Question:
how can you tell if a Plastic Surgeon actually did a ABD plasty or trimmed the excess

I need to know what test or scans it would take to actually see if a full abd plasty was done or if the plastic surgeon just did a panniculectomy. what has happend is I had paid for a hernia repair and he didnt do it. I just had to take another 6 weeks off work to get it done. 3 mos after returning to work from the last surgery where it was suppose to have been fixed also I paid for a breast lift and reduction. he only did the lift not the reduction. and gave me no money back because they discounted it to begin with. when I had another surgeon go in and fix the hernia Last week she informed me it had never been done. the plastic surgeon had billed the ins and they paid yet he never did it. due to the lack of pain I expirenced with the Full ABd I now wonder if he did the full or just trimmed the excess. the hernia hurt more that the ABD plasty he did. there was no pain only discomfort with the abd. I thought I had a really good pain tollerance. now I seriously have doubts he did I pay for. how can I find out?    — Joan W. (posted on June 30, 2004)

June 30, 2004
if he charged insurance for something he didn't do he's in big trouble! i would get a written letter from the doctor who told you that it was never done and send it to your insurance. then i would sue him. this is just wrong. i had a full tt and hernia repair. the tt didn't hurt i was mostly numb. the way to tell if he tighten the muscles is to try and bend backwards....if ya can't then he did the muscles. it will almost feel liket he muscles aren't working. or try and stick out your butt. but if he really didn't do what he charged i would sue him for the money to have it fixed and time off from work.
   — franbvan

June 30, 2004
You also need to notify the insurance company that he didn't do the work. Like the previous poster said, you should get a letter from your second doctor stating this. If you had a full abdominoplasty, your muscles above your belly button would feel really tight and that area would almost have a 6 pack look to it. Your second doctor (if there a PS) should also be able to feel and tell you if he did this or not as they can feel if the muscles are together or separated.
   — Patty H.

July 1, 2004
I am going to talk with the ins. but Im collecting data at this point. the ins. was not at all helpful when I spoke with them. I asked for a detailed statement on what the doc. billed for. the refused to give it to me. so I asked what procedures they paid on. they refused to tell me. I said Im the patient and your my ins. they still refused. how dumb is that. I asked how do they know there not being ripped off. they said do you think we are. I said I dont know. I wont talk with them yet. I just want to get all my records and bills together, I have the billing from the hosp and dr. and dr records from the office and am waiting for the op report. than go with all the info. my stomach dosent feel tight. the Gastric surgeon is the one that redid the hernia that the plastic surgeon didn't do 2 weeks ago and she said she couldnt tell if he had done the abd plasty cause she was higher up. but she smiled at me like she was telling me to look into it. thats the impression I was getting anyway. so I am. my stomach is pretty lose but I have lost 15 lbs since my abd plasty. I talked to a tech at the hosp xRay dept she said it would be hard to tell unless I got a MRI it may show if he left clips in there but she wasnt even sure of that. so this will be hard to prove if he did the actual abd plasty. but the hernia he didnt do. so Im working on it all. thanks for the info.
   — Joan W.