Question:
When should you have abdominoplasty?

I had a revision last July and have now lost 83 lbs. I am down to 177. I want to get down to 140, although once many years ago, I got down to 160 and looked good. Anyway, I want to have my tummy tuck this summer (if Aetna approves it) and was wondering if this can be done with still 35 lbs to lose. Any advice would be appreciated. By the way, I have my plastic surgeon consult on 5/28; I have Aetna HMO, if anyone can tell me about their experience with them regarding abdominoplasty, I would appreciate it. I would like to know how long it took to get approval. Thanks    — Michele :. (posted on May 17, 2002)

May 17, 2002
I know everyone's doctor has a different philosophy, but this was actually brought up at support group last night. The rep from the doctor's office said they will not give a referral until you are 18 months to 2 years post op because (1) you could still lose more weight and thus have excess skin (2) you could actually gain a little weight and (3) some of your skin could retract on its own.
   — Tparker

May 17, 2002
My doctor will not give a referral until 2 years post op or until your weight has been stable 6 months. I thought that was crazy, but now I am 2 years out and totally understand. Just for the reasons the last person on here said. All true! I found that my body adjusts and some fat cells fill back up. I want all of that taken off when I have surgery.
   — ZZ S.

May 17, 2002
Many, many people have them early....others wait. Go to the Library section on this site and read back through the "Plastic Surgery" section.... I have my Open VBG 11 months ago, have lost from 340 lbs down to 210 lbs. I had my Abdominoplasty yesterday morning (just got home from hospital three hour ago! Everything went so great!) Insurance paying every dime because it was presented by PS as a "medical necessity"
   — Cathy J.

May 18, 2002
My plastic surgeon, Dr. Egrari in Bellevue, WA, likes to do abdominoplasties and other plastic surgeries on WLS patients when we are within 10% of our goal... for me, that means 15 lbs over my 150 lb goal, so @ 165. He makes the abdomen VERY tight and feels that the results are very natural looking when you lose that last 10%, and he's had people lose up to 20 lbs more and still look great. I've personally known five people who've had WLS and then used Dr. Egrari for their plastic surgery, and he's an artist; every single one of them looks natural and fantastic! I'm scheduled for my surgery with him on 07/22... I need to lose 5 more pounds to meet his 10% criteria but of course I'd like to lose more than that before the surgery. You can see examples of Dr. Egrari's work at www.egrari.com
   — Julia M.