Edited to say: 1 month photos on page 5 of replies

Well, i went to Mexico to Dr Sauceda and had fairly extensive work done. I started with 7 drains and am now down to 1. I still have stitches in. So far, my results look great and I am very pleased, but it takes 2 months to see your final due to swelling etc. I still have a bit of a poochy tummy but I think it will be flat once the swelling goes down.

I was very pleased with the surgeon and his care team. I loved the 3 nights and 4 days of clinic supervised recovery - excellent pain management and nursing care. Then, I was released to a hotel were I was bandaged and checked daily by a nurse and the doctor visited each day as well. For me, this was the only way to do it as the level of care I needed post op was fairly high in the early days.

His way of doing anesthesia and working with a partner means he could do alot in one surgery safely... however, no joke - this was alot of surgery at once. I had the lower body lift, breast lift and augmentation, arms and "small" thigh lift. That means no incision down the inner thigh, just along the groin. My recovery has so far been textbook. I saw my PCP and she was overwhelmed with happiness at how good things look, the incisions look good, all signs so far are of excellent healing.
I am far from out of the woods though; complications can still happen so I am diligent about taking it easy (this is killing me as I am normally so active), getting in even extra Protein and wearing the compression garments from hades.

The surgery was NOT painful and the incisions have never really been worse then kind of sore. The very worst part is dealing with the tight garments, the forced inactivity and of course the drains. There are certainly discomforts.... of the 6 drains pulled so far, two of them hurt.

Taken today, two weeks out, I am sorta hiding the two drains still in the mons area:


These photos were recent, pre surgery. As you can see, I had worked out and had some "toning" under all that skin.


I will get better pics when that last drain comes out... it is quite literally a drag on my style!

To round this out, i decided to add a pre VSG photo so you get the gist of how much I have transformed!

Edited November 21, 201312 yr by CowgirlJane

You look Wonderful! Can you send me your surgeon information. Thanks!

Random question.

Jane, can I ask how many pounds they removed? I am trying to get a sense of what weight I am carrying in skin and your before photos look very similar to my own...

Only 5.5 pounds of skin which amazes me considering i am 180 some pounds lighter than my "lifetime" high weight.

Dr Sauceda info is on page 5 of this thread I think. IF not, you can google him and look for his patient page on obesity help (link is on page 5 of this thread).

At 3 months out I am finally feeling pretty normal again and it is hard for me to even imagine going back to life with embarrasing arms and a tummy that sat on my lap and inner thighs that were just horrible looking to me I am not perfect, but I have a body that I feel very comfortable and happy with and honestly.. even proud of.

The only real problem area remaining is the extra skin on my torso under my arms - the infamous side boobs. They aren't THAT bad and is easily disguised by clothing. That can be fixed with an upper body lift, but for me, that is just a step too much and my surgeon did NOT recommend it for me. Dr Sauceda would say our goal is significant improvement but when you seek perfection you will never be happy...

Only 5.5 pounds of skin which amazes me considering i am 180 some pounds lighter than my "lifetime" high weight. Dr Sauceda info is on page 5 of this thread I think. IF not, you can google him and look for his patient page on obesity help (link is on page 5 of this thread). At 3 months out I am finally feeling pretty normal again and it is hard for me to even imagine going back to life with embarrasing arms and a tummy that sat on my lap and inner thighs that were just horrible looking to me I am not perfect, but I have a body that I feel very comfortable and happy with and honestly.. even proud of. The only real problem area remaining is the extra skin on my torso under my arms - the infamous side boobs. They aren't THAT bad and is easily disguised by clothing. That can be fixed with an upper body lift, but for me, that is just a step too much and my surgeon did NOT recommend it for me. Dr Sauceda would say our goal is significant improvement but when you seek perfection you will never be happy...

I have the exact same problem area remaining as well! The darn side boob. And totally agree - it is going too far to have surgery for that. It bothers me a little, but looking for perfection is not going to happen. I had the thigh lift, tummy tuck, breast lift (no implants), and some work to tighten up my face - three separate surgeries though. With the breast lift they chased the scar farther back than normal, basically in a straight line from the bottom of the breast somewhat where the bottom of your bra sits, stopping about 4-6 inches below my armpit. It helped with the extra side boob skin but by no means solved the problem. The doc said she would have to do a zig zag incision up my armpit for that and that it would be quite difficult to heal properly and that the scar would be more disfiguring than the excess skin. Yep. I'm good. Leave me with the skin!

I'm glad to hear that your healing process has gone well and that ultimately you found a surgeon with whom you were so happy. That's awesome.

What was your grand total of cost?hotel, flight, surgery, extras?

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Fantastic

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