Question:
A Lower Body Lift has been recommended but

my insurance will only cover a TT. SO, I'm going on with the TT in April but I'm curious: If any of you have been in this situation where you had to choose TT over LBL -are you still happy with your results? And to be frank - does it look "odd" that your front side is so firm and flat and your hip to hip in back is still flabby and needing work? Do you regret not waiting to try to have a LBL instead of the TT? Please, I don't mean to be offensive, but as I look at my own body, I wonder how this will look. The doc could literally pull up a large amt. of skin on my hip and buttock and I just wonder without the LBL if I will look somehow strange with the front in good shape and the back not so - especially since they are all part of the same area of the body! Thanks for any answers you can provide!    — Mary W. (posted on February 5, 2004)

February 5, 2004
Why don't you ask your surgeon how much the difference would be to have the LBL. The insurance is paying for the tt, and that means that the OR room and anesthesia and everything will be paid for, so all the cost would be the cost of the surgeon. Worth a try.
   — cindy

February 5, 2004
I just got my TT last Monday and my insurance paid for it. I did try to get the LBL covered, but they denied that one, but I figured I mine as well take what I can get. I am going to self pay for my LBL and arms, but not until next winter. My butt/thighs need a lift, but you really cant tell in pants, my legs look fine and when I take my pants off.....wow a whole bunch of loose skin just falls out like squishy rising doe lol. I figured between pants and capri pants, I will be fine for a while. Good luck and so far the tummy does'nt make me look funny compared to the loose areas.
   — Sandy M.

February 5, 2004
Mary I had an extended tummy tuck, where the incisions go past the hip but not all the way around back. Once I was healed from this I realized I should have had the hip and back done too as I looked out of proportion with a flat front. I always felt back heavy, not big booty back heavy upper hip back heavy. So, 8 months later I had the back portion done and am now much happier even at 8 weeks post op. With that being said I cant imagine having it all done at one time and I am tough with a very high pain tolerance and teh back portion was aweful. My PS said it depends on the build and sometimes you dont know until after the TT. I have pics, if you are interested email me and Ill send them to you.
   — Lesley T.

February 5, 2004
My PS doesn't feel I need the LBL. The abdominoplasty worked great and it did make a HUGE difference in the way my body now looks. If you and your PS REALLY feel that you need the LBL and your insurance approved the tt, why not ask him if you can self pay the difference between the tt and the LBL and get what you think you need to have done?
   — Patty H.

February 5, 2004
As the others have suggested pay for the 2nd procedure and get it all done at once. I'm getting the equivalent of a lower body lift done on Feb 23rd. Insurance is covering the full extended abdominoplasty and I am covering the lateral thigh lift portion. The two make up the LBL. My portion is $3400 for the hospital and $2547 for the surgeon. The surgery will be 9 hours total. They are assuming the abdominoplasty will be 5 hours and the lateral thigh lift 4 hours. If it turns out the other way around I will have to pay more. We are using a hospital that has a cosmetic surgery package and charges a flat rate for the hospital ($600) and anesthesiologist ($250) per hour. So if it goes another hour I will owe then another $850. The usual cost for the surgeon on the LTL is $5094, but because it is a 2nd procedure, abdominoplasty being the first, they charge you 1/2, same as they would for insurance. I still intend to argue the coverage with BCBS but do not have the time right now, so I will pay and deal with it after surgery when I'm sitting around. I just need to make sure I get good pictures of what I want to convey before surgery. It's a lot of money but I know I will get the best result this way. <P>For me it's not so much the butt and back but the saddlebag area of the thighs. My waist is already 2-3 sizes smaller in pants and right now the gut is the tightest but the thighs are right behind. So once the gut is removed I am likely to drop at least 2 pants sizes, which means my thighs won't fit in any pants I buy. This sounds vain but the reality is it could be a huge problem to find pants and skirts that fit. I need lots of fat lipo'd out of the saddlebags to bring them down in proportion to the new gut I will have. It also will help lift and shape the butt and hips and thighs, but my bigest concern is finding clothes that will fit if I don't do it all. <p>I could have it done as a separate procedure later on but then I would have to pay the full surgeons fee so it would cost me another $2547. I think I'll get the best results have it done at once. But 9 hours of surgery will be a long day!
   — zoedogcbr