I'm starting to begin the process of looking into plastic surgery. I started at a high weight of 470 pounds and am down to 248. I really haven't set a goal weight. My surgeon says 210 so I guess that's as good as any. I imagine I got close to 20 pounds in loose skin so with that removed I'm pretty close to goal. I have no idea how to get the process started and when I should? Under my arms is pretty bad. I would also like to do my chest, stomach and thighs/butt. I have a lot of bulges in my thighs from veins. Could those be removed? What is the recovery time and how bad was it? Do they do everything at once? What about insurance coverage? I know it's mostly women in this forum but hopefully some guys can chip in too.

I looked up a circumferential adominalplasty and that seems exactly what I need. The first doctor seems to be writing up the adominalplasty as a panniculectomy to charge insurance. She claims insurance only covers the skin that is hanging over the pubic area. Her quote seems complicated so I'm leaning towards number 3. I have two more appointments yet so I'll see. Number 3 gets great reviews but they seem mostly breast work. It seems hard to find a doctor with extensive experience working on weight loss people.

Go to next appointments then ask for more clarification As you see more docs you get a better sense of what to ask in consults

I think I have down what I need to ask. The first one's billing is confusing me. I'll get the other quotes and contact number one and get the full price without insurance so I know what the worst it would be.

When these doctors start showing me pictures, I have no idea what to look for. As long as there is no hideous disfigurement, they all look fine to me. Doctor #3 has a lot of his pics online. Everything seems good? https://www.realself.com/find/Michigan/Detroit/Plastic-Surgeon/Andrew-Lofman#reviews

Went to my last appointment. He was $19,000. I emailed him my two quotes of $11,000 so we'll see if he matches. I liked him but I don't know if I liked him any more than the others. I'm probably leaning towards the first one.

How long after surgery was it before you would be able to walk up stairs?

1 hour ago, sgc said:

How long after surgery was it before you would be able to walk up stairs?

I am unable to answer that question as my house has no stairs - LOL

I think in the end - Even if you had 100 quotes - You just hafta trust your gut. Unless you can find people who have had surgery by this surgeon then that is all you have really I am afraid - I was very lucky that the guy I chose was fantastic.

Good luck making your decision...

Edited August 14, 20178 yr by Scamp

1 day after surgery I made it 4 floors up to my bedroom Then Did not see the lower floors for 7 days.

How long after surgery was it before you would be able to walk up stairs?

My parents have a split level, so I did a half flight of stairs the day after surgery. At 10 days out, I was back home & up & down 2 flights pretty regularly.

Scheduled surgery with the first doctor for September 8th.

Now I'm getting concerned as this doctor doesn't seem to be making me get some sort of physical before surgery. Is this normal?

I had no physical before surgery. On the day they did a few tests - That is all I think.

What sort of physical do you mean?

If you have questions - Can you contact the office and ask them?

I had no physical before surgery. On the day they did a few tests - That is all I think.
What sort of physical do you mean?
If you have questions - Can you contact the office and ask them?

Before my sleeve surgery, I had to see my doctor who did an ekg, blood test, blood pressure etc. At that time I was high risk so I guess they will do it before. The hospital is supposed to call me regarding my medical history.

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Before my skin removal surgeries, the only thing I needed was a couple of blood tests & an EKG. Pretty simple!

10 hours ago, sjfink said:

Before my skin removal surgeries, the only thing I needed was a couple of blood tests & an EKG. Pretty simple!

That's the thing. This doctor doesn't seem to be suggesting I get that done and that kind of concerns me. Maybe they're waiting for my check to clear first. I may just do it on my own and schedule an appointment with my primary care doctor.

That's the thing. This doctor doesn't seem to be suggesting I get that done and that kind of concerns me. Maybe they're waiting for my check to clear first. I may just do it on my own and schedule an appointment with my primary care doctor.

I can't remember if you have a date already or if you've already had your pre-op appointment. For any surgery, they typically require an EKG within 90 days & the blood work (CBC & CMP) within 30. Maybe you'll get those orders at your pre-op visit??

24 minutes ago, sjfink said:

I can't remember if you have a date already or if you've already had your pre-op appointment. For any surgery, they typically require an EKG within 90 days & the blood work (CBC & CMP) within 30. Maybe you'll get those orders at your pre-op visit??

My surgery is scheduled for September 8th. It doesn't even sound like there is a pre-op appointment. It sounded like I will get some calls from the hospital. One to go over medical history and another to schedule the time of the surgery.