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I knew
when I had weight loss surgery that if I manged to lose a good amount of weight
that I would need to have plastic surgery to deal with my loose skin. As
someone with an apple shaped body who has been obese since I was a small child,
there was no possibility the skin would go back into place. I have had the
'apron' stomach since I was in my teens and the only way to fix that is with
surgery. No amount of exercise or moisturising would ever help!
I have now lost 50 kilos (110 lbs)
and kept it off for over a year but the loose skin and apron stomach have a big
impact on my confidence. I am so happy to have lost the weight and would
take the loose skin over obesity any day of the week, but it does
make life very difficult. It is very painful on my lower back to carry such an
excess amount of skin on my stomach. Not to mention that shopping and exercise are not pleasant and being mistaken for being pregnant constantly isn't
much fun either.
I have whinged and moaned about
wanting abdominoplasty for the last couple of years, but have
dismissed the idea because of the cost. I have found it hard to find much
information on the surgery here in Australia, but I have heard people say
it has cost anywhere from $5000 - $25,000. I can't seem to get any
clear information and it seems depend on the state you live in and who you
select as your surgeon. I have decided it is finally time to investigate this
for myself and find out if it is in any way affordable and if I am even a good
candidate for surgery.
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Ideally I would love to have
abdominioplasty, a breast lift, inner thigh lift and an arm lift, but I would
be happy to just get abdomnioplasty if that is all I can afford-- which is the
most likely outcome! Maybe one day when my finances are a little healthier I
can go back and get my arms, thighs and boobs done.
So I am seeing a surgeon for a
consult next week and then another two at the end of the month. This is going
to cost me approximately $180 per consult (getting $75 back from medicare), so
I am already stressed about the cost! I have put together a list of
questions to ask, what do you think? Am I missing anything? Does anyone have
any experience or advice to share? Feel free to email me if you don't feel comfortable
leaving a comment. I will be sure to report back with all the information I get for those who are interested.
Please wish me luck, I am terrified the surgeon is going to tell me I am delusional and too fat for surgery and I will be completely embarrassed. I know I should be more worried about the cost involved or the actual surgery, but of course I am just worried about the humiliation factor!
Some of these questions taken from here.
- Are you a member of the Australian Society of
Plastic Surgeons?
- Were you specifically trained in the field of
plastic surgery?
- How many years of plastic surgery training
have you had?
- Do you have hospital privileges to perform
this procedure?
- If so, at which hospitals?
- Am I a good candidate for this procedure? Is
there any reason why I wouldn’t be a good candidate?
- What will be expected of me to get the best
results?
- Is there anything I can do now to help me
prepare for surgery?
- Where and how will you perform my procedure?
- How many abdominoplasty surgeries have you
performed in your career? How many did you perform last year?
- What surgical technique is recommended for me?
- Would you recommend liposuction to enhance my results?
- Do you expect me to get good results at this weight or should I lose additional weight before surgery?
- How long of a recovery period can I expect,
and what kind of help will I need during my recovery?
- When can I expect to look and move normally
again? (ie. when will swelling go down)
- What are the risks and complications
associated with my procedure?
- How are complications handled?
- How long will the surgery last and how long
will I be under anaesthesia?
- What are my options if I am dissatisfied with
the cosmetic outcome of my tummy tuck? Who will cover any revision cost?
- How many revisions have you had to perform?
- Do you have before-and-after photos I can look
at for this procedure and what results are reasonable for me?
- What medications are prescribed for pain
relief after surgery?
- If I need anything outside of normal office
hours post-op, will I be able to get in touch with you or your staff?
- How long would I expect to stay in hospital?
- How long would I expect to take off work?
- Will I get a medical certificate for sick
leave or will I need to use my annual leave?
- How long until I can take an international
flight after surgery?
- How much will surgery cost in total? What about extras?
o
Hospital
o
Anaesthetist
o
Post-op garments
o
Post-op check ups
o
Additional medication
- What, if any, of this surgery is covered by
medicare?
- Does this surgery have an item number for my health
insurance?
- How long would I typically wait once I decide to book surgery
- Would it be best to have arm/stomach/breast
surgery done at the same time or in separate surgeries?
- What cup size would I expect to be if I had a
breast lift?
- How many kilos of skin would you expect to
remove from me during surgery?
- Will my lap band need to be moved during
surgery?
I think you have pretty much covered everything with those questions - they are really good and a lot more than I would have asked if I had to see a surgeon ! Good for you - find out all the info you can before you make the decision. It will be so much easier to make it with all the info at hand.
ReplyDeleteGood luck !
Me
Jen from priorfatgirl has just gone through this, you should read her posts (if you haven't already!) http://www.priorfatgirl.com/category/popular-subjects/skin-removal-surgery
ReplyDeleteThose are very good questions....I had a mini tuck a few years back and don't regret it. Cost me $5k.
ReplyDeleteI will be waiting to hear what they have to say. I too have found it a little difficult to find any helpful info here in Australia. Good luck :o)
ReplyDeleteI think you have most questions covered, make sure you ask them all.
ReplyDeleteThe only one you don't have that I asked my surgeon is:
Have you ever been sued for malpractise by anyone? If so, why?
My surgeon HAD BEEN! and told me the details, after that explanation I was only too happy to still go with him.
My surgery was a full circumferential abdominoplasty... where the surgeon cut me all the way around, pulled down all the excess skin front and back and stitched me up again.
I chose where I wanted the scar too... which was great! I kept it within my knicker line, not high up like so many are. NO one can see it at all!
I can tell you more if you wish, but maybe in a seperate email. Let me know.
My surgery cost ALL UP $18,500 N.Z. dollars.
It was 6 years ago though, so costs may have gone up, or be different in Aussy.
My surgeon told me that if you lose over 5kg and kepp it off for 12 months you qualify for plastic surgery under medicare!!! Part of their plan to reward Aussies that are trying to beat obesity. Maybe suss medicare out!?!
ReplyDeleteTag, you're it :o)
ReplyDeleteGreat list of questions! Go for it & Good luck!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCan you make sure you post a follow up blog to this? I have a horrific saggy tummy (due to pregnancy) and have had numerous trainers tell me the only way to get rid of it is cutting it off as mine is purely loose skin, so I'm really interested to see in how you get on.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I used to read you ages agowhen I was losing weight. Well done for losing so much!
ReplyDeleteThe tummy tuck surgery is the excellent one for removing the unwanted fat from the body and can promote us skinny tight body by removing the excess of fat. Those who are looking forward for eliminating the body fat than Tummy tuck plastic surgery is the best.
ReplyDeleteplastic surgery news