Goal weight & Plastics

I know it's important to be at a weight you can sustain prior to plastics. Did you hit your goal weight prior to having plastics?

I'm in desperate need of a TT if not a total LBL. I'm about 10-15lbs from my goal weight and have been sustaining this weight for a while now.

I'm just curious of what others have done in the realms of plastics.

Hey Heather,

Opinions will definitely vary on here - my surgeon suggested being at a stable weight for six months before doing plastics. Some will advise that you get to year 3 (since we know the first 12-18 months is the honeymoon and then the true hard work of maintenance begins) but I chose to do my LBL and BL at 18 months post-op...I had reached my goal, was within a 10 lb range for about six months, and I figured the plastics would help serve as motivation and an "insurance policy" if you will, to not regain back 100 lbs.

I am now recovering from my arm lift last week, six months after my lower body lift and breast lift. I am about 10 lbs heavier than six months ago, with the goal of losing those 10 lbs. I also don't know how much is swelling from surgery.

Go consult with a few surgeons and see what they say. Are you still in Philly? My surgeon is incredible and is probably less than a 2 hour drive from you. My advice: go to someone who specializes in body contouring after massive weight loss, and make sure to have him/her use your own fat to augment your butt during the LBL :)

Good luck!

I'm hoping to only be in Philly for a few more weeks!

I will keep your Dr recommendation. I'm with you on it being an insurance policy to fight regain. I've looked at MX, and casually browsed a few here in the states. I'm going to look more actively in the next 3-6months. I agree it should be someone who specializes in massive weightloss contouring.

Thanks for the additional info looking forward to seeing your new pics!!

I had plastics on my face 10 months after surgery and it should not be an issue. It did however hit my goal weight early.

being within 10 to 15 seems reasonable to me and in your shoes, I would go ahead and schedule.

Dont expect perfection because you won't get it, but you will get a big improvement.

I'm glad you made the comment about perfection. It is food for thought! I think it's good to have realistic expectations and while I haven't thought much of perfection before I can see how people having plastics might have that perception. It's probably similar to the expectation of having wls and waking up the next morning with your clothes falling off. :) it's all an amazing journey.

If you end up moving back to TX (am I right in thinking that is your next stop?) then you should ping Laura in Texas - her arms were my inspiration for my arm lift and she is something like 7 years post-op and maintaining and looking AH-MAZING. She may have done her plastics in Texas :)

Good luck!

And yes, perfection I am not, but I look a hell of a lot better than when I had snoopy ear boobs and a sagging body :)

If you want to look at someone in Philly, I would recommend Penn Plastics. I have worked with Drs Serletti and Kovach. They don't specialize in post bariatric patients per se but they do quite a few procedures on us a year. I found their care to be wonderful and their prices to be very competitive. Kovach had done more work on my than Serletti.

My surgeon wanted to see a stable body weight for at least 12 months. I maintained for 18 months before having my LBL in July.

My surgeon also said that you don't want to gain or lose more than 10 lbs. after plastics because it can impact your final result. So it's good to be at a weight that you know you can maintain.

You can take pics of your front, side, back and other side and send to [email protected]. He'll get back to you with a quote. I never got to goal weight, but was weight stable for 2 yrs before I had the works. Dr S will also let you know if he thinks you need to lose more weight. He did lipo a few areas for me that just wouldn't go away like my muffin top.

This is a very common question.

The key is to have a physical exam by a plastic surgeon to get the specific correct answer for you. But generally speaking, 10-15 lbs. is not a signifiant distance from "goal weight" to have abdominal tissue excess (and abdominal wall plication) done. BUT, this varies...exam is key. So for example, if that 10 lbs. is by exam part of the lower abdomen and would be removed with surgery, then this distance form goal weight would be a non-issue.

I agree with the commentary regarding dealing with a plastic surgeon who specializes in this area. The subtleties and nuances to the best management of MWL patients can, IMO, only be gained by experience. This is all the more true when dealing with the abdominal wall. I do a lot of revision work (form other surgeon's procedures), and with revision abdominal work, my need to properly manage the abdominal musculature is the most common "overlooked" issue from a revision patient's first surgery.

For my practice, one of the keys on exam I note is assessment of the "intra-abdominal" (visceral) fat. This must be deflated/diminished to allow for the safest, most effective abdominal wall muscle tightening with MWL abdominoplasty.

Good luck!

--john