad I did it even though I will require more surgery to finish the arms and belly off.  I'm at about an 60% improvement so it was still worth it.  And even with that being said, I am still disappointed that I will need to go back in to finish the job.  Getting fat was easy but damn, all this other stuff is hard.

Good luck with your surgeries. I need a touch up on my lower left abdo where there is a minor fat deposit. And there is a slight asymmetry in the left and right contour down the sides of my abdo. People do not even notice it but I do. My surgeon will tweak these when we do the next round. 

 

I had breast lift, flankplasty, lbl, arms, lipo, muscle tightening in 1 approx 6 hr surgery. I was up and walking within 2 days but not like pre-op, as you should expect. It's a lot of surgery. 1st week recoup, I  was on percocet and needed it, with 4 drains- I found I needed a walker and a chair in the shower because I felt unsteady.(You may be the same or different). 2nd wk, 2 drains out, still needed meds and not walking totally upright. (also sleeping in power lift chair, and still  sleeping on and off through the day and night.-up every 2-3 hrs) Once all the drains were gone I felt immensely better but I still have swelling. 3rd wk, I still need extra strength tylenol occassionally at nightand I just started walking totally upright but still occasionally hunching over and walking slow. No complications, but I am not working or doing any major housework, like laundry or vacuuming, just minor stuff like putting dishes in the dishwasher.  My arms look great with my arms down (stitches are still very prominent), my stomch and breasts too. BUT I was a very full 38 DD-after breast lift I am like a 38C. The 38 should still go down as I have stitches on both sides of my breasts, but I look much "tinier" although "perkier" and going braless for the first time in like 30 yrs!  . My husband says my breasts look younger and good but much different- and I don't look as "volumptuous" in clothes, but I do look much smaller overall. My husband says my butt is as smooth as a baby's and "tiny".He says since my stomach is much flatter and my waist will get smaller after the swelling subsides, my breasts will be enough. I will wait and see. I am in my 50s and implants are not for me, but I have no problem wearing a padded bra if necessary. I love wearing panties and not heavy duty, combat ready, spandex and lycra. I think its easier to "build up" then to hide or "suck in".

The lbl did lift the outside of my thighs. (It did temporarily raise the inside too, and I was hoping I did not need a thigh lift, but my inner thighs are falling a little every sec and I know an inner thigh lift is unavoidable)

 I feel now, it was better to get as much over with in one shot, since I can't exercise the way I want or do all the other things I usually do and want to do.Also i think its better to go under anesthesia as least number of times as necessary, because there are always risks associated with that. Also, its cheaper to do more at once than to do everything separately. (I like my ps, but I don't want to be paying for his great grandchildren's college educations!) I also want to move on with my life- what's the sense in trying to look younger and then spending years fixing stuff, and getting older and older. 

I decided to get my face lift in 2 wks (5 wks after this 6 hr surgery), since I understand the recoup is only a few weeks for that and I am overlapping the recuperation, and my ps approves.  Then in a few mos, if he approves, I willl get inner thigh lift and be done.

I am in extremely great health and eat high protein, veggies and fruit. I had the sleeve, so no malabsorption issues. My blood work was excellent. When I was MO I had no health issues, like high blood pressure or diabetes and I don't smoke or drink. For me the worst part is that I hate physical restrictions after surgery, and the pain. By combining them, I am minimizing these. Actually the most "worst" is paying for alll this-and not getting the new car I really wanted, but I am getting a new body to test drive :)  

I hope my thoughts are helpful to you. Good luck to you whatever you decide.

Gosh, I love wearing panties, too!!! I was on those spandex type briefs for the last decade. Yuk! 

Can I ask how much you paid for the surgery? Was it performed in a hospital or a surgery center? When is your return to work? I need to fly out to my granddaughter's birthday party and I want to be in good physicial shape for that. I want to enjoy my precious time with her and not be in pain or discomfort. How long do you think I should wait? I want to plan my surgery around that.

Do you miss your DDs? I like voluptuous but I also do not like the idea of putting a foreign object into my body.  I am 49 so it doesn't make sense for me to string this out time wise. Get her done and have fun in my new body!

 

I did my tt and neck together, 10 hours under.  Do what makes the most difference, what you can't stand because if this goes wrong and you have an issue that makes you not want more surgery at least you will have some visible improvement.  My neck was the most painful part an I do have an area of permanant numbness and I had to revise it during my brachioplasty.  But not having that turkey neck is I am sure what makes most people not believe I am going on 49.  Those people never see my saggy inner thighs and I won't ever fix them as I feel like I took enough plastic surgery chances and of course I don't have the extra money to waste on it.  The problem is eventually everyone gets a problem if they go to the well enough times.  Legs seemed like too big a risk.  I was lying outside in the sun today looking at my super tan stomach an thinking my stretch marks are a million times worse then my tt or rny scar.  Those are both flat, smooth, perfect, stretch marks not so much.  I need to send my son a bill for these.

If my thighs looked as great as your then i would not get them done, either. When you have your bikini on you look great from the front. Do you feel thwt your back looks like it matches your front? This is how I first noticed my old lady back. I put on a bikini in a clothes store and it looked great until I turned around (and of course my thighs).

i also had thought of the approach of getting what bothers me done the most, first. He really does not want to combine the thigh lift and face/neck lift. But he will do it if that is what I want. I am having second thoughts on him doing my face lift. He has done 70 during his 15 yrs versus thousands of body contouring surgeries. And it is expensive, like $10k. He is very comfortable doing my legs. He has done this surgery extensively and said it is not complicated for him.

Personally I would say do your face. 

 I have a big ass and it is what it is, I don't see it except in the mirror so I don't care.  My upper legs are saggy but I can live with that.  I have seen too many leg surgeries go bad, so it scares me. 

I have seen so many people get plastics and look great but don't do their face, I never understand that, it is what the world sees first and what they judge your beauty and age based on.