Plastics at U of Washington?

 Hi Karen
Good to hear from you here on the WA side.  I had PS before and learned a few things that I will take with me should I go there again.  
1.  Don't let them talk you into another procedure that is far from what you went in for.  That happened to me (Dr. Stephen B. Anderson - Bellevue).  I will never go back to him again.
2.  Don't let them be distracted by their own private issues (1994).  I went to a PS that was with my healthcare company and his wife was undergoing kidney issues.  My procedure suffered because of it.

Now - will I go back for more PS.  Maybe.  I have heard great things about
http://www.psplasticsurgery.com/plastic-surgery/
My sister-in-law worked for him and has had work done by him.  He takes his time and is very good.  

Doing too many things at one time does put your body and recovery at risk.  We want it fast and dare I say cheap but the cost on the other side may be too great.

Plan on about 10K at least and have them stop at the price that will work for you.  

I also learned - you CAN deal with the price a bit when it's out of pocket.  
Also - make sure your insurance will not cover.  You never know.

good luck
mary - vashon WA

HI Mary, We miss you on OFF! I had a lower body lift by Dr. Egrari of Bellevue. He's fantastic, almost an artist at what he does. However you do pay for what you get! I'm looking to have my inner thighs done next year and am considering going to U of W hoping it will be less expensive. Just checking everything out. My insurance, Uniform Medical, wouldnt cover my RNY 5 years ago tho they do now so I'm sure they won't cover any excess skin removal. The phrase in the insurance booklet at the time  was "Even if medically necessary we WON'T cover it." Great huh? Love those caring insurance companies. My LBL was self pay and over $14,000.00. thanks for your input.

 Hey all - I hardly ever post on this forum but was reading this thread and just wanted to say re: insurance coverage: I heard that if you can show that you're having "health problems" because of the loose skin, insurance may cover all or part of the surgery. This may not be as relevant to you if you're looking at thighs, but I know that people do this with bellies - if it gets irritated under there occasionally be sure to go to your PCP so she can document it. 

Also, good to know about Dr. Dry! I'm just starting to research plastics as I have a ways to go, but he's who my nutritionist referred me to. I'm kinda looking for the "artist" so it's good to hear that he's excellent.

Wonderful Uniform Medical wouldn't approve my RNY "even if medically necessary" 5 years ago. They now cover it. I'm sure they would have the same attitude with any kind of plastics. The quote listed above was an actual line in their written policy. Unbelievable. Sure a caring (not) insurance company. Can't  tell I'm a bit bitter can you. Pay and pay and pay and then when you have a legit claim nada. I mean I was 377 lbs with many co morbidities. 

LOL.  I may be just a tab bit more bitter than you even.  I had a job I loved, but it became increasing harder to perform due to my super morbid obesity and my increasingly severe co-morbidities.  I worked for a hospital that had a bariatric center of excellence that advertised how weight loss surgery saved lives.  My PCP wrote a letter to the hospital administration saying how much I needed this surgery.  I could not get the surgery because our insurance would not cover any bariatric surgery.  The kicker - we were self insured and it was the hospital's choice that employees were not covered for bariatric surgery.

I have now been on disability for over 2 1/2 years and my Medicare started Mar 1.  I hope to have surgery the week of May 17.  It will be a race to see if I can have surgery, recover, lose enough weight and find a decent job in the current economy before my savings run out and I can no longer supplement my disability payment enough to keep making my mortgage payments or if I lose my home to foreclosure.  Yeah, I'm a little bitter, too.

Why oh why can't the powers that be get their heads out of the sand. (really wanted say heads out of their butts!) long enough to see how much money it would SAVE them if you were healthier. I thought things had changed since my surgery in 2005. Your story sure tops mine. Damn right I'd be very bitter and it would affect any respect that I had for my employer. Absolutely unbelievable in this day and age.

Wish I could make them wake up and be the caring employers that they should be. I can say that you will never regret taking this step to regain your health. I sure don't. I"m still not at goal and still not even "normal" BMI but I am so much better off than I was pre WLS in 2005. I have my life back and can go and do anything that I want to.

 Hang in there. It is worth whatever it takes to get it done. I went from 377 lbs  to my lowest of 184. I regained almost 20 lbs but am stowly taking that off through exercise. I had let that component slide and for me it is a critical one. I don't have to like it but I have to do at least 1 hr of pretty sustained aerobic exercise about 4-5 days per week to maintain and slowly lose my regain.

Best wishes.

Thank you, Karen!  It just makes me cry if I dwell on it so I try to keep focused on moving forward and not on what I've lost.  It just all seems so unnecessary if I could have gotten the medical care that my hospital (since you're here in the Seattle area, too, you'd know them) was proporting for everyone else but their own employees.  Anyway, gotta move forward, right?

Thanks again for your encouragement!

All the best to you in your wonderful new life!

Actually I live in eastern Washington. . . Kennewick. We still have very limited bariatric surgery in the Tri Cities area. If I was going to have my insides rearranged I wanted somone with lots of experience and a great reputation. Dr. David Lauter was that person. Excellent in all ways. Dr. Egrari of Bellevue did my lower body lift. I highly recommend both. But being self pay it put me out over 40,000.00 between the two surgeries. No regrets. I'm in Chehalis this week helping take care of my twin grand daughters.

I just saw that Dr. David Lauter is now Medicare approved. He was my surgeon and is absolutely fantastic. Such a caring man. He has been trying to get Medicare approved for at least 5 years because he believes that everyone has the right to this life saving surgery whether they can afford it or not. Would he be a possibility for you?

Karen , I too have Uniform & they wouldn't cover my RNY , so I was self pay . The next year they started covering it . I had my tummy tuck @ UW through the residency program . I felt like I had wonderful care . I would go through their program again & probably will . I have other things that need nipped . Lol .