Hi Everyone, Got the rej...

Hi Everyone, Got the rejection from my insurance company on plastic surgery, which I expected. Got a date for Oct 17th for the first round of surgery. Going in for a tummy tuck and thigh lift with Dr. Fernandez here in Corpus Christi, TX. What's been everyone's experience on ps in general? Have you been happy with the results? Any feedback would be appreciated. I have to admit I'm not looking forward to surgery but am looking forward to losing the excess skin. When I did the consult with the ps he told me I'm very lean.....leaner than most wls patients he's met. I'm especially looking forward to a nice, tight stomach since I do lots of abs and want the results to show. Thanks everyone for any input! Terry Coles 276/126

My profile has detailed stuff on my PS experiences. I have before & after on the thigh lift and only after pics on the TT. If you want to see them let me know

Hello Terry - I'll try to keep it short - in a nutshell, I absolutely LOVE the results of my tummy tuck (anchor incision w/muscle tightening) ...absolutely thrilled. My befores/afters are on my profile. They removed 9 lbs of skin from my midsection, which is more then my son weighed at birth. LOL, I wasnt about to spend the rest of my life feeling like I was 9 months pregnant. Now, all that being said? The painfrom the tummy tuck was pretty intense. Won't go into it all here, but it's in my profile under the September 2004 Plastic Surgery updates .... well worth the pain and discomfort, without a doubt. Good luck to you - Lei

Just the person to ask I need some serious answers as I am very dissapointed as of right now.....I went ahead and payed the extra money to have the anchor cut with muscle tightening.....She got off 7lbs of skin BUT I am almost 3 weeks out now.....My pants still don't fit, I am UP 9lbs and I feel like I have to big rolls left. My PS assures me it is swelling/fluid......but it is all so dissapointing to me I still feel like I have a roll on the bottom and top.......right under my breastbone I have a huge fluid sac that keeps filling for some reason She drained it last week and it is already full again.....I feel alien like with all the stuff and binding I am having to do and still have rolls.......How long honestly did you look swollen??? I just so don't like what I see.....check me out www.picturetrail.com/jesinjay I will also take new pics tonight....those were like two days out.....but you can already see the crooked area on top....thats where the fluid builds up.......and I just seem so damn puffy....it is driving me nuts!!! Be honest and let me know if this is normal......I always heard about swelling for up to 6 months blah, blah, blah, but I wasn't exepcting to still look like I have rolls Help a girl out before she loses it!!! PLEAZE!!! Jesi

Hello Jesi! ...deep breaths, sweet lady - it's gonna be okay! Just remember, your doctor can and may have to go back and do some revisions - obviously, you'd prefer they didn't but IF there truly is a problem, it CAN be fixed. I'm going back in (I think, still kinda scared about it) in November for a neck lift and a revision of my LEFT arm's scar. I don't need any more taken off or adjusted, I just want the scar thinned out. When the doc sewed me up, that one tightened and twisted REALLY bad. There was so much fluid build up (not sure if you remember the SPIDEY-Arm Story? Where I was squirting out of it, literally, nailing things clear across the room) ...anyway, the swelling caused a huge number on the overall healing and 'detail'. LOL, unfortunately for my doctor, the right arm is absolute PERFECTION, so I have a bar to base it on. Okay - now that I got that out of the way, let's talk TUMMY TUCKS! Yep, I see some swelling and possible lapping (?) not sure what that is actually? ..... it's just above your belly button where you said some of the swelling was, because when you turn SIDEWAYS I saw NO bulging. I think you need to get NEW pictures up so we can do some better "eyeballing" - the picture TWO days post op just isn't accurate anymore. What I don't understand (and this was the case for me) ...if your body is swollen and retaining so much water (to the point of going in and having it drained) how canthere be any "loose" areas of skin? My first few days home, I was so bloated I avoided sharp objects. Because of that, it also pulled the skin to the point of EXTREME, I couldn't pinch an inch if you gave me pliers to use. As the swelling started to disappear (prolly 3 months total) my stomach actually became looser. That extremely TIGHT (bounce a quarter off of it) stomach EARLY post op, was not just firm. Even a lil bit on the soft side, if I leaned forward, flattened out when I stood straight. It's a shame we don't live near by so I could just SHOW you what Im talking about.... instead we'll have to settle for photos. Below is a progression -- 2 days post op, 1 week post op, 1 month post op and 9 months post op. I used to have a LOT of swelling right above my belly button (like you said you have) and in the picture where Im sitting down, 2 days out, with drains, you can kinda see it. You can also see how swollen/tight I am, based on my waistline. I actually HAD a waistline (more defined) earlier post op. As the swelling went down, the skin became a little more lax, which in turn (dammit) gave me back my SQUARISH boyish figure. Okay - and on that note, Im gonna cut and paste the photos below. Hopefully they work. Sorry about the lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng drawn out reply ...lol, oh and Im even sorrier (for you) that Im not gonna proof read it, Im sure it's riddled. Think positive sweet lady, your body still has several more months of HEALING and SHIFTING, before you see the "final" outcome. Oh, and even if it does need adjustments/corrections, have faith that it can be FIXED! Hugs - Lei PHOTOS: 2 days PostOp TT w/drains - sitting http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b4ce22b3127cce98548c91586e00000027108AcNWjdq5cNl 1 week PostOp TT -and- 9 months PostOp TT - frontal http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b5d823b3127cce98548cab2b8000000027108AcNWjdq5cNl 1 month PostOp TT -and- BEFORE 9 pounds of skin was removed - frontal http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b4ce28b3127cce98548c922d9400000037108AcNWjdq5cNl

Hi Terri, Sorry to hear your insurance didn't cover your upcoming PS. Glad to hear you will be able to self pay anyway. I can only share my experience. I had a lower body lift, breast lift and augmentation done last Oct. I'm going in to have revisions done in Nov. Let me prepare you that you may have some relaxing of your skin a month or so after your surgeries. I'm not telling you this to be negative. I'm just sharing my experience and let down. All I was told is that my outter thighs might relax some but everything else would get better. NOT!!! Everything else got loose too. That is why I was soooooo disappointed. He told me my skin was good at first and now tells me my skin is very bad and stretched and that I might always have loosness in my ab area. I don't accept that. He is a plastic surgeon, he better make me tight as possible. I'm not paying all this money to still have a roll when I sit. He also said that my upper part of my breasts will always have loosness to them too because of tissue. That's his job to tighten them isn't it. Sorry, venting here. He and his one assistant have been giving me a hard time lately. I don't even know why I am continuing to go to him. I guess it's because I don't want to pay another dr. to do revisions that he should be doing. All I can do is pray for a better outcome this time. Not everyone goes through this. I hope you have better success than I did. It still is better than before but I want the best they can do for me. Not looking for the body of a 20 yr. old. It's not reality, but don't leave me w/a roll and poofy lower belly. I have had it w/looking fat there. Only we can understand one another. People who haven't been there can't relate to our pain and anxieties. Keep us updated on your progress and you may email if you have any questions. Your Gastric Buddy, Jeannie Lap RNY 7-8-03 290/148 PS Oct 04 2nd round in Nov.

it sucks so bad to pay out all that money & not feel like you got what you paid for. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! After ****much**** discussion my ps said he will revise, I see him again in Oct, and then he will decide if I am healed well enough to do the revisions. I am figureing after the first of the year. I thought it was hellish looking at my thighs and seeing the skin still hanging and so little difference after not only paying all that money but the time off work, the PAIN and depression. Not to mention I am paying off a loan from my retirement account for the next three years. I feel o tonly financially broke, but physically broken as well.

Hi Terry, Don't feel alone, my PS wasn't covered either. I am very happy with my TT results. My tummy is very flat. Check out my pictures on the www under my post. They are from pre and then 1 and 2 weeks postop. I had swelling still then, but now the swelling is all gone. I will eventually post some more current pictures. Eileen

Sorry to here about the denial....My very good friend with the exact same insurance as me also got denied....they are getting pretty iffy!!! Glad to hear you have the means to still have it done tho i would love to give you advice.....but at this point (almost three weeks out) I am not happy yet! The pain was a lot better than I thought it would be tho.....I went in expecting it to be horrible, and it turned out not to be that bad at all! If you wanna look at my pics ya can www.picturetrail.com/jesinjay Take Care and wishing you the best jesi