Question:
for those who have had plastic surgery

I am one year post op and took three consults for plastic surgery. The first doc was too slick. The second one was better and would do a tt, butt and outer thigh with lipo and neck and eyes, no insurance help. I had a family loan in place. Then I saw Dr. Gerut and he wants three sepate surgeries in his place, not a hospital, seems to do a full thigh lift but did not recommend that I bother with the pain of lipo. He acts as if he customizes the face work. I couldn't pin staff down as to the cost as they want to see what the bcbs would cover and they were not familiar with my ppo(strange, no?) I don't like the idea of 3 separate surgeries as opposed to two max. The ohther 2 docs would have gotten me most of my body done with one and I could do arms, inner thighs and brests later if I felt the nedd. I have a hughe hernia, so I feel the tummy tuck could be covered the surgeons said it would cover the hospital. I don't know what to choose, it's so confusing. I'm scared thawt in the long end the third Dr. won't save me much money if he breaksit up into 3 operations with all his in-house charges. Now my family wants me to wait to see the cost if he gets an answer from the insurance. I've also noticed after eating(maybe dairy ?)that I have a feeling of lower intesinal discomfort as if poison were leaking and more bowel movements. No weight loss for two months but I go from 138-140 which is not too bad. Does this mild pain sound familiar? Any thoughts other than waiting for the financial in helping me choose which way to go surgically? Also, anyone out there get tired of being told not to lose any more weight when they still feel they would like to lose a few more? I know part of it is excess skin, but darn it, if the scale would budge, I wouldn't(scout's honor) complain. I got this far, why should I feel like I'm not "perfect"? I also wonder what does it feel like when you're skinny for over a year and people stop complimenting you? Okay, done.    — elaine27 (posted on December 11, 2003)

December 10, 2003
i used Dr. Gerut and would highly reccommend him as he is the best and will only do what he thinks is best for you and your recovery. best wishes...
   — Julie B.

December 11, 2003
Hi Darlene, my advice is to try and get your Dr that did your weight loss surgery recommendation for the ps he would use, they are usually more familiar with our special needs. I had tt/hernia june 02, Jan 03, then some touch up 3 wks ago, our insurance BC/BS of Mich paid for all but $2600.00 I just went to the ps, he took the pictures, info, sent into the insurance co, and I knew exactly up front what my cost would be. The Dr's know how to code everything correctly and if the office people are good they keep you informed. Just make sure you know what you want and be specific to the Dr. I wasn't happy the first 2 times with my lower area, it didn't lay flat, and finally 3 weeks ago it was done good, also had lipo, which in my case didin't bother me that much, the worst pain I had was from the hernia, and tt at the same time, because they tightened my muscles so much. As for being at goal awhile, I have been out for over 2 years and where I go to church, and work did'nt know me before I lost my weight, so I just encourge myself, my favorite hobby is shopping (Ha) I am still losing, trying to get to 140 about 8 more pounds. Just keep on trying with the ps, because it makes such a difference in your self image. It was the second best thing I could have done besides the wls, have a wonderful Christmas, God Bless you and your family, Suzie surgery oct01 278/148
   — lostitall

December 11, 2003
What does it feel like to not get compliments? It feels wonderful!! That was my cue that I was finally normal. No one notices my weight loss anymore (almost 3 years out) and I can honestly say, that I am soooooo glad! I finally fit it and can go about my life like most people... without my weight defining who I am. Shelley
   — Shelley.

December 11, 2003
Darlene: When I went in for my tuck, I also needed a septoplasty done. My surgeon said he would not do both areas at the same time because "the nose is a dirty area" and could cause an infection in my abdomen. So I waited 3 weeks and had the septoplasty done. The other reason he might not want to do everything at once, maybe he feels it's too hard on your body? Just weigh your options carefully, then make your decision.
   — ann M.

December 11, 2003
Darlene, If I am reading between the lines right you don't seem to be totally comfortable with any of the 3 docs. In my opinion you cannot let costs totally drive your decision as you may regret going for the economy surgery in the long run. Not a guarantee but don't make cost your main criteria. <p>The 3rd doctor will actually end up costing you less for facility charges than doing it in a hospital, so it may be a wash or close. They normally can give you a guaranteed max price because they know what their costs are and if it takes longer then he eats it. Him wanting to do 3 procedures may actually be the right thing. Think about it hard and keep going over what his reasons were. Doing too much at once will make it very difficult for your body to recover from all the trauma. <p>I know how you feel as I started down the PS route wanting all of the abdominal area, back and lateral thighs done in one procedure. But the reality is none of the 3 surgeons I saw would do it because of my strange anatomy and because of concern of compromising blood supply to the remaining skin. My waist never stretched out so they cannot just do the lower cut and remove the pannus. I'm classified as having both a smaller pannus above the waist and a large one below the waist. The last thing I would want is to go through all this surgery and end up with dead skin because of lack of blood supply so I have bought into their recommendations. It ultimately means I may have 3 surgeries if I end doing inner thighs and a 4th if I do something with arms and/or breasts. I might be able to include the arms and breasts into the 2nd surgery but not sure. <p>I do have approval from insurance to have the full extended abdominoplasty done in two separate surgeries. That approval was obtained with some help from the 2nd surgeon I saw but mostly from me doing tons of leg work and getting supporting letters from other surgeons involved in my care related to back issues. I went for a 3rd consult after I had the approval as I just wasn't totally comfortable with the 2nd surgeon. I am so glad I kept looking as I feel so much more comfortable with the 3rd guy. He spent an hour with me and talked out loud as he was thinking through how he would go about doing the abdominoplasty and lateral thigh lift (basically a LBL) at the same time. He has done both at once on smaller patients but not someone with the amount of extensive work I need. But the more he thought about it and worked it though in his mind the more he felt there wasn't any reason he couldn't do it. He said that usually he ends up touching up the abdominoplasty anyway when doing the lateral thigh lift, so he really didn't see a problem. The only undesirable part is it will be a 9 hour surgery. YIKES! I will have a 360 degree cut and lipo of the lateral thighs, everything pulled up and contoured and then a huge wedge of skin removed from the front starting below the bra line and then the big ole roll. The muscles etc. will be tightened also. It will be very interesting to see how he manages to bring all those pieces together and make it look good. But I have faith in him as he is a perfectionist and I saw lots of pictures of his work and know someone who he has done tons on. he does most of the WLS patients out of the program in that area. The 2nd surgeon I saw is the one my WL surgeon recommends, but he just wasn't the right one for me. I left that first appointment with the 3rd surgeon feeling so much better about going down the PS road. I have doubts my insurance will cover the lateral thighs so I will have to cover that if necessary, which could be as high as $5000. The full extended abdominoplasty will be around $10,000. The upper abdominoplasty or 2nd procedure will run about $5000 but insurance will cover that. The arms I think would be about another $3000 if done at the same time. Not sure about minor breast implants or a breast lift. Ideally that would be done at the same time also, since he is working in the same area and could make it all fit together well. I'm still holding out for acceptable results for my inner thighs without surgery. I think I will be fine with the amount of excess fat on them but the problem is the skin is so loose. But even in the past 2 months I've seen some improvement with it, so it would be the last piece I do, if at all. <p>Sorry to go on for so long but I guess what I'm trying to get across is to listen carefully to what they said were their reasons for doing things like they want to. Be very concerned of having too much done and losing blood supply to the remaining tissue. That is really one of the biggest concerns of PS. My PS also requires we give a pint or two of blood and he transfuses it back in at the end whether we need it or not. He has just found that it helps recovery and healing so much having that excess blood and not having our bodies try and make up what we lost. <p>Don't sweat the scale either. You are going to lose more weight from surgery and likely even a few lbs after as your body adjusts. I'll be going into PS not even at goal weight most likley as I doubt I will get off 38 more lbs by Feb 23rd, but by the time I come out of surgery I will very likely be at or below goal weight. I will barely be over 1 yr post op when I have the first PS and I know I will continue to lose a little more, so it will all settle out. <Good Luck and I hope you come to a conclusion you are comfortable with. Chris
   — zoedogcbr

December 11, 2003
Hi, I am apatient of Drs. Roslin and Kurian, too, also living in Queens. I have heard only good things about Dr. Gerut's work. His reputation is positive. I will start the process for PS after the new year, hoping to have it done in August. I am just really paranoid about anesthesia and would prefer to be operated on in a hospital, but other than that I would tend to trust Dr. Gerut. If I didn't have a PS in my family who is going to do the work on me, he's the one I would like to consult with. Good luck!!!
   — Fixnmyself

December 18, 2003
Most importantly, with plastic surgeons, make sure they are "Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery." Other affiliations would include: American Society For Aesthetic Plastic Surgery; American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Be sure to do research on your surgeon, asking to speak with clients for reference or seeing their pictures for patients before/after. I would ask your weight loss surgery surgeon for a referral. If it were me, I would want to go to someone very familiar with your procedures. I'm a bit weary of the comments about the 3 you mentioned. - Best of luck!
   — T. L. M.