Question:
How soon after WLS can you have this procedure done?

I'm seriously considering the WLS and can't decide which one is best for me. I would also like to know how soon can you have abdominoplasty after the WLS? Will insurance pay for that also? I already have a huge apron due to a vertical C-section that wiped out my stomach muscles and also due to the fact that I weigh 345lbs. Thanks for any help you guys can offer!    — Shelli M. (posted on June 12, 1999)

June 12, 1999
Dear Shelli, I do not know how soon after WLS you can have and abdominoplasty. I am doing this backwards. I had my modified abdominoplasty (pannectomy) and I just has given me so much more energy. Usually, there is a Reconstructive Plastic doctor associated with the Bariatric surgeons. I had a wonderful doctor who is moving on July 1st to Jackson Miss. He is very skilled and yes if you get the right doctor they can get your insurance to pay for this surgery. Take Care! Jeannette
   — Jeannette C.

June 12, 1999
Only a personal interaction with a surgeon and team can pick the right surgery for yourself based on numerous factors.....the two main stream operations at present are the vertical banded gastroplasty and the gastric bypass...... As far as an abdominalplasty....I usually recomend to my patients to wait a minimum of two years after surgery when the initial weight loss is the most.
   — Chris S.

June 12, 1999
Do the WLS surgery first! That can last for life! You want the fatty tissue away from your organs, heart, lungs, joints! First treat the disease, then you can get the tummy tuck any time your doctor sees fit. I had mine, both abdominoplasty and panniculectomy, at 5 lbs from goal. I have been delighted with the results. If I had done it any sooner, my tummy wouldn't be as tight now. The abdominoplasty reshapes the MUSCLES. The panniculectomy removes that swinging pouch. WLS gets rid of the underlying fatty tissue AND the cause thereof.
   — vitalady

June 12, 1999
To Shelli Marshall of Lenexa,KS. I had my surgery in November of 1997. I had the VBG (vertical banded gastroplasty). After the surgery I had developed a hernia which they say is quite common. I had wanted to weight until I was at my goal weight or close to it before I had the abdominoplasty. But the hernia was getting larger and larger and it started becoming painful and the doctor said it reslly needed to be repaired then. I was told that alot of times the insurance company will pay for the abdominoplasty if there's a hernia repair involved. (that's in New York, anyway) Some people in the support group I belong to have shared how their insurance paid for it. Unfortunately mine did not. I guess I just had the wrong insurance, after all, I pay $610. a month for insurance. But I guess I shouldn't complain because they did pay for my VBG without too much of a fuss and it only took about a month for my approval. My surgeon is wonderful and he did it for very little. But I knew if I was going in for the hernia repair it was then or never because I wasn't planning to go in again. So from the time of my VBG until the time of the abdominoplasty was about 14 months. I also had a pendulous abdomin from being 250lbs. and having eight children. The doctor wrote every medical excuse he could think of why I medically needed the abdominoplasty and that it was not for cosmetic reasons but for medical reasons. I wrote a letter on my own and the doctors office also took pictures (front and side view, how humiliating). But still they said no to covering it. Good luck in which ever surgery you decide to have and definately go for the abdominoplasty because that truly makes a drastic difference in your appearance. Even if you have to pay for it out of pocket--it's worth every penny! But just one little thing......I don't know if you know anyone who ever had abdominoplasty, but it is major surgery with a capital "M". It took me months to recover from that surgery. However I did have the double hernia and when the doctor went in he wound up finding that my intestines had adhered to my organs and he had to do a lot of work in there. He stressed how he did a lot, a lot of work while in there. (I don't know, maybe that was suppose to make me feel bad because he didn't charge me alot for the abdominoplasty because I was paying for it and not the insurance company). Even though it was as rough as it was now that I'm feeling better I'm really glad I did it.
   — [Anonymous]

June 12, 1999
Concerning Donna's answer ... I think perhaps the doc was trying to tell you it wasn't unusual for you to take longer to heal because there was so much more involved than just a tummy tuck. I do know people who've had tummy tucks, and it already takes a good deal of time for you to feel completely healed, but with what you went thru in addition to the tummy tuck .. I can imagine it took 2-3 times as long!
   — Sherrie G.