Okay, I've found my top 3 plastic surgeons (as of today, at least! ). I've looked around on www.makemeheal.com for people that had lost a lot of weight and had PS with a surgeon in my state, and I was really impressed by all of these surgeons. Could you guys check out their websites for me and tell me what you think? I kind of feel like I might miss something myself, since I'm already thrilled with them. A "so happy, I'm blind to the reality" sort of thing, you know?

Anyway, here are their websites:

Dr. David Reath

Dr. Lois Wagstrom

Drs. Mary Gingrass and Melinda Haws

So far, I'm leaning towards either Dr. Reath or Dr. Wagstrom, but I plan on doing at least 3 consultations. I really like the results of both the LBLs and FTTs on both Reath's and Wagstrom's pages. I'm not so thrilled with the LBL results from Gingrass/Haws, but the basic FTT results are pretty decent.

Any comments on any of those doctors?

I have to say from the pics, Dr Reaths work looks fantastic. I think going for 3 consults is a smart idea though, just to be sure that the service and support you're going to get for your money is top quality too. A website might not reflect exactly what the whole process will end up like. As a friend said to me when I said the PS site that I was looking at today looked like they really CARE (I was in that happy/blind to reality phase myself) - aren't they all supposed to look all that way? I think the only way to REALLY decide is by going and asking the dozens of questions we have.

When are you thinking of going for the consults? Its kind of exciting isn't it??

I'm wanting to lose a lot more weight before I go to a consult, so I'm thinking late spring or early summer for that and then surgery in December (to give me enough time to find and get established in either a job or a PhD position). Or sooner, if I get too impatient! :biggrin:

This is terribly exciting. It wasn't too long ago that it was just hitting me that the band was actually working. Now it's starting to hit me that it's working so well that I'll probably need plastic surgery. I'm thrilled, though.

So far, I really like Dr. Reath's pictures the most, but he comes across as smarmy-looking in his own pictures on the website. I'm really hoping that's not the case, though.

I would say that Dr Reath has the least amount of problematic patients, looking at his befores even the LBL patient didnt look that bad before, I didnt see anyone on his site with MAJOR loose skin. It seems as well that LBL is a fairly new thing at his practice.I doubt that there are many on there who has ever been more than 14lb over weight! I would say that most of his patients are post pregnancy.I know there is one lady and he does get good results......oh I dont know I think I am biased because so may of them were skinny minnies to start with!! Ignore my predjudices!Ask to see some more pictures of weightloss patients.

Melinda and Mary at least have a fair amount of LBL pictures and their patients to have loose skin/excess round the middle, even though some of the results arent perfect, they have far more difficult cases.

Lois Wagstrom for me gets the best results, she has people with a lot of excess and her belt abdominoplasty pictures show a massive improvement for the patients, if it were me I would go with her!

Just my thoughts hon!

Nina x

I would say that Dr Reath has the least amount of problematic patients, looking at his befores even the LBL patient didnt look that bad before, I didnt see anyone on his site with MAJOR loose skin. It seems as well that LBL is a fairly new thing at his practice.I doubt that there are many on there who has ever been more than 14lb over weight! I would say that most of his patients are post pregnancy.I know there is one lady and he does get good results......oh I dont know I think I am biased because so may of them were skinny minnies to start with!! Ignore my predjudices!Ask to see some more pictures of weightloss patients.

Melinda and Mary at least have a fair amount of LBL pictures and their patients to have loose skin/excess round the middle, even though some of the results arent perfect, they have far more difficult cases.

Lois Wagstrom for me gets the best results, she has people with a lot of excess and her belt abdominoplasty pictures show a massive improvement for the patients, if it were me I would go with her!

Just my thoughts hon!

Nina x

Yeah, that's one thing I noticed about Dr. Reath's site, too, that there was only one patient that even looked like she really needed the surgery. Hers turned out really well, though. So far, Reath and Wagstrom are my favorites. I really like the idea of having a female surgeon. What throws me about the Haws/Gingrass pictures is that they don't identify which surgeon did the surgery.