Consult with Dr. Vincent DiNick in May

I have a consult coming up next month. I'm really excited about it. But, I need some input from the experienced people here on the boards.

There is a cosmetic surgeon here locally. He is not a licensed plastic surgeon, but has a huge surgery center and does everything from there. I have a friend who had a TT by him a few months ago, and she is very happy with it so far. I was doing some research and I saw that he also have some really, really bad reviews. But there is also a lot of great reviews. He is very affordable, and I get get a TT and lift with augmentation for about $10,000. I haven't had a consult with him, but I'm considering it. He does free consults, so no harm, no foul.

Question for you all, would you even consider going to a cosmetic surgeon rather than a plastic surgeon?

Ask to see before/afters of people that look like you do to help you decide. Have you seen your friend's results?

I have seen the results of weight loss friends of mine who went to other surgeons in our area and their results are not as good as mine. You usually get what you pay for. If your top priority is just to get rid of the skin and money is a factor, go with the cheaper option.

Personally, I wanted a plastic surgeon with lots of experience with bariatric patients. I wanted to feel normal again. If I had gotten bad results, I would have been depressed (I have had a few friends not happy with their results and that still affects them mentally).

I don't think I'd feel comfortable with that unless he had a TON of experience with bariatric patients and only glowing reviews.

Just need to clarify, the consult i have is with Dr. Vincent DiNick, who is board certified and highly recommended. Bit there is another surgeon, Dr. Michael Gray, who is a cosmetic surgeon.

I'm thinking of getting the second consult to compare prices and opinions.

This is the website of the Cosmetic Surgeon...

A New You

If you look at this website, and look at the Tummy Tuck photos, my tummy looks like the third example down. I have a small apron, and that picture looks almost exactly like mine.

I was just checking out the Web site for the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons. This one came up (oddly, she's the one closest to me - but she's c. 400 miles away!). She's pretty close to you, though. I don't think a lot of surgeons who work with bariatric patients are members of this society, but being a member probably indicates that's your main focus. I should add I don't know anything about her, but I just saw she was in the Detroit area, so thought I'd send it along...

http://www.drdrodriguez.com/

As far as reviews go, remember that some people have very unrealistic expectations and end up blaming the PC for results, like scar width or keloids, that had nothing to do with the surgeons skill or technique.

Case in point, I read a lengthy blog on "Realself" with dozens of photos of every step of her surgery where the woman raved about the PS in post after post.

Then in her (separate) review gave him one star because she was unhappy the medical thigh lift scar in her groin and he wouldn't revise it for free. She rated her her surgery cost "not worth it" though it was obvious from her own photos that the work was excellent!

If I hadn't found her blog, seen her photos and read her (almost hourly) comments and only seen the review I would have written this surgeon off. At this point I think she's a nut.

I would go to a cosmetic surgeon for face work. For post obesity body work I would chose a plastic surgeon with vascular surgery (or possibly trauma surgery) experience.

In any case I would want to see before and after photos and get reference specifically from past bariatric patients.

That's mind boggling! I think my only expectation for plastic surgery is that I'll look better than I do now and not need to exercise in head to toe compression gear to keep everything from bouncing all over the place ;)

Hopefully my low expectations will serve me well!

I had a TT with Dr. Michael Gray around 2000. I lost about 40 pounds had hated the front stomach. I called it my front butt. I had 2 kids by c-section and the scar separated my fat. He did an amazing job. He took the skin and additional fat away. I had a waist line. Some of the pictures I have seen, people lose their tummy but they don't get an hourglass figure. An additional feature of the TT is that they pull the skin up from the pubic area. This looks better in pants and helps with better organisms during sex. So, I gained about 80 pounds and still had a flat stomach compared to the rest of my body. It did get larger, but stayed small in comparison to my body size. That is the reason I can wear a size 4 pants at 138 pounds.

I have been thinking of going back to Dr. Gray for an inner thigh lift. I am not sure how many he has done. I want to get his price, then shop around in Mexico. I only have $1000 saved so far, but when I decide to get surgery, I'll just finance it. I hate the heat, and when I walk with shorts or a bathing suit, people stare at my leggs. My sister was quite angry with people when I first had WLS, and we were getting certified to scuba dive. You can't hide walking to the pool or the ocean.