Tummy Tuck Consult #1

I had my first consult with a surgeon yesterday to have abdominioplasty. I was really nervous and hopeful at the same time, but unfortunately I didn't come away with the answers I wanted to hear.

Early on in the consultation I had to strip down to my knickers so the surgeon could examine my bits and pieces. This really wasn't that bad, I have had so many surgeries and examinations that I am used to this sort of thing now. Right away the surgeon advised that it was his opinion that I was not a good candidate for abdomnioplasty and I would need a full body lift.

So instead of just having my stomach chopped off, I would need the full body circumferential cut like the picture below. Ouch.

Source

Now what is doubly unfortunate about this is that this particular surgeon I went to see does not do body lifts. I am so disappointed because this surgeon was fantastic and I absolutely loved him and his staff and I would have no hesitation to book in with him if I could. If anyone wants a tummy tuck or boob lift/job in Melbourne I highly recommend that you go speak to him (email me for details). For reference, a tummy tuck with him is $7,000 out of pocket and a boob lift is about $5,000 out of pocket.

Despite the fact he couldn't do my surgery, the surgeon still spent over an hour with me discussing my options and giving his thoughts on my breasts, arms and thighs. He is a 'breast expert' and advised that it would be pointless for me to get a lift because he didn't think it would make a major difference. Likewise, he didn't feel like I would get huge results from getting my inner thighs or arms done. He really thought I would benefit from putting all my money toward my middle region and getting the full body lift.

In terms of assessing my stomach, he thought that I would be a good candidate for the body lift because I had mostly skin and minimal fat around my middle. He actually thought my stomach was pretty flat and I had good stomach muscle tone, which means I shouldn't need to have my muscles re-stitched.

So now I just need to wait until the end of the month for my consultation with the next surgeon who does do body lifts. I am hopeful about this guy because the surgeon from yesterday recommended him and so did my GP and lap band fill doctor. I found an article by a Biggest Loser contestant who had a body lift with him at the beginning of 2010 and she paid $18,000, which sounds about normal for this kind of surgery from what I have read. I don't know what I'll do if the surgery is more than $15,000 because that just isn't a realistic amount of money for me to come up with, but I'll decide what to do once I have all the information.

I guess it is clear that I am disappointed that I need a body lift because obviously the cost will be extremely prohibitive to me and it is also a much more serious operation. I don't care about the scarring or the pain levels, I worry more that I will need to impose on people to help me out at home and also take a chunk of time off work. I'll just have to wait until I speak to the surgeon to find out how serious these issues will be and if I'll be able to work around it.

If anyone has wants any further information or has any advice to offer please leave a comment or send me an email!