Had my surgery on Friday! Feeling pretty good but I am still relying on the drugs! I had an Exparel shot that supposedly lasts 3 days so that should be wearing off and then I will just have the hydrocodon they gave me to take by mouth. I have my first follow up appointment on Tuesday so that will be the first time I get a chance to see anything. I was able to see that my backside is much tighter, no sag!

Quick Thoughts:

1- Drains. Kind of a pain but not as bad as I thought they would be. That doesn't mean I don't want them gone now but they are tolerable

2- Pain. I think it is way to early to say considering the meds

3- Mobility- Toughest part is getting in an out of bed

4- Results- Can't say yet

5- Nausea- I am fortunate, I have had non

6- Eating- Not very hungry but I am just doing Protein shakes and yogurt

7- Restroom- Dreading having to sit for the first time, that is going to be painful

8- Would I do it again?? NO QUESTION!!! Absolutely!!!!!!

Glad you are doing so well.

On 10/17 I had a panni/TT. Pain was FAR less than I anticipated. Thought I would have been completely debilitated! Drains were super annoying, but not as gross as I thought. They did hurt a tad bit, and the site where they were is still sore. All in all, I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Don't worry if your weight goes up quite a bit, it's just swelling. My dr. said I won't see the final result for another month or two. Most of my swelling is gone now, and I'm pretty happy with the result!

Congrats on getting it done. You're doing fine.

Really stay on top of your stool softeners. I promise you "pushing" will be the worst pain imaginable. You want everything free flowing for a while.

May I ask how much it cost and did insurance pay any part?

What exactly does a circumferential body lift include?

INSURANCE:

Nope, and I am not sure that any insurance pays for plastic surgery unless it is medically necessary…..in this environment (meaning healthcare) good luck proving plastic surgery is medically necessary.

COST:

All in around 15k….10k went to the Surgeon and 5k went to the hospital

CIRCUMFERENTIAL:

Simply means that they went all the way around….360 degrees

I was able to get my panni/tt 100% covered.

First I printed the criteria fro panniculectomy, from my ins. website.

second, took that to my pain management dr., who wrote a letter echoing EXACTLY what ins. wanted. I have alot of spinal issues.

I also wrote a letter explaining all the health issues that have resolved with weight loss, how important exercise is in keeping the weight off, and how extra skin impedes me.

I was able to get my panni/tt 100% covered.

First I printed the criteria fro panniculectomy, from my ins. website.

second, took that to my pain management dr., who wrote a letter echoing EXACTLY what ins. wanted. I have alot of spinal issues.

I also wrote a letter explaining all the health issues that have resolved with weight loss, how important exercise is in keeping the weight off, and how extra skin impedes me.

Great ideal:)

Thats great for you…...

I had to pay for both my sleeve and my plastic surgery. In the last 12 months I have about 35k wrapped up in this makeover.

The way I feel, I would have paid double!

UPDATE:

The Exparel shot (72 hour slow release) really only lasts 72 hours. It hurts this AM, big time!

The drains are down big from yesterday, that is a welcome sight but I understand that they will fluctuate before they really end.

First follow up is tomorrow, I will try to snap a few pictures to share with you all

Congratz, I am probably going to need something similar in a few months. Is this the same as a belt lipectomy? From me knees to my neck is a lot of loose skin, would this surgery correct most of that?

BigHappy,

Yes, same thing. It will address your upper thighs very slightly…..the thigh lift as it was described to me is a very intense operation with many more risks than the body lift. The chest would also be another procedure. You should meet with a few surgeons and get opinions and decide who you are most comfortable with. That is what i did, I met with 3 different surgeons and spoke to a few of the patients of the guy I finally picked.

From the looks of it I'm going to be needing a Circumferential Body Lift from the toes up. You guys are fortunate to get what you need so just know any pain and burden is probably worth it

I had one surgeon suggest the belt lipectomy with the fleur de lis incision going from my navel to my sternum. The surgeon I ultimately chose recommended I just get the standard TT, telling me that in my case the extra benefit would not be worth the extra cost and recovery time. Now that I'm all healed up I believe he was right. I do have some minor areas in the back that would have been improved by the belt lipectomy but they don't bother me at all.

Scout, how are you liking that compression garment? Pure torture aren't they? It will be your new best friend for a while. I believe it's the compression garments that make the drains seem not so bad.

Butter,

I have been wearing the man version of Spanx for the last 6 months so the binder really hasn't bothered me yet. Of my 4 drains I have one already that is producing well less than 30 cc per day so I am looking forward to dropping one pretty quickly. The others really vary….one 4 hour period will be only 20 cc then the next it will be 60 cc so I expect to keep them a while!!

Sorry to all if I repeat myself but I am doing most of this typing while on pain meds!

I am enjoying my time off the treadmill because I was going at it so hard prior to surgery. I know that will only last for a while and I will really start to get bored not doing anything. I am really tracking my food intake to control my weight while I am off my feet. The surgeon told my wife that he took 5 pounds of skin off of me!!

I will keep you all in the loop as my experience progresses

Thanks Scout, yeah I'll be looking to get the most bang for the surgery when the time comes. Rather get as much done at once as possible. I'm hoping with a 20k budget I can get it my thighs, belly, back and moobs all fixed. Arms would be nice but hoping to fill it out with muscle once I get rid of all the fat. How long are you unable to hit the gym for after one of these? Good luck with the recovery.

Congrats!

It seems that this procedure has many names - I had the lower body lift which is the same procedure.

Big Happy - I had a bunch done at once there is a post in this forum with the details. Recovery was not easy BUT now I am 2 months out I am very happy with results. The only thing that is still a real problem is i have side boobs (ie my chest wall under my arms has loose skin). It is one of those things that is fine nekkid, but when I wear a bra I get a little spillage. I guess for a guy less of an issue. anyway, I didn't want the scar going around my back and since it isn't "that bad" I will just live with it.