Question:
Need some info on Pnni and Breast reduction

I am having panniculectomy/breast reduction on Dec 22. The doctor said that the panni only fixes the stomach below the belly button. It would be a hip to hip incision.But I have read on here that the panni consist of an anchor incision as well. He said it wouldn't do anything to the skin above my bb.(I am getting to keep my bb) Also he is doing a breast reduction also. Before weight lose I was wearing a 48 dd now I am wearing a 38 d. He said they are very small looking now. It would be more of a lift. He said I would probably be in b or c cup. He said I needed implants but I can't afford it. I guess what I am asking is does he sound like he knows what he is talking about? Also kinda of scared of what the breast might look like when he is done.They are flat looking now. I just don't want to be left flat chested.I am 22 month out from open rny. I went from 315 to 133. I went from wearing 28w to size 7 pants and small tops.Does anyone have any pics that would ease my mind alittle. Thanks    — jenn5173 (posted on November 21, 2004)

November 21, 2004
HELLO JENNIFER, WOW.YOU ARE DOING SO GREAT ! I HAVEN'T GOTEEN TO THE POINT OF PLASTIC SURGERY YET, BUT THERE IS A LINK ON MY WEBSITE THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL http://www.plasticsurgery.org/index.cfm GOOD LUCK & GOD BLESS, LORIANN http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ChristianWLSJourney/
   — Loriann J.

November 21, 2004
Jennifer, What your surgeon describes as a panni is the typical definition. However, some surgeon use the terms very interchangeably and actually do an abdominoplasty (TT) and bill it that way. That is why it is critical that each person understand what THEIR surgeon will do. Do not assume all things are equal. <p>With a lot of people a panni is all they need. Others need the TT with a vertical incision (not all TT's include that either) and muscle tightening. I had a LBL but as part of that I had a full extended abdominoplasty, which means he was going around to the back some also. While I could have gotten fairly good tummy results with just work on the front, I needed the LBL because of the huge saddlebags I had. Otherwise I would have been left with a flat tummy and smaller waist and not a pair of pants or a skirt in the world that my thighs would fit into. I would have been so out of proportion that buying clothing would have been a worse nightmare than when I weighed 442 lbs. <p>I cannot speak to the breast issue as mine have not been done yet and won't be until a lot of money appears in our savings account. I actually wear the same cup size after as before because my breasts were all droopy and fatty already. I never had real tissue to give them shape. So now they just droop more, but the total amount of skin does fill up most c cups, as long as they are full coverage bras. If the sides or cups are cut too low then all I so is hang over. If I am going to do anything with breasts I will need implants and the surgeon says also a lift. If you are not totally comfortable with what you are being told then you need to get a 2nd consult. This is too big an issue to not know what to expect and to be sure this guy knows what he is doing. I had a few concerns/questions before my medial thigh left last week, but because I had already had two extensive PS's with this doc I knew he would do what was right. I just wasn't quite sure what to expect but trusted him as he has worked very hard to fix up my body. I'm glad I trusted as I am happy with what I see so far. Cannot wait for about 3 months and all the swelling to be gone to really see the end results.
   — zoedogcbr

November 21, 2004
If you've got a lot of excess skin about the bb, you need the abdominoplasty. I had a full abdominoplasty with only a hip to hip incision and couldn't be happier with my results. My stomach is completely flat above AND below my new bb. The anchor cut is done when there is a LOT of excess skin above the bb. I am having a breast lift in a couple of months - I went from a 40 dd to now a 36 d but mostly skin. My ps told me that when he removes the excess skin I will be a very full B cup but he thinks I will be happy with this due to my frame size, however, he said that he can always do implants later if I'm not happy with the size. If you weight 133 pounds a b or c cup might look totally proportionate on you.
   — Patty H.

November 22, 2004
We can speculate and postulate a great deal here about our opinions. However, we are not experts or even doctors. PLEASE- go get another opinion from another PS. It's VERY important, since reconstructive surgery is only as good as the doctor that performs it and results vary widely with just the slightest change in technique used. I have a questions for you- just how experiences is this PS with Reconstructive surgery on post gastric bypass patients? Good luck & get theee to a 2nd opinion!
   — LMCLILLY

November 22, 2004
You should go to breasthealthonline.com
   — SJP