Question:
How close to goal do you need to be to have plastic surgery?

Just wondering how close to goal you have to be to have plastic surgery? I have read about Bariatric Body Conturing. I will need a breast reduction, tummy tuck and something done with my inner thigh and upper arm. I am 5 months out minus 100 lbs and 40 pound from goal. I started at 290. Thanks    — diannapullen (posted on April 29, 2004)

April 29, 2004
Your weight needs to be stable for at least 3 months. Also, if you can, it is best to wait at least a year, because the skin does shrink some. In my case, it won't shrink much so PS is inevitable.
   — mrsmyranow

April 29, 2004
You need to get stablized at your goal weight, whatever that turns out to be (and you won't know for sure until you get there, and park for several months at least). You also need to let your skin recover somewhat, as it does change, and shrink up quite a bit. Not enough to eliminate the need for plastics, but you may not need as much done as you think, based on how you look today (or how you'll look once you're done losing, but haven't yet given the ole birthday suit a chance to recover for a few months). Then, you need to research what's involved with those procedures, what expectations are reasonable with each problem area, and what variations on reconstructive surgery there are for those areas, and what order you'll go in to get them repaired.<P>Plastics are a whole 'nuther journey. I was certainly thinking about them at five months post-op, but I'm not having them until I'm a little over two years post-op (this summer), and to cut a long story short (and for what it's worth), it would've been a mistake for me to have them any sooner. Your mileage may vary, of course. ;-)
   — Suzy C.

April 29, 2004
My surgeon would like me AT goal or better before PS, then like the others said you weight must be stable for a few months!
   — Saxbyd

April 29, 2004
I had surgery when I was 10 pounds from goal. I was 9 months post-op. I wasn't going to lose a lot more. I ended up losing 5 pounds of skin and another 10 pounds on my own. My weight has been the same for over a year a half. To have plastic surgery, you should be within 20 pounds of your goal weight. I would start looking at Plastic Surgeons right now though. There is a wait to get into the good ones and each one will do things differently so you'll need to decide which one will work the best for you.
   — Patty H.

April 30, 2004
I had a LBL at 17 lbs from goal and came out of surgery 2 lbs under goal. The amount of skin should be factored into your goal weight in my opinion unless you are using the PS removal as your future regain buffer zone. I was 12=3/4 months PO at the time and had lost 227 lbs. With the PS it was a total of 246 and have since lost 4 more. <p>I chose a higher goal weight as that is what is right for me. I do have larger legs that could stand to be smaller but that will have to be accomplished throguh PS as there is no way to accomplish losing any more on just the legs and I cannot afford to lose any more on my upper body - too boney already. Right now it's pretty funny as it looks like two bodys were put together at the thighs. Above the thighs is tight and small and below are thunderthighs and heavier calfs etc. My legs will never likely be in correct proportion to my gut area as the surgeon really performed miracles in that area. If my legs are to ever match it likely would take 3-4 procedures to accomplish it as it's too much to try and fix everything at once and keep the skin alive etc. He's already done the upper outer thighs as part of the LBL. He will be doing a medial thigh lift/thighplasty (cut down the leg) in November but that still will leave me with significant fat on the lower back of my legs and the lower outer area. It really needs a bunch of lipo but it's way too much to take at once. The knees will likely slightly sag a small amount but not any different than any other 43 yr old. He may be able to do a wedge resection on the back of the leg, under the butt cheek, and in the front in the future to pick up the little bit of sag. Time will tell if it's an issue or not. He said he would not be able to remove as much as he did with my LBL in relation to an upper pannus I have, so I suspect things will turn out better than he is estimating when all is said and done. He tends to be on the conservative side in making sure we do not have unrealistic expectations. <p>I started my PS consults 80 lbs from goal in Sept 2003 and had my LBL Feb 23 2004, so I was able to take off 65 lbs in that time. I could have had it about 5 weeks earlier, as there was room in the docs schedule, but I wanted to get off as much as I could so I put it off longer. It's never too early to start in my opinion. To at least get ideas and costs etc.
   — zoedogcbr

May 1, 2004
Hi. To summarize what others have said. "Goal" is a tough term for me...I like "stable" better. Everybody has their own "set point" (my opinion) and starvation or the like to get off 10 lbs is not healthy. I find that 8 months to a year is usually the earliest I will consider doing the most cases. Less weight loss (40-60lbs) results in less skin changes and earlier surgery. It is probably advisable to begin "shopping around" and beginning the INS approval process soon. You may need several months to work through this and may need time to see several docs in order to find the right one for you.
   — DrL