Question:
how do I afford plastic surgery?

I saw my surgeon and he said to see the plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon wanted to do the "lockwood" method and lipo and lift my outer thighs, tummy and rear...then he wanted to do my eyes and neck separately...to be followed by arms, inner thighs...he recommened breasts, lol...for $30, ooo. I am so frustated...selling my kids won't fetch that kind of money, and while I can get insurance to cover the hospital for the tummy as I have a hernia, it still costs a fortune and the other surgeries he wants to do in his office. He claims he is the only one around who does the lower body lift and I'm afraid of getting stuck needing way too many surgeries one at a time if I go elsewhere. How can I fix myself up so I can finally wear a bikini? Who is good and affordable? Please help, thanks!!    — elaine27 (posted on September 24, 2003)

September 24, 2003
Well, I took money out of my 401k to pay for my 19k surgery for extended TT, brachioplasty and breastlift on 3/31/03. Some people take out a 2nd mortgage. I didn't have my TT covered by insurance since it was deemed cosmetic. Would I spend the money again? YES!! I felt guilty about it before, but not after surgery! Why are you having your eyes done? Is this something you want or that he suggested to you? Don't take his word for it that he's the 'only one' in your area who does the LBL. Does he give discounts for multiple procedures? Mind does. Get another opnion.
   — Kris T.

September 24, 2003
I'm afraid you are going to have to decide on how much you want to spend on a bikini. I know there is NO WAY I would spend $30,000 for one. First I think you need to prioritize or buy lottery tickets. Don't assume insurance will cover all of the hospital costs because you have a hernia. You will be in surgery for likely 4-8 hours longer than is required for a hernia, which is normally an outpatient procedure also. <p>I saw a PS a few weeks ago and he has submitted to insurance for an abdominoplasty. I just received a copy of a letter today asking for pictures and details on what he would do in the procedure. Since we are trying to build a case for medical necessity based on my severe lumbar degenerative disc disease I'm sure they want to know what the PS will do that will help this, like tighten certain muscles etc. When I saw the surgeon we discussed a panni, abdominoplasty and a belt lipectomy. I started out wanting all of the center body issues taken care of in one surgery, but he has convinced me it is in my best interest to do it in two. Due to some strange things in my anatomy doing the usual remove the role and pull the lose skin down to flatten the upper abdomen won't work on me. He will actually do the area below the belly button and then do another horizontal cut above the belly button to take care my extra set of breasts, as I call them. Two outpouchings of skin and fat that are all stretched out and have been that way for many many years. However, at my waist it is quite tight, like a band of tissue tied around me. He explained that he could do it as once but I would have to be hospitalized for like 3 days, the recovery would be much slower and painful and most importantly he is concerned about losing blood supply to so much tissue at once. He feels it is safest to do one are, let the blood supply regenerate, wait about 2 months from the first procedure and then we can do the 2nd one. Since I don't want to end up with dead skin I will follow his plan. In reality it won't end up costing more because he can do the 2 procedures in his clinic and I won't have hospital charges which are much more. <p>At the very end we talked the belt lipetomy and that is definitely the way I am leaning as the pictures I can find on the internet show great results and I feel would address 90% of my thigh problems and avoid any other leg surgery. Granted my legs will never be bikini material but they will be okay in the average swim suit. I suspect I will always have some loose skin on my legs but as long as it doesn't hang real bad I can live with it. I'm 42, not competing in a beauty contest and have no desire to be in one. Personally I cannot imagine doing my eyes or neck, but each person has to decide. I'm not excited about breast implants so I will likely never do anything with them but buy good quality bras. No need to spend the money to lift them up when a $25 bra accomplishes the same thing. They have been hanging since a few years after they grew so it's no big deal. Arms are a maybe but extremely low on my list. They have shrunk in proportion to my other areas so they fit in the smaller clothes etc. I don't even mind that I have bat wings. The only thing that bothers me a little lately is that if I lean forward and the arm skin hangs forward it shows tons of wrinkles. But not much when I have my arms in the normal place. <p>In answer to how you pay for it. 1)Prioritize, 2)Home Equity Loan - That's where some of mine will come from if insurance doesn't cover the abdominoplasty, 3)Personal loan if you have the credit rating for that kind of money, 4)Supposedly there are companies that do loans for PS - try an internet search, 5)If you have equity in your vehicle borrow some against that, 6)Redo your first mortgage and get the money that way and locked in at a low rate, 7)Borrow from family, 8)Put it on a low interest credit card. The belt lipectomy and 2nd procedure will run $12000-15,000. If I ended up doing arms it's around $3000. If I can get insurance to cover the abdominoplasty that will wipe out about $7000 of the total and then he can bill me the difference between that and the belt lipectomy. If I have to pay for it all myself I will be paying for it with a combination of the things I mentioned above. Good Luck and I hope you are able to get whatever PS you feel is necessary.
   — zoedogcbr

September 24, 2003
In addition to all the ways already listed, if you are working, you can get a second part-time job and save the money toward your surgeries. Might take a little longer but that is an option.
   — Delores S.

September 24, 2003
Hi Darlene -- according to your profile, you've lost 100 pounds since your WLS in January (congrats!). This just seems like a lot of plastic surgery to me, for a 100-lb. loss, and it also sounds expensive (on the other hand, you're looking at a lot of procedures). I'm not criticizing the decision to pursue those procedures, but I wouldn't let a PS talk you into everything that could possibly be done the way a car salesman might try to sell the fully-loaded model. I would suggest you subscribe to the Yahoo OSSG plastic surgery group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ossg-plasticsurgery/?yguid=106670120 and ask for some recommendations of plastic surgeons in your area as well as for opinions and experiences of other patients regarding those various procedures. You could also cruise the various plastic surgery sites on the web and read about the various available procedures (and look at before & after photos to give you an idea what can be done with your body type). I can't add anything to Chris' excellent summary of the various places to get $$ to self-pay for PS; if insurance doesn't cover it, it's a huge decision for the average person, financially. Good luck!
   — Suzy C.

September 24, 2003
I don't think it's too much plastic surgery. Everything she mentioned (except for eyes and outer thighs) I need to have done too and I've lost 125 pounds. I took a loan on my 401K plan to get some of my plastic surgery. I'm no where NEAR done with it but I've had my tt and arms done. I would like to have my inner thighs done next. But that's about $8000 total. So I need to save for that one. Check out opening up a credit card and breaking down the surgeries over a course of years. Also, ask if the Plastic Surgeon works with a lending company to get you financed. There are serveral who do.
   — Patty H.

September 24, 2003
There is also the possibility of going out of the country. I looked into going to Brazil. Try going to the Yahoo group and reading up on this option. There is a price list in the files section. While I was researching, I added up the cost for everything I wanted done (lower body lift, breast lift with implants and arms) and it came to around $9000. Of course you will need to add in travel and lodging costs. But you can ask about those to the group. The lady that coordinates for the dr. down there is an American citizen and will gladly answer any questions you have. <p> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MedNetBrazil/
   — Ali M