Stressin'

Wow, I agree with Lynda, $9K seems awfully pricey for a one-day stay for a panni. I paid $10K for a lower-body lift (with lipo and muscle repair) that sent me home the same day, no hospitalization. Can't think how a panni alone, given that your hernia is covered, should cost you anywhere near $9K outta your pocket. As for payments, I'd take them at their word that they do, or don't, take payments, and not assume they'll just take whatever you're willing to give on the day of surgery and go forward with the procedure. I would also echo the comments of others regarding the WLS surgeon doing the panni. Unless you've seen pics of his other panni-WLS patients whose pre-PS body type was much like yours, and you like their results, you're buying a pig in a poke here, to put it bluntly. I'd say that about a PS too, if you'd happen to have chosen a PS to do the work instead. PS is as much art as science, and if you haven't had skin breakdown, I assume the panni is important to you for cosmetic reasons as well as to get rid of the skin. I assume you've also reviewed pics of pannis, versus TTs-with-muscle-repair, versus lower-body lifts -- preferably before-and-after pics of people whose pre-PS body looks kinda like yours does now -- before deciding on a panni. If not, you could well wind up feeling that whatever you spent was a waste, for even a well-done panni won't be satisfactory *if* it's not what you expected.

You know, it generally doesn't cost anything to go have consults with Plastic Surgeons. At least then you could look at their gallery of before & after pictures. I only looked at those who appeared to be around my size and shape so that I could more easily visualize what I would look like after surgery. I have had a lower body lift, arms & breast, and can't imagine having had my WLS surgeon do those, as I feel the results would not have been up to my standards. Even though I was desperate to get the skin off, it turns out that it really does matter what I look like without clothes, and I didn't think it would. I have never heard of a plastic surgeon taking payments, so I am with everyone else there. I had to have mine paid in full at my pre-op appt. I had a full lower body lift at a surgery center and it was only $11k, so a $9k panni sounds high. Good luck! Whatever you decide to do will be the right decision for you.