Too much at once?

[Jason In Houston 93]

Here's the details:

• With the help of a gastric sleeve, over 2 1/2 years, I've lost 369 pounds (high weight of 615 to 246 currently)
• I've been within 10 pounds of this weight for 6 months
• I have a minor but persistent rash under the skin folds of my stomach, along with severe pain when the loose skin gets flapping around during exercise.
• With the help of my bariatric surgeon's office, I've been approved by insurance for:
  • Stomach folds (Pannilectomy) - I will be doing a full Tummy Tuck (abominoplasty)
  • Bat wings (Brachioplasty)
  • Man boob removal
  • Thigh lift

I found a plastic surgeon I like, has good results, and is comfortable with the large amount of work I need done.

Here's my concern: He wants to do the bat wings, man boobs, and tummy tuck in a single surgery. I'm sure he can pull it off, but I'm not sure how well I'll be able to function during recovery.

For those who've had a lot of work done, how much of it was combined? What did recovery look like for you?

Edited March 5, 2017 by Jason In Houston

[Vinasu 621]

I don't have a answer for you, but I just wanted to congratulate you on your amazing loss! Well done!

[bevrn2003 4]

He might be doing it that way to save you money as well. Since part of it is covered by your insurance.

[Scamp 207]

My surgeon would only do two things in any one Op. That does sound like alot to me - The body is fantastic at healing but - I would worry about all the in one go - The inner thigh lift is the hardest for me of all that I had done.

Obviously every person is different and reacts and has a different recovery - But - Do you think you can cope with all those parts of you being out of action at the same time?

My breast reduction was easy for me (So I assume your man boob removal may be similar) It was swollen and ouchy but - Generally OK

My Brachioplasty was easy for me (done at same time as breast reduction) But I have seen people who had a hard time with it.

My TT was inverted T - But I did not have the muscles done due to previous Op. That was not too bad but I assume if the muscles are touched - I would have found it much worse. I was leaned over forward for a few days as it was tight there.

For me- My inner thigh lift was the worst of all of the above. That first getting up and trying to move (Until I was in the compression and then I was ten times better) It was hard. I would not have been happy to have the other three at the same time to be honest.

It is alot for your body to cope with - In my opinion. But I guess it would all be over at once - But - What comes to mind for me is - If you got an infection in any one place - Inner thigh lift being a very likely place for infection - I was lucky I had no problems - But if you had an infection there - Could you cope with it if your arms and everything else listed was out of action at the same time?

Good luck whatever your choice is - I hope you do well and - Take lots of pics - Even if you show nobody but yourself. - It is so amazing looking back at the old you and the new you - It is like a dream - Getting to know the new you and then looking back at where you were - It is an amazing journey.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Scamp

[_Kate_ 2,224]

I had five things done at once which was doable as long as I really understood that recovery would take longer. I had them all done at the same time so I wouldn't have to keep taking time off work, it also saved me over £7,000.

I had the surgery on 9th January and go back to work in 2 weeks. I had an infection which is healing well now or I would have been back to work after 6 weeks. it's no stroll in the park but SO worth it.

Kate

[ssflbelle 829]

Congratulations on your 369 pound weight loss in the last 2 1/2 years. Believe me I know how hard you worked to get to where you are today.

As far as the Excess skin removal surgeries. I have heard of others getting several things done at once. I think it really depends on your age and how healthy your body is to receive several surgeries at one time. My Dr is only willing to do one at a time. Perhaps because of my age (61), I really am not sure. I will see the Assistant on Tuesday and plan to ask if more than 1 could be done in the future. I would hate to have to take off 4 to 6 weeks for each of the 4 surgeries.

When is your surgery scheduled for? Mine is suppose to be March 21st. However the EKG showed something and I need to see a cardiologist before I will get medical clearance. I sure hope it happens quickly.

[Stella S 612]

I had a LBL - outer thigh - bum reconstruction and breast lift / reconstruction done at once. My PS would not do inner thigh with that LBL because simply put they pull in different directions. I bundled as much as I could because of time away from work and I knew my recovery would take a long time. I was out of work for just over three weeks. I healed well I agree it is a scary lot.

[RickM 1,747]

There are a number of considerations in choosing what procedures go together including individual preference on recover times and number of procedures, surgeons preferences and time on table, compatibility of different operations (as Stella indicated) and relative ease of recovery for different combinations. The play that your surgeon lays out makes sense from the perspective of isolating upper and lower body (much easier to get out of a chair or bed when your upper body is healing if your legs are unimpaired, and vice versa.) You probably wouldn't want to go through the thigh lift if you couldn't pull yourself up with your arms and pecs.

I had an abdominoplasty and moob reduction together, though didn't need the brachioplasty, and it worked OK (none of this is easy!) The most memorable part of the process wasn't the recovery pain (that's expected,) but the scrotal inflation - I had a grapefruit down there for a month or so (doesn't always happen, but we have a convenient built in drainage path from the abdomin down left over from our infancy that can still work despite all the drains they install - it's a guy thing.) Have some loose shorts and sweats handy for post op, and maybe some good support may work better in some circumstances.

[lunnah 101]

How long one need to wait after VGS to have reparative surgery (plastic surgery)


Sent from my iPhone
Hw 260
Sw 255
Cw 186
GW 160
Sleeved August 17, 2016

[RickM 1,747]

For best resuts, most surgeons want to wait for about a year after ones weight is stable before undergoing reconstruction, as thing can shift around some after the weight loss stops. There can be exceptions for different circumstances - for instance for those who have a severe problem with the overhanging flap one might do a quick pannilectomy to get rid of that flap, even if weight loss is not complete, and touch things up later when doing a total abdominoplasty or lower body lift.

[Jason In Houston 93]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I had my bat wings, moobs, and Tummy Tuck all in one go. I'm now 19 days post-op.

I had 6 JP drains. The 2 in my arms and the 2 in my chest came out after a week. The 5th one in my groin got clogged somewhere around 2 weeks, so it was removed. The last one is still draining about 85cc / day of a slightly yellow, mostly clear liquid, so I really doubt it'll come out at today's visit.

The day after surgery, they tried to stand me up. I passed out, probably because of low blood volume. Because of that, I spent a total of 3 days in the hospital, but by the end I was doing laps around the nurses' station.

I had a button for pain meds & an IV antibiotic while I was in the hospital, plus Norco (hydrocodone + tylenol 5-325). A Norco every 4 hours actually worked better for me than the button, and that's exactly what my doctor prescribed for me to use at home. I also tried 500mg tylenol to see if I could get off the harder stuff sooner, but nope. I went from Norco every 4-6 hours down to just a Norco at night, down to nothing. I've been off all pain meds since day 15.

The scale numbers are just plain depressing with all the fluids (and probably weight gain from being out of the gym),. My shirt size is now a men's medium! I was somewhere between a large / XL.

I started working from home at day 14. I'll start going back in to the office on a regular basis once this last drain is out.

Here's some tips I learned:

• You need lanyards for the JP drains. The nurses will pin them to your hospital gown, but once you start showering, that does you no good. Amazon sells a box of 25 for under $10.
• Use Glad Cling-wrap once you've only have a drain or two to keep dry but have otherwise healed up enough to shower.
• Don't be afraid to cut a hole in the butt of your compression garment for #2. My particular compression garment looks like a men's one-piece swimsuit from the 1920s. It has clasps and a zipper down the front. It also has a hole in the front for #1, but no flap in the back for #2. Especially with drains in your arms, it'll be hard to get in and out of the garment to use the toilet.
• The compression garment I got tended to roll up my thigh and cut off the flow, so my thighs collected a lot of Fluid. A bed wedge or pillow + workout tights under the garment worked wonders for this.
• I wish I had a tip for getting rid of the glue from all the bandages. Nothing worked. I tried Water, soap, ice, oil, and rubbing alcohol. I had to scrape it off with my fingernail.

Edited May 17, 2017 by Jason In Houston

[Stella S 612]

On glue use oil - olive coconut - veggie it does not matter. Dab on glue and a couple minutes later the glue will roll into ball with minor manipulation. Glad all is good 😆

[Sosewsue61 3,185]

Try nail polish remover....