Tummy tuck Winchester, VA?

I had gastric bypass with Dr. Joeseph Afram (Washington, D.C.) almost 5 years ago, and I'm currenlty living in Winchester, VA.  Can anyone recommend a good plastic surgeon for a tummy tuck near my area?  Or should I stay with Dr. Afram's office?  (After all, they have been doing this a LONG time).  I'm just afraid I won't find someone who is experienced with our type of surgery.   Any experiences with recovery time/pain/etc you can share?  I'm 30 years old, fairly active, and weigh 208 now (after a weight loss of 115 pounds).   I appreciate any help!

Dr.  MItchell Kreiger was my plastic Surgeon. He is located in Fair Oaks INOVA Hosptial in Fair Fax  Virginia . This man is nothing less than an artist.  www.virginiaplasticsurgery.com/  I highly reccomend him , and I am sure that there are others here on the boards that have used him that can atest to his professionalism , his knoweldge of bariatrics , and his care for you afterwards.  I am so thrilled with my results.  I know you are in Winchester, however , it is worth the ride down 7 to get to him .  Please let me know if I can assist further ,  Natalie

Good pm Amanda, I'm going through the very beginning stages of reconstructive surgery myself. I've met with 2 surgeons here in Richmond and have had a mini consult with one this past weekend. I'm being scheduled for full consultations with 2 more surgeons in the coming weeks. I'm 5 years 2 1/2 months post-op and so we're in this together. I'm going on many things not just word of mouth alone. I'm arming myself with knowledge and talking with different surgeons to see which one is right for me. All best!

Thanks for the info.  I'd still like to find someone in my area, because it's such a pain to travel with the traffic and fuel costs now!  There are 3 listed here in Winchester, but I don't to go under the knife of just anyone.  I want someone who is sypmathic to a gastric bypass patient and has experience.  Frankly, I don't want one of those sugeons who offers "discounts" on their website either.  Sounds creepy in some way!   Kitty Kat - have you maintain you're weight loss, or did you plateau or gain some back this far post-op?  I keep hearing 15-20 pounds gain is normal.  You'll have to let me know how your consults go! Thanks!

Hey there .. I've not maintained it due to 2 very serious health issues in between reaching BELOW goal then get preggers with my 2nd daughter. Gained 45 lb with her lost all bout 10 or so lb then developed sudden hearing loss, was put on heavy steroids for several weeks causing weight gain which was quick and about 27 lb. So, I'm working hard now to get off about another 15-20 lb then I'll work with reconstructive surgery which I'm happy to report I've lost almost 3% body fat and since 30th Jan I've lost 9.5 lb. In a nutshell, I'm finally at a point where I'm getting weight off again and as for the 15-20 lb gain I'm not able to truly shed light on that part because the majority of my weight gain is due to heavy steroids and meds I was taking over a 6 month period of time. I'll keep you and others posted on the consults. All best!

I am with Nat on this one - Dr Krieger is a true artist who specializes in bariatric patients and to be honest - I would follow him to the ends of the earth for him to perfom my surgery!  I still need to get my inner thighs done and I am hoping it will be late June...... I understand what you say about traffic and cost of gas as he is over an hour's journey from me  - but you do not want just anyone cutting your body - you want to be really happy with the results - and I am more and happy with my results! I would not just allow anyone to do this type of proceure and you need to ask any plastic surgeon that you are going to what percentage of his surgery is devoted to bariatric surgery  - if it is a small percentage then you may want to consider someone else.... Good luck in your decision..... Jackie

Great, I think I'll set up a consult with him in the next few weeks.  Did you have any problems with insurance, or did you pay out of pocket?  Someone posted on Dr. Afram's yahoo groups that paying out of pocket was tax deductable....has any one heard or done this?