Order of importance

I am going to have to have a complete overhaul. For those who have had multiple surgeries, where did you start? What order? And would you do it differently now?

My reasoning was that I started with what bothered me most, so that if anything happened and I couldn't do everything, I got that one thing done.  I had the lower body lift done first because I hated my hanging stomach.

I thought my boobs were my biggest item I wanted corrected. After seeing the surgeon and going over everything and what could be done together and what couldn't I changed my mind. Ended up having a LBL and brachio at the same time and then 3 months later did the boobs and thighs. Never regretted the order I did them in. My advise is to do the thighs (if you are considering doing them) last as that was the most painful one for me and others have mentioned it was for them as well.

It's funny bc originally I would have said my arms. They have always bothered me, even when I was bigger. But now, it's looking like my stomach/breasts. I had two c-sections also so there is nothing left.

Arms and stomach should be able to be done together (I did it) and didn't have any problems. Some people don't want them together as they think they need their arms to help compensate for the tummy but I did fine. That being said I had worked out hard for the 7 months leading up to that so had pretty good leg muscles so used them a lot when using the bathroom and relied very little on my arms. Just discuss the options w/ your Dr on what combinations he is willing to do. Mine wouldn't do arms and breast lift together or thighs and LBL or even LBL & Breast lift so that ended up helping w/ my decision.

Hi hyder1ab, On Jan 25th 2016, I had arms, breasts and body lift. Glad I did them together. A year ago, I started plastics because I had an abdominal hernia which was covered by health insurance. That opened the door to a tummy tuck, since the surgeon was in that area anyway... At that time, I wish I had done more research and found someone who specializes in surgery for folks with great weight loss. The first surgery left me imbalanced, front to back, and with "dog ears" or extra handfuls of skin at my hips where the tummy tuck horizontal scar met the side at the hips. If I were starting again, I would do as much as I could at one time (safely) by a surgeon who has performed these surgeries many many times (1200+). I've written more about Dr. Capalla, who explained to me the reason behind doing, for example, breasts and arms at the same time. The incision can go from the elbow, under the arm and then swoop down under the breast. This way the flank, or side boob can be addressed. If those surgeries are done separately, you can have extra lumps at the end of any one incision.Not sure if I explained it well, but happy to share more if you're interested, or look at other posts and my pics if that helps. Good luck :-)

I did it all at once, cause I knew I probably wouldn't go for surgery again..

I had a LBL, BL and  Arm lift...

If you haven't figured it out already, every surgeon has a different approach to which procedures they'll combine. 

Mine would not combine anything with the LBL - the LBL by itself had you under anesthesia long enough; is actually a combination procedure (tummy tuck, mons lift, outer thigh lift, butt lift); there's too much impact on the lymphatic system to do thighs and tummy at the same time (risk of lymphedema); and he wouldn't do the breast lift because the breast lift pulls skin up with the LBL is pulling the same skin down, creating too much tension.  And I definitely needed my arms after the LBL.  The muscle repair was very painful and I needed to arms to shift my torso around.

The breast lift and brachioplasty were combined.  For reasons someone else described, the surgeon can do one long continuous line from the breastbone to the elbow.  Everything gets pulled at the same time and it's nice and even. 

This doesn't mean any one doc is right or wrong.  Just be sure they explain why they do what they do and that it makes sense to you.  People have had one procedure done at a time and other people have had everything done at the same time, and every combination in between.

My only concern with getting arms done is lifting. I have two toddlers so I think I'm going to have to do that last. I think I'm going with Dr. Michaels in D.C.

Hi Hyder1ab!  I am not sure if you have ever seen my posts on here but I am Dr. Michaels' biggest fan!  I still (one year out) marvel at how great he made my body look.  Whether you go to him or someone else, make sure to choose someone who specializes in plastics and body contouring after massive weight loss!  It's key!

I went in thinking I needed a tummy tuck and boobs, and wouldn't do arms.  I quickly realized that once I fixed the front of me, the back would be droopy, so I revised to an LBL and boobs in one surgery.  Well the boobs never hurt and were no big deal, and the backside never hurt, and the muscle tightening was super painful for two days but then subsided.  I am really glad I didn't do arms since I needed my arms to hoist my body up, since my core couldn't be used at all!  Well once my body was looking all good, my drapey arms were even worse!  So I decided to do my arms separately.  I did my LBL and BL in March 2015 and my arms in October 2015.  I am so thrilled with my results!

Send me a PM if you have any questions or concerns or anything!  Dr. Michaels is seriously one of my favorite people in the world!  You would be in excellent hands! - Emily