Hi all! I am about to have surgery on July 21st (YEAH!!) and I would like more information about plastic surgery. I read another poll and thread that discussed how many people had doctors that mentioned PS and how many people never had the subject brought up. I am one of the people whose doctor has not mentioned anything about PS; as a matter of fact, I was told "don't even think about that right now, the focus should be on your weight and the band". Of course I understand that and I AM focusing on the surgery and changes I have to make BUT I think it is important to know all the information and know if PS is a possibility or an eventuality. Especially if you are a self pay patient - it will take quite awhile to save the money and the sooner you start, the better!

So I would like to get an idea of how many people lost weight and didn't need to have PS, how much weight was lost if no PS was necessary, and what PS was needed for those that lost quite a bit of weight. I'd also like any other information you are willing to tell me - exactly what PS was done, how much it cost, what insurance covered what, if insurance covered it then what was necessary to convince them to pay, how old you are (to give me an idea if age is a factor in the skin reforming or not), blah, blah, and whatever else you think I might want to know that you actually want to share. Thank you for any help you can give me to learn more about this journey I am about to begin!! :biggrin2:

Edited June 24, 200818 yr by clayverde
spelling mistake

Congratulations on your upcoming surgery and the beginning of an amazing transformation. I hope you will find the lapband to be as wonderful as I have.

I just completed my first round of plastic surgery and my advice is to start saving your money. I think most of us who lose over 100 pounds want/need some work done.

Best of luck to you. Becky

Look, it so depends on what you define need as.

I lost about 95lb and got really fit, so have the muscular "shape" that I need to give my body a nice shape. But my skin is about half a size too big all over and given I'm 40 and had that natural pear shape, with a bit of cellulite on the bottom half, I dont look like a bikini model.

I wear a bikini and I feel damn proud in it. In my avatar, you cannot see any of my problem bits, that's a damn lucky picture to be honest. And I may as well wear the stupid thing since its my bum that's the real problem and there's no suit in the world other than neck to knee that will hide it, lol.

But - if I had gajillions of dollars, I could have the 360 degree body lift and I'd look fricking fantastic. As it is, the worst I have to deal with is looking slightly like I've melted.

I guess I'm 40, I've had 3 kids and lost a fair bit of weight and I'm not too unhappy for my body to tell that story.

Except for my boobs. My reckoning is that if I buy myself a stupendous pair of tits, nobody will be looking at my bum anyway. That's next year's goal.

Thanks for the info! I realize that there is often a desire to tighten everything up - especially after kids and all, nevermind with weight loss. What I am trying to figure out is if I will legitimately NEED the plastic surgery. I have to lose 178 lbs. and I have seen people with that type of weight loss where the skin just hangs off them in huge folds. Which of course leads to rashes, sores, etc beyond just the issue of wanting to get rid of all the excess skin. So I am just trying to see if anyone else has lost that type of weight and not had such a severe problem. That's why I tried to specify between the actual NEED and just wanting to tighten it all up. Should I edit the poll? I tried to make it simple but still get the info I was looking for - I had hoped that between the poll and the first post, it would be clear what I was looking for, but now I'm not sure! Anyway, thanks for the helpful information it is always great to hear from people further down the road on this and so successful - it is so inspiring and gives me confidence that I can really do this and make it work for me. So thanks again!!

Ok Clay, maybe I should clarify. I voted that I'd lost 100 pounds and needed plastic surgery. However, I truly did not have medical issues that required PS, so I guess I really didn't "need" it.

If I were you, I'd post a question on the "ask Dr. Schulman" thread, describing your specific situation, where you carry most of your weight, age, years of obesity, etc. He has lots of experience with weight loss patients and probably can pretty well predict what your situation will be.

Whatever the case, don't let fears about excess skin derail your weight loss efforts. Regardless of what shape you're in after you lose the weight I'm certain you will be healthier and happier. Again, best of luck to you.

Need doesnt only have to be defined by the physical either of course.

If I was 20 and I looked like I do, I think I'd be "needing" PS. Because I do look like a 40 year old who's had 3 babies and lost lots of weight. Given that that's exactly what I am, its not a real issue for me, but if I were really down about the way I looked after all I've done to improve it, I'd classify that as needing surgery.

its so different for everyone. But truly physically needing it isnt the only factor, I dont think.

Thanks for the replies and info. It helps so much to get a better idea of what the reality is and what to expect. I have to say that since I am 30 and have two kids, I am very split on how I feel about it. On the one hand I HAVE had two kids and I am proud of the things I have been through, I don't want to look like I did in high school. On the other hand, I am only 30 and I have a lot of life to look forward too and the sagging and all is not going to improve!! Ultimately, I am of course jumping the gun as I don't even have the band on yet! But I try to go in with my eyes open and my expectations realistic, so I thought I would try to find out just how common needing PS is. I want to hope that I can lose the weight I need to and not need PS - a little saggy is one thing but folds of skin are quite another. But if that is completely unrealistic, I don't want to be shocked when the reality hits. I find, for myself, if I have a clue that something might happen, I deal with it much better when it does - even if it is hard to handle. But even an easy situation is much harder for me if it is completely a shock. I don't deal as well with that, which is why I am trying so hard to get information now. So thank you all so much for helping me!!