Hi everyone,

I thought that I would start this thread mainly because I have found reading other peoples so helpful, it is so much better to read actual experiances than listen to a surgeon give you their veiws!

I actually looked into having a FTT done before I decided to get the band, I have had 6 kids and have a fairly horrific scar from and apppendectomy that got badly infected when I was a child.

Just before I had my initial appointment I decided to get the band fitted too, as much as anything to break the yo-yo pattern of dieting that I had fallen into for years now. One of my biggest worries was that I would have the TT and lipo and then 2 years later I would have put all the weight back on!

I discussed at length with my surgeon whether or not to leave the plastics until I had reached goal, but I am going to the maldives for 3 weeks for my 40th in September with my DH and I wanted to be looking good for that

I am very lucky in so far as in my surgeons words I have 'strong skin' but my tummy is a bit of a mess with the scar and the baby pouch left from the kids.I have NEVER had a flat tummy, even when I got down to 105lbs in my 20's so this will be a whole new experiances for me.

I am a bit gutted that I havent lost more weight, but I am going to get back into the zone now that Christmas is over and I am hoping to lose more in the next 5/6 weeks.

I have got my final consult and pre op on the 16th of Jan, and then the op is booked for the 11th of feb.

I am having major lipo (he thinks about 7/8 litres) and a FTT this time round, and then 6 months after that I want to have the puppies lifted back to their rightful place and refilled ( breast feeding 6 munchkins has not made the puppies happy) I asked him about doing it all at once but he said that 7 hours in theatre would be needed just for the FTT and lipo and he couldn't do a BL/Aug at the same time.So its just the bottom half of me that is going to get revampped this time. Does anyone know what is the minimum time that I can leave between the 2 ops?

I searched all over the net to find my surgeon, and I am having to go to France to see him, but I was so taken with his methods and te fact that he pioneered some of them ( he uses High Tension Stitching in a kind of quilting pattern under the skin so that you dont need drains, and he never cuts through the lymph system) and the fact that he trains others in this method that I figured I would rather travel.

The other thing that swung me towards him is that he keeps you in his private hospital for a week afterwards,with full access to morphine if you need it!! ;:speechles)

So thats me I will try to get my before pictures out of him when I go over this time so that you can see what he is up against!

Here is his website if anyone is interested, I think he is pretty amazing!

Docteur PASCAL - LYON - FRANCE

Nina x

Losing, who is your PS? I'm pretty sure you mentioned him somewhere, but I don't remember where.

Dr. Harlan Pollock from Dallas. His son, Todd, will be working on me as well. North Dallas Plastic Surgery: Cosmetic Surgery in Dallas and Plano, TX

I know I know!!!! This time next week I will be flying to Lyon!!!

Laurend, I would bite the bullet and go and see a few PS's if I were you!

Nina xx

OMG Nina ... how exciting. when are you leaving to see your sis?

Hiya hunnybun,

I leave next friday afternoon ( which I think is Thurday night for you lot) fly to Manchester (yes the home of Manchester United) go to my sis's old house where she will be in the middle of a move, then help her over Friday/Saturday to move into her new house - so not quite the relaxing weekend I had planned!!!LOL There is a chance that I wont be able to get online there depending on whether or not the phones etc are still on.

Then Sunday afternoon I fly to Lyon, get there for about 16.00, straight to the hospital and have my pre-op bloods etc done with the anaethetist, go out with my sx buddy and her DH for a meal in Lyon and then I think I will get a sleeping tablet!!

Monday morning at 7.30 Dr Pascal is coming to mark me up and then at 8.00 I am in theatre!!

I CANT WAIT!!!!LOL

I hope that you get all the trouble with your boobs sorted out hon, let me know how you are getting on.

HUGS!!

Nina x

I know I know!!!! This time next week I will be flying to Lyon!!!

Laurend, I would bite the bullet and go and see a few PS's if I were you!

Nina xx

I know, I really do need to! My original goal was to have PS sometime in December, but I'm seriously considering doing it this summer (if I'm close enough to goal). I figure, I'm going to be out of a job anyway and have nothing to do, so I might as well be out of a job, have nothing to do, and be healing. The downside is that I'll be out of a job and my insurance will be cut off at the beginning of August unless I can find employment starting around then. And of course, I'd be going into considerable debt to have surgery. All in all, it wouldn't be financially smart to have surgery this summer, but it may be best healing-wise. Does that make sense?

Yup that makes perfect sense hon. Hmmm I dont know what the best answer is, if you are financing could you save enough to know that you have got the first say 4 payments ,and then that would buy you breathing space if you were to have the sx in summer?

I know that you are worried about being out of a job, but equally I know that you are bright enough to get one whenever you wanted one so I wouldnt worry about that.

I would worry more about the healing, to me this surgery is a one time shot, I am doing NOTHING that might risk or compromise the results! You are the same BMI as I am now so I would start doing the rounds!!( ok to be fair I am really impatient and should have waited til I got to goal, but hell, you only live once!!)

Nina xx

Yup that makes perfect sense hon. Hmmm I dont know what the best answer is, if you are financing could you save enough to know that you have got the first say 4 payments ,and then that would buy you breathing space if you were to have the sx in summer?

I know that you are worried about being out of a job, but equally I know that you are bright enough to get one whenever you wanted one so I wouldnt worry about that.

I would worry more about the healing, to me this surgery is a one time shot, I am doing NOTHING that might risk or compromise the results! You are the same BMI as I am now so I would start doing the rounds!!( ok to be fair I am really impatient and should have waited til I got to goal, but hell, you only live once!!)

Nina xx

I've got some stock that I can liquidate and use for the first few payments, if I have to. I'm really starting to think that having surgery this summer may be what I want to do, even though I can imagine the screaming that will come from my parents (it won't be pretty), since whatever job I choose is going to probably be fairly physically active. And of course, I wouldn't be able to take a lot of time off as a new hire, if I wait for December, or at least not as much as I probably should take.

Laura, my advice would be to get it done before summer, so you can enjoy the results during the summer.

Ahh! I keep going back and forth over this! I can't make up my mind. On one hand, I really want to get it done in May. I'd have a longer time to recuperate, yadda, yadda, yadda. On the other, I'm worried not only about employment and finances, but about whether or not I'll actually be at goal. I don't want to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars (I've seen estimates of up to $20,000 for a TT/BL/BA from one of the surgeons I like) and then have the results look shitty because I lost more weight. I wouldn't be too worried about my stomach, but I don't want saggy tits immediately after I got them lifted, you know?

Damn it. I dunno. I've always been indecisive when it comes to big purchases like this. Lol, you should see me when I'm attempting to shop for furniture. I second-guess myself constantly and wind up buying nothing. I'm thinking about going ahead and doing some consultations and getting a surgery date for May. I can always postpone it, I guess.

Laurend: I would go and get some consults. You can't make a decision without more information. The PS will tell you have more weight loss, costs, recuperation, etc. Good luck!

Okay, ladies, I went ahead and scheduled my PS consultations. I've got one scheduled for next Monday, one on February 27th, and one on April 21st. I liked the website of the one that's scheduled for April the best, but I really doubt he'll have May surgery dates open if he's got nearly a 3 month wait for consultations. Here goes nothing!

Oh, and I've set up a photo gallery of my before pics at www.makemeheal.com, if anyone's brave enough to look at them. Just PM me for the address and password.

Hi Nina

Hope everything is going well post TT and lipo and that you're getting buckets-full of morphine. How painful has it been? Are you happy with your shape? How bad is the swelling?

Slightly off topic.....Is Dr P easy on the eye at all? I remember once I had a nose job done in Ireland about a hundred years ago. The result was poor but, boy the surgeon was gorgeous! (I've since had the nose rectified of course!). Your Dr Pascal's website is addictive. I cant stop my myself wandering in and out of the mega lipo silhouettes section thinking it would be such a handy solution and if Nina can do it......why cant I?

Ellen