Well I did it. After much searching and studing, I took a deep breath and made the call. I have an appointment for a consultation for a tummy tuck on Feb 9th. I am excited and nervous both at the same time. I am working on my insurance to help pay for a portion at least, we shall see. When I spoke with the PS office they infomed me that they deal with weight loss patients alot, and have worked to get insurance to at least pay some of the cost.

I have been reading the post on all of you who have been where I am at now. THANKS for the info. I will be counting on your further help and wisdom to get me through this process.

Laura

I had my TT 3 years ago(before my banding) they removed 11lbs of redundent skin(was causing back problems) So far I've been so lucky, 60lbs down and I still have a flat tummy. I tell everyone the TT and my band are the best things I have ever done for myself. Advice: Don't be upset the first time you look at it after surgery, I cried when I first saw mine, I thought I looked like the bride of frankinstien. But with in a couple of weeks it looked fantastic. right now I'm recovering from a breast Aug. good luck to you and congrats on the weight loss.

I too had the tummy tuck first, 2005, and now the lap-band. They removed 16lbs of extra skin and fat in the area. I was wondering too about the flat tummy?? I had a beautiful baby girl in 2007, so some weight gain, but not much. I carry most on the sweet bottom of mine.....LOL:biggrin:. I am so looking forward to seeing what I look like after 30-40 lbs lost!!

A question for those of you who have already had your surgery..... How many PS surgeons did you consult with befor selecting who you wanted? I have two appointments so far. I have emailed two other ones and have already ruled one of them out.

Just wondering.......

Hi Laura, answering your question, I looked into a couple of PS. I read their web pages, success, pics to before after, and made sure they were board certified. I really liked the bed-side manner of my PS. He did very good work, amazing the ability to stitch ever so nicely!! Good luck, I have no regrets. Enjoy your new tummy, it's going to look so nice. And the best part was buying new undies!! cute ones!!:tongue:

I too would like a TT eventually. I was banded 9-25-08 & have lost 33 LBS so far. I have had 3 babies & I know my skin is going to hang. :-( I still wanna lose another 50 ish lbs. I wonder if I should wait till I reach my goal. What do you all think? Good luck!

I think you would probaly get the best results if you wait. but I'm the wrong person to give that advice as I had my TT first and had a breast lift in March of 08 and was banded July 08 I still have 30lbs left to go and at the moment I am recovering from a breast Aug.

Well I had my consult with Dr. Fleming today. It went well, I do like him alot and his staff is very helpful and friendly. It is so strange to be without clothes and haveing another man handle my flab. I hardley let my DH do that. An then taking pictures of it all. He does not think I need a breast lift but a full TT is in order. I still am thinking I want a little fill on the girls. Will just have to wait and see.

He is going to write a letter to my insurance and see what they will do about the pannas removal. He said it usually takes about 3 weeks to get back the approval/rejection from the insurance.

I have another consult with a diffrent doc tomorrow. We shall see if the verdict is the same.

I am hoping to be able to have the work done mid June. Here is hoping..............

Later

Laura

OH,

I workout at Anytime Fitness and they are doing a 6 week "Biggest Looser" contest. It sounds real good, going to join it and hope that it will help me pull this last 20 lbs off.

Had my second consult with another PS yesterday. His name is Dr. Medling. He is a very young doc. He had a great bedside manner and answered all my questions, but most of all he listended to me and what my wisher are for this procedure. He wants me to loose at least 10 more pounds before we proceed. He did give me a workup on the price (before any insurance). He will file with my insurance to see if they will take care of anything. Another biggie with this Dr. is that he will use the same hospital that my band doc uses, and he talked about having him be present during the portion of the surgery where he is working around the port. He is also thinking that I need to have the "Fleur-de-lis" cut.

I made a follow up appointment for April 1 - now to kick of this stubborn last pounds.

Laura

What is a "fluer de les" cut?

Thanks

From what I understand a "Fleur-de-lis" is also sometimes call an anchor incision. They dont just make the lower incision but also a up-and-down one. The point is to be able to not only pull the skin down, but to also pull it sideways, giving a more contured look. You have an extra scar, but from what I have seen and heard it is worth it when you have a very large amount of extra skin. (sad to say that is me)

I am having the fleur-de-lis cut too. My surgery is scheduled for April 30th. I'm having a 360 degree cut across the bottom and then the vertical incision from my breastbone down to my pubic area. I'm also having a hernia repair and having my port switched to a low profile port. Estimated surgery time is a little over 5 hours.

mrgrta - Good luck with your surgery on April 30th. Doc says I do not need the 360 degree cut. I am thankful for that. I will be interested to know how you do with the fleur-de-lis. Hope you can share your experience....what to know just what I am getting into as much as possible. (as if anyone could be 100% prepared for this procedure)

I am just in the hurry up and wait phase of this process. I am putting all of my focus on eating right and exercising, my goal is to be in the best possible shape before having my surgery. I am looking to have it done the second week of June, that gives me 16 weeks. Seems like forever when I look at it that way. But I need this time to focus on geeting of this last 20 lbs. Heck if I just loose 1 lb per week I will just about have it done. As I said earlier, my workout place is doing a program, something like the "biggest looser". I have joined it and very excited, hope this will be the shot in the arm that I need. We meet every Tues and Thurs as a group, weight in and work out with 2 trainers. I need the accountabality and support of a group. We shall see..... Starts next tuesday.

Laura

LauraP - do you mind me asking what his price quote was for both insurance and no insurance? You could pm me or if you don't want to tell, I'll understand. I've had one consultation and they didn't want to discuss prices too much until we heard from insurance. I also need the Fleur-de-lis".

Thanks

LauraP- I will definitely be posting my experience on here. I plan to post some before pictures when I get a chance. I too am trying to lost another 10 pounds before my surgery date. I am exercising like crazy.

nip50- My cost for the surgery is $10,500. That includes the 360 decree cut, the fleur-de-lis, and lipo, with muscle repair. That also includes anesthesia, hospital, and pain pump. It doesn't include pain meds or compression garment. The hernia repair and port revision will be covered by my insurance company.

Hope that helps.