Hello all! Plastics. Lots of wls patients think about it and wonder if they can do it. Financially especially.
I was blessed to be able to have this done on Dec 2, 2013. I am going to be blunt. It hurt like HELL! I vastly underestimated this surgery. Some serious stuff with this I tell you. And, I'd do it again. I am thrilled with the results, even with the swelling.
Insurance covered the Panni part. It was fairly easy. I got a letter from my pcp and my chiropractor stating that it was medically necessary. My pcp addressed the skin issues and my chiropractor addressed the back issues. The surgeon removed 6 lbs of skin. Now, I have dealt with chronic low back pain most of my life. At times it would be debilitating. I was going to the chiropractor 1-2 times PER WEEK just to try and maintain my spine. Since surgery...I haven't had any pain at all! None! I am absolutely amazed. It is amazing how much pain there can be with just a small amount of extra weight hanging off the front.
I paid for the abdominoplasty and TT. There was a 3 inch gap between my abdominal muscles that was filled in with swiss cheese scar tissue. The surgeon said that I would certainly have developed a hernia sooner rather than later. I am happy to have that fixed! Stitching those muscles is painful. I am one month post-op and it still hurts to cough/sneeze. He said it could be months. Total out of pocket for me was $3250. Not bad at all! And so worth it.
Everyone should know and expect that recovery will take a long time. As in months! No lifting more than 10 lbs for two months. No exercise. You need to rest the abdomen so that the skin layer can adhere to the muscle layer again. The more you move, the more you aggravate it and cause swelling and fluid. I still wear my abdominal binder and will continue to.
*Edited to add my 9 week post op pic!
Pre-Surgery One Week Post Op
I was blessed to be able to have this done on Dec 2, 2013. I am going to be blunt. It hurt like HELL! I vastly underestimated this surgery. Some serious stuff with this I tell you. And, I'd do it again. I am thrilled with the results, even with the swelling.
Insurance covered the Panni part. It was fairly easy. I got a letter from my pcp and my chiropractor stating that it was medically necessary. My pcp addressed the skin issues and my chiropractor addressed the back issues. The surgeon removed 6 lbs of skin. Now, I have dealt with chronic low back pain most of my life. At times it would be debilitating. I was going to the chiropractor 1-2 times PER WEEK just to try and maintain my spine. Since surgery...I haven't had any pain at all! None! I am absolutely amazed. It is amazing how much pain there can be with just a small amount of extra weight hanging off the front.
I paid for the abdominoplasty and TT. There was a 3 inch gap between my abdominal muscles that was filled in with swiss cheese scar tissue. The surgeon said that I would certainly have developed a hernia sooner rather than later. I am happy to have that fixed! Stitching those muscles is painful. I am one month post-op and it still hurts to cough/sneeze. He said it could be months. Total out of pocket for me was $3250. Not bad at all! And so worth it.
Everyone should know and expect that recovery will take a long time. As in months! No lifting more than 10 lbs for two months. No exercise. You need to rest the abdomen so that the skin layer can adhere to the muscle layer again. The more you move, the more you aggravate it and cause swelling and fluid. I still wear my abdominal binder and will continue to.
*Edited to add my 9 week post op pic!
Pre-Surgery One Week Post Op
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