Dr.JLo

Plastic surgery in Mexico and many other countries is cheaper because they have less regulatory expenses, less malpractice overhead, and building and staffing the facilities is cheaper. So as not to give the impression that I am somehow biased against any other surgeon in any other country, lets assume that I have an identical twin brother surgeon who is equally skilled and experinced in post-bariatric plastics, but he is in Mexico and I am in your hometown. If you want to check your doctor's credentials, it is a simple matter to look up any state medical board in the U.S. and learn about your doctors credentials, years in practice, and any lawsuits. If you really want details on lawsuits, those too can be obtained at the courthouse. You will find it nearly impossible to do the same type of search for doctors in Mexico, even if your Spanish is excellent. If you want to check your surgery center or hospital's credentials again, you can quickly and easily check with JCAHO or the AAAHC(http://www.aaahc.org/eweb/dynamicpage.aspx?site=aaahc_site&webcode=find_orgs) to see if the place where you will have surgery is accredited and meets standards for infection control, sterile processing, etc. If you want to check a facility overseas, your only option in the JCI and they only accredit hospitals. You will have almost no way of having an independant organization check the standards of a clinic in Mexico because there are no such organizations. If you have a problem after surgery and require care, your health insurance may cover it. Or your PS may have Cosmetassure, which for $250 covers nearly all complications after plastic surgery that occur within 30 days. If your surgery was done overseas, you will likely not find a PS stateside willing to take your case, and will have to either travel again or seek care from a doctor who did not do the surgery. Insurance coverage for surgery done overseas may still be available after you return. If your problem occurs while you are out of the country, your chances of coverage are much less. If you have a medical, business, legal, or financial dispute with the doctor, you are protected by laws and regulations here in the states. Remember, your state medical boards, membership societies, and lawyers all exist to protect the public health. Your ability to seek compensation or get help for surgery done overseas is much more limited. If you have a breast implant leak and the implant was placed in the U.S, you are entitled to $1000-$3000 in financial assistance to fix it, and get free implant replacements for life. In Mexico and overseas, you must return to that country for replacement of the implant, and the financial compensation is a maximum of $1000. If you travel before and after a big surgery you are at increased risk for a blood clot. This means extra treatment is required for those who travel. I have aksed on other forums many times what was done for blood clot prevention before and after international travel and have not received an answer to that yet...leading me to believe that no treatment was done. Anyway, these are a few of the things that one must take into consideration and plan for, if you are going to travel. Tummy tuck has the same statistical risk profile as an intrabdominal procedure like open gallbaldder, appendix, hystercetomy, etc. It is NOT a benign procedure by any means. LBL is an even bigger operation. My goal here is simply to inform, not to assail the credentials of any other doctor anywhere.

Hi Kathy. Well, the first thing is to be sure you have no pocket of Fluid leftover or an area where the skin did not stick down to the muscles (a fluid pocket can cause this). You may need an ultrasound or CT scan to clear up this issue. I say so only because you report one-sided swelling in an area where your tube came out prematurely. Absent anything on your scan, lymphatic massage may help. Try online..there are several sources for this. Your local hospital may have a lymphedema center, and they may know a therapist. Also try: ACOLS Find A Therapist I include them in all my surgery packages and am lucky to have a therapist employed by the hospital, who is just great.

Swelling can persist for a long time after surgery, and individuals vary highly in the amount of swelling they develop. A good compression agrment, avoidance of triggers,a nd lymphatic massage all help control swelling. A seroma, or a pocket of Fluid, is a relatively common event separate from swelling. They occur after removal of large amounts of skin. I keep a simple ultrasound system in my office and therfore detect and drain these pockets early on when they are small...if they get too big it's a problem. Persistent pockets may require replacement of a drain, although this is usually not needed with early detection and intervention in my experience.

Insurance may cover removal of excess abdominal skin if it causes infections or rashes that do not repsond to medication over a period of months. Keep in mind that a simple skin removal (panniculectomy) is a far cry from a nicely done abdominoplasty. My website has links to many of the INS companies plans a criteria, plus some useful tips for getting coverage: http://www.drlomonaco.com/plastic-surgery-patient-resources.shtml As for pregnancy, I have a number of young patients who are not comfortable with themselves, much less another person, while undressed. Some have never even dated. For these individuals, a tummy tuck prior to pregnancy is a good option. In general, a tummy tuck will "undo" some of the result, but most patients will never re-develop the amount of skin they had after massive weight loss...assuming their pregnancy weight gain is normal.

It's generally a good idea to have it unfilled for several reasons: Swelling after surgery may make it harder to get your nutrition. Nausea from anesthesia could cause vomiting or heaves, which will aggravate swelling More medications (pain pills, antibiotics,a nd supplements) are going to be needed after surgery. A tight band can cause esophageal backup and possible pill ulcer. Almost all of my bariatric colleagues agree to do the unfill.

Insurance may cover removal of excess abdominal skin if it causes infections or rashes that do not repsond to medication over a period of months. Keep in mind that a simple skin removal (panniculectomy) is a far cry from a nicely done abdominoplasty. My website has links to many of the INS companies plans a criteria, plus some useful tips for getting coverage: Plastic Surgery Pateint Resources and Articles - Dr. John Lomonaco

No surgery, no downtime, no pain and you lose multiple inches ! Sounds too good to be true ! Oh, and no refunds either.

Here's a link about swelling: Swell Hell...what is normal ?, Message Boards, Cosmetic Surgery Message Boards, Forums, Skin Care, Chats

Here's the link if you want to listen. We talked about Timing of plastic surgery in bandsters vs other WLS Goal weight with a band Preop preparation for surgery Surgery overseas My new website's patient resources Insurance coverage for plastic surgery CLICK HERE to listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/BTRPlayer.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eblogtalkradio%2Ecom%2Fplaylist%2Easpx%3Fshow%5Fid%3D725693&autostart=true&bufferlength=5&volume=100&borderweight=1&bordercolor=#999999&backgroundcolor=#FFFFFF&dashboardcolor=#0098CB&textcolor=#FFFFFF&detailscolor=#FFFFFF&playlistcolor=

My vote is for Dr Scott Kasden in the DFW area. He is well-versed in WLS patients, kind, and contributes a lot to the WLS community.

Tonight at 5pm "Tonight's special guest is TLC's Big Medicine Plastic Surgeon Dr. John LoMonaco. A talk show created with all band patients (LAP-BAND & REALIZE Band) in mind. Be sure to tune in every Monday to hear from experts and or patients as they share their wisdom/experiences. We want you to have the best band journey ever. " The Band Banter Talk Show 10/19/2009 - Coach Cher & Krys on Blog Talk Radio

Hi. We are hoping to bring Big Medicine back...there will be a pilot episode of what we hope will be Season 3 on November 18th !. The show ahs helped so many patients, but we need EVERYONE to watch ! Meanwhile, reviews on plastic surgeons (incl yours truly) can be found at: Plastic Surgeon Directory, Doctor, Reviews, Ratings, Plastic Surgery, Cosmetic Surgery and Houston Plastic Surgeons and Plastic Surgeons Practicing In Texas Of course, call us anytime at 713-526-5550 and we are happy to ansswer your questions. Best

Nipple sensation can be lost or reduced with any breast surgery, but the more aggressive surgeries (like large reductions where tissue is removed) have a higher chance of loss. Also, my opinion and experience is that the short-scar breast lifts (John LoMonaco M.D., P.A.) have a lower chance of reducing sensation than the older anchor-scar techniques.