Finally! Plastics time! Tell me everything!

[Elode 8,093]

@@JamieLogical Ok thank you!

[2goldengirl 2,076]

Lots of food for thought here! For those of you who went to Mexico for your plastics, how do you handle the postop follow ups? Thanks much!

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Lots of food for thought here! For those of you who went to Mexico for your plastics, how do you handle the postop follow ups? Thanks much!

My PCP handled everything for me once I was back in the US. There really wasn't much to do at that point since my drains and few stitches (had actual stitches in my belly button and at all of the places the Lipo wand had been inserted) had already been removed. My PCP just checked my incisions, made sure everything looked to be healing well and monitored the lipoma in my lower back (though there was nothing really to be done for that treatment-wise). Oh, she also did my FMLA paper-work since I was only able to go back to work half time for those first few months.

[AvaFern 3,516]

@@Elode

I had the abdominoplasty and boobs done at the same time and the cost your surgeon gave you for both is roughly what mine cost. I also had sillicone implants but I had a few places of Lipo done at the same times as the boobs and stomach, so my first procedure was $19.9K. You will LOVE the results. My second procedure was a brachioplasty and groin incision thigh lift, which was great, and my last procedure was the back part of the 360degree lift with an autoaugment of the butt and a redo on the thighs (my one thigh had a wrinkle, lol so my doc redid them both for free).

In terms of pain, I had almost no pain after the boobs and Tummy Tuck. I had a friend stay with me the first 2 days, but I was fine on my own. I had my next two procedures and I just had a friend drop me off at home and I was fine by myself afterward. Each surgery I used the Percocet for 3 days and then didn't need anything else. Basically the first day you feel great because you are still blitzed from the drugs in surgery and you get to take drugs at home. The second and third day you feel like you got hit by a truck, just exhausted and sort of sore, but not any major pain, although you're still taking drugs every few hours. By the 4th day I was off drugs and as long as you move slowly, it's more the feeling you get when you do too many crunches or when you bruise something and your skin feels tight. Just make sure you don't have to reach over your head to get anything (like to get a plate out of a cabinet), keep hunched over for about a week, sleep in lawnchair position, and recovery is not bad at all. I was walking 5-10 miles a day after the first week, which FYI, don't do that, I gave myself a seroma which lengthened recovery, but in terms of pain, I felt completely fine. Also, I wore compression for about 4 weeks non-stop, and then an extra two weeks because I screwed myself with the seroma. It makes you feel better to have it on.

You will love your results. I am now 10 months out from my last surgery and about 18 months out from my first one and I still love my results. My flat stomach and fabulous boobs make me feel so much more confident than I ever imagined that they would. It is SO awesome to be able to wear dresses and never have to worry that your stomach isn't flat enough, and even better, you can wear all of the cute shirts because you no longer need a bra. I ended up being a 34DDD and while I do tend to wear a bra in most shirts just because I feel more comfortable, a good portion of my tighter dresses and strapless tops require no bra at all, which is probably one of my favorite parts of the procedure.

Good luck!

[Elode 8,093]

@@AvaFern Wow thank you for all that! I need to take a break. I'm getting overwhelmed trying to decide who to go to, wether or not I want to stay here, go to Tulsa where I can just drive or KC. My naked boobs are all over the place at this point. Luckily no face attached. I like a surgeon in Tulsa and just sent him pictures earlier but the lady on the phone said the lift and then implants may have to be done separately. I do NOT want that. I want both surgeries done at once. TT is still up in there air. I'm not so sure about Mexico now because I researched the implants they use and they aren't approved by the FDA to be used here In the US. Tack on a extra 1000 for my husbands and I's plane tickets and I may as well find someone close enough to drive to. If I went to Mexico I'd want to have the TT too but I can't stay there for two weeks by myself. My husband only gets a week off in May and I'm not going alone for something like that. I've never been to Mexico. Soooooo I'm driving myself crazy with trying to figure it all out. It's giving me a headache! I want breast lift with implants all in one session for a decent price with FDA approved implants, at a reasonable cost....why is this so hard to accomplish?!

[Elode 8,093]

@@JamieLogical Did they use the NAGOR brand of implants on you?

[AvaFern 3,516]

@@Elode

If you just want the lift and implants, usually that should be around 8K. That is what that part of my procedure cost, and had I not needed a lift, just implants would have been 5K. Have you looked on realself.com at all? I am also a big researcher and I can completely appreciate how overwhelming it all seems. I chose not to go to Mexico just because I was afraid of complications and I wanted my doctor to be close to where I live to fix anything that went wrong. Part of the cost of surgery here is that you get all of the follow-up care for free. Like I said, I didn't like my one leg, so he did them both again for free as part of my arm surgery. I got a whopping seroma in my stomach that took an extra month to heal, and I got to visit him once or twice a week during that time to have it drained, and at one point he had to cut my stomach back open to put in a drain, all of which was covered in the cost I paid. During my last procedure I ended up with a UTI, probably from the catheter, but I get them occasionally, so who knows, but he called in a prescription for that so I didn't have to go to the doctor. I had an allergic reaction to the Percocet, which given this was the third time I had used it, was annoying, but my doctor called in Tramadol for me at 8 at night. Then the midline of my incision separated, which required a whole extra in-office procedure of cutting out the dead part and re-suturing the midline of my back. And then, worst of all, I ended up with a whopping infection in my back incision that became cellulitis and left a fist sized hole in my back...not kidding, i could fit a good part of my hand in the hole once it had been drained. Fortunately, I've worked in healthcare so I knew immediately when there was an issue, immediately when to let my doctor know I needed antibiotics for the infection, and I was comfortable packing the wound for the three months it took to close. Had I used a surgeon in Mexico I would have had to pay out of pocket to go to a doctor here for all of this and while it ended up costing probably three times as much, the comfort of having my doctor a text-message away whenever I needed him and knowing that my follow-up care was 100% covered was worth it to me. Also, while my first two surgeries healed beautifully, the last one left a jagged jacked-up scar across my entire lower back, which no one can see even in a bathing suit, but in my birthday suit, something that bothers me a little. The cost of that scar revision, to get rid of all of the scar tissue that my giant hole left on my back is also covered in the cost I paid, whenever I am ready to go get it fixed. So..that is my reason for staying here...also I got to recover in the comfort of my home without worrying about traveling, let alone dealing with customs or being worried about any surgical issues related to flying.

So...it is overwhelming to decide on a surgeon and a procedure, and I would absolutely insist on doing the lift and the implants at the same time- my surgeon did lift, implants, Tummy Tuck, and Lipo on my thighs and back during my procedure so asking for both implants and a lift is not asking too much. Go with the doctor that makes you feel comfortable...I am a huge fan of my doctor not just because he was great at being a surgeon, but because he was super nice to me and never made me feel uncomfortable, which is important since your surgeon spends about 20 minutes drawing all over your totally naked body with a marker at the start of surgery, lol.

[Elode 8,093]

@@AvaFern I have been on real self ALL day! Having a surgeon close would be a perk. I've sent my pictures to a few surgeons so I'm going to see what they have to say. We don't have a lot of plastic surgeons in my area so I'm assuming that's why it's so high compared to other places. Just a lift and implants is 10,900 that's a bit much to me. I don't want to go cheapest either because I want a GOOG surgeon. I don't want to do this crap twice. The consultations alone here are $100 a pop so I don't want to spend a fortune trying to see everyone either. I'm not in any huge rush but I would like to have it done and healed before summer. That may not happen.

[Daisee68 2,493]

@@Elode - SO excited for you! Not sure which doctor you consulted in Tulsa but I recall a post a long time ago from @@OKCPirate recommending an excellent doctor in OK (I think with an office in Tulsa). I don't remember the name now though. Maybe he will see this and let you know.

@@JamieLogical - So glad you weighed in. I know you have had great experience in Mexico and was hoping you would give dr name and other info to @@Elode.

@@NewSetOfCurves - I am SUPER excited you used this doctor and the info you provided. Did you do brachioplasty? Your arms and abs look AMAZING! I looked at Dr. Fisher's site last week after you posted about him. I really like the info he provided. You would think living in Dallas I could find a great surgeon here, but I like the idea that Dr. Fisher seems to be such an artist specifically with weight loss patients. You mentioned you went home 2 days later. Did you not have to go in for follow-ups? I guess that was my concern - driving 5 hours for a follow-up visit too early in to the process. I like the Mexico idea, but I just don't think my family would go for it and couldn't take off for 2 weeks for sure. At least if I was in San Antonio, I could fly them back very cheaply if I needed to stay in SA for longer.

Lastly, @@AvaFern, I am so glad you said you were able to care for yourself so much after these surgeries. I live alone and I have amazing family who will help, but I get tired of them being here. I have cared for myself (after 2 or 3 days) after RNY, rotator cuff surgery, hysterectomy and more, so it sounds like I might be able to handle this after a couple of days too. Plus I am starting a new job on March 1 where I will be working from home and it sounds like barring unforeseen circumstances, I can likely work from home (at least part-time) after a week off.

Sorry @@Elode to hijack your post, but I am started to get excited about this and I am not even at goal! I am getting a little ahead of myself but all this great info has really helped! PS - I am going to Cancun on vacation Feb. 22-29. If you can bump up your surgery, I can be there to help take care of you!

[Elode 8,093]

@@Daisee68 We would have so much fun BEFORE surgery! Dang it! They sent me a price for just breast implants and lift 4,500. I'd be more likely to have that done there but not the TT. It's just too invasive and painful for me to have it done and then try to fly back home after a couple days. I'm going to keep researching until I find all my answers!

[Daisee68 2,493]

@@Elode - I still say we need to work on a group discount / girls trip to Mexico! Who's in - @@Babbs? @@Djmohr?

And don't worry @@Elode, I will have a drink for you. (Water likely, but still.... )

[JamieLogical 8,727]

@@JamieLogical Did they use the NAGOR brand of implants on you?

Mine are Allergan, which is a brand commonly used in the US.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

@@Elode - I still say we need to work on a group discount / girls trip to Mexico! Who's in - @@Babbs? @@Djmohr?

And don't worry @@Elode, I will have a drink for you. (Water likely, but still.... )

I'm in! I want my thighs done now. When I regained my weight post-TT, it all went into my thighs and now that I've relost post-sleeve, I have lots of saggy skin in my upper thighs.

[Daisee68 2,493]

@@JamieLogical - Ooh perfect!! You have already been there and been through it so you could be our guide! @@Elode is a nurse, so we would have that going for us. I have no special skills I am afraid. As many times as I have been to Mexico AND live in Texas AND took 4 years of Spanish in high school, I still can't speak Spanish. Well, I can understand some and can speak some words (I find that am much more fluent with alcohol. Wonder what pain meds would do for my Spanish? )

[Elode 8,093]

@@Daisee68 Hey my price includes a interpreter!