Panniculectomy is it as painful to get as it is to pronounce?

[btrieger 21]

Don't mean to hijack your thread, Bob, but feel that this would be a comfy place for me to ask a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

History...banded June, 2008 and have been at goal (23lbs below original goal but OK with where I am at and so is doc) since Oct, 2008. At first I was "somewhat" satisfied with my hanging skin on my lower abdomen. I look good in my clothes but feel terrible naked or in underclothes....it hangs out the bottom (tmi). The farther out I get the more the skin seems to hang and bother me. While exercising/walking/exerting myself, the fold becomes icky and irritated.

This may seem silly but the problem I am having is with "deserving" to get this problem taken care of. It's almost like I am selling myself short of taking this last step of this journey. Make sense to any of you? As I stated, right after reaching goal I told myself I would be happy with whatever if I looked good in clothes. Now, since it seems to be getting in my way and physically and emotionally bothering me, I feel like I am giving into something that would be egotistical. Silly, I know. Anyone else feel this way?

Hijack all you want.

90% of the reason I am having this done is physical. It is very uncomfortable when I walk; it gets irritated and sweaty underneath.

Another 5% is how I look and the last 5% is that I want to have a waist.

I appreciate the answers here too. I have a pretty high threshold for pain and no problem with "discomfort". I've been 200 pounds overweight and uncomfortable for so long that I grew used to discomfort.

[Apples2 19]

Bob...I have had a number (too numerous to mention) of surgeries and I do not do pain meds. Have never filled a prescription on the way out. So figure the panniculectomy will be a breeze.

I am waiting for doc's office to get back to me on getting an appt for a consult. I just have to realize that I NEED to do this for me in order to feel 100% about myself and to feel comfortable.

The upper part of my torso is not a problem so I figure doc will say just the lower part. I have been the only one holding me back from this. No longer.

[dfav3412 116]

I had the panni and a breast lift at same time, I had no pain at all and really no discomfort either. Sometimes I think people have different ideas of what pain is. Pain to me is something that hurts continually and doesn't let up. I think many people confuse pain with discomfort (that is tolerable). That being said I do know surgeries affect people differently and their truly can be pain. FYI, I had an arm lift a few months later and didn't have any pain from that either. My PS told me before I had the surgery alot has to do with the person and their demeanor and that she thought just by observing how I responded to her thru my body language that I would have no or minimal pain.

[MaggiesMom1999 0]

Had my panni surgery yesterday. surgery about 8 a.m. and left the hospital heading home at 3 p.m. The doctor did not order any pain meds while I was still at the hospital so I was pretty uncomfortable but not really in pain. I have been taking the pain pills at home simply to ease things along so that getting up and down doesn't wipe me out. All in all, I would call it discomfort not pain. My doc says no showers/baths until the binder comes off and I am not to remove it until I see him in a week. My incision is completely hip to hip and a little around the sides because a large part of the "apron" was on my hips. A lot of drainage still and it makes me kind of queasy dealing with that but nothing horrible, just my weak stomach. I can't wait to be able to see the results. I still weigh exactly what I did before the surgery so don't know how that will work out after all the swelling goes down. Just taking it one day at a time right now.

[Apples2 19]

Had my panni surgery yesterday. surgery about 8 a.m. and left the hospital heading home at 3 p.m. The doctor did not order any pain meds while I was still at the hospital so I was pretty uncomfortable but not really in pain. I have been taking the pain pills at home simply to ease things along so that getting up and down doesn't wipe me out. All in all, I would call it discomfort not pain. My doc says no showers/baths until the binder comes off and I am not to remove it until I see him in a week. My incision is completely hip to hip and a little around the sides because a large part of the "apron" was on my hips. A lot of drainage still and it makes me kind of queasy dealing with that but nothing horrible, just my weak stomach. I can't wait to be able to see the results. I still weigh exactly what I did before the surgery so don't know how that will work out after all the swelling goes down. Just taking it one day at a time right now.

So good to hear you are doing so well. Hopefully, you will get used to your drains with time. I had 4 drains after a gallbladder surgery for 4 weeks. Made me sick to begin with but with time, not so bad.

From what I have read, most ppl go up in weight a bit after surgery such as yours. Get your nutrition and rest. Anxious to follow you in the next few weeks and hope you are willing to share with us.

I carry a good share of my apron by my hip bones also. Looking forward to initial consult to see what doc has to say. Did your surgery include a mons lift?

[MaggiesMom1999 0]

No, just the panniculectomy. No money right now for anything extra so just went with what the insurance would cover. He wanted nearly $6000 cash to do a full Tummy Tuck beyond what the ins would pay for the panni. No money and don't want anymore credit bills right now.

[Apples2 19]

No, just the panniculectomy. No money right now for anything extra so just went with what the insurance would cover. He wanted nearly $6000 cash to do a full Tummy Tuck beyond what the ins would pay for the panni. No money and don't want anymore credit bills right now.

Thanks for your answer, Maggiesmom....

[publicservant 0]

What happens to your stomach if you only have the Panniculectomy...I know they dont tighten the muscles..what is the real difference? I would love to just get the xtra skin off!

[btrieger 21]

What happens to your stomach if you only have the Panniculectomy...I know they dont tighten the muscles..what is the real difference? I would love to just get the xtra skin off!

In short, nothing happens to your stomach with any plastic surgery. Your stomach is an organ that lies withing your abdominal muscles.

Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) cuts the abdominal muscles and tightens them to present a firmer abdomen.

A panniculectomy just cuts away the extra skin and fat from your abdomen without touching the muscles.

[PrtyAntOvrYt 6]

I had an extended TT and an extended Brachioplasty. The only pain or discomfort I had was from the Lipo he did on my arms. I am extremely happy with my results. He took 13lbs off my tummy and 5 off my arms. I am returning for a lower body lift, breast lift/aug, face/neck and eye lift and full thigh lift. I've heard the thigh lift is painful, but the rest are all manageable!

[btrieger 21]

I had an extended TT and an extended Brachioplasty. The only pain or discomfort I had was from the Lipo he did on my arms. I am extremely happy with my results. He took 13lbs off my tummy and 5 off my arms. I am returning for a lower body lift, breast lift/aug, face/neck and eye lift and full thigh lift. I've heard the thigh lift is painful, but the rest are all manageable!

Thanks and congrats!!

You must have lost a "ton" of weight to require all of that work!!!

I am asking this same question all over and getting the same kind of responses. It is very comforting to hear that surgery is more discomforting than painful.

[MaggiesMom1999 0]

I am at day 5 post-op and feeling better every day. My biggest problem right now is ITCHING! Some time Saturday I began to experience itching under the binder and it is getting worse every day. I am almost crazy right now with trying to scratch an itch that can't be reached under the binder and bandages. I am going to call the surgeon's office and see if I can take some Benadryl or something to try to help before I go completely insane.:thumbup: Otherwise, I am moving around well with little discomfort and sleeping on my side now (I just cannot sleep flat on my back).

[sassysue 0]

I am newly out but have lost 40lbs. when i walk i hear my skin flapping. Lord know what would happen if i tried running. My question is how do you get insurance to pay for this procedure?

[SkinnyKathy 99]

I am newly out but have lost 40lbs. when i walk i hear my skin flapping. Lord know what would happen if i tried running. My question is how do you get insurance to pay for this procedure?

I had a panniculectomy when I had lost about 80 pounds out of the 210 I have lost so far. My pannus was so bad, even before I lost weight, and then as I was losing weight it got worse and worse. At 80 pounds lost my pannus was halfway down my thighs! It was making it extremely difficult to exercise and I was constantly battling rashes. So I had the panniculectomy at about 350 lb, fully knowing that I would need more plastic surgery when I get down to my goal weight.

In my case, because I had not gotten down to anything approaching a goal weight, I did get pushback from my insurance company. My primary doctor had to intervene and wrote a letter and called the insurance company and I wrote an appeal and -poof- denial overturned and I was approved.

But I think for most people, if you are at goal weight and have a large overhanging pannus (it doesn't have to be halfway down your thighs to qualify!) it is just a matter of getting a plastic surgeon to apply to your insurance company. I also submitted photos of my pannus and the rashes underneath (not pretty), also records from my regular doctor showing that he had been treating me with prescription-strength anti-fungals to no avail.

By the way, on the subject of pain, for me, learning to pronounce panniculectomy was much more painful than recovery from the surgery itself, LOL! Seriously, it wasn't that bad, even with a scar from hip to hip. My problem was swelling. I developed a pretty severe seroma and had to be drained manually (syringe stuck in my belly 18 times), the doctor was taking out a quart of Fluid every few days! Finally I had to have a drain re-inserted. I actually gained 10 pounds after my surgery, even though he cut 14 pounds of skin and fat off me, so you can get an idea of how severe my swelling was. But eventually with anti-biotics and a new drain and rest the swelling went back down and I have since enjoyed a much more normal-shaped body, relatively speaking.

Now at 210 pounds lost I am quite a mess under my clothes. I have developed another pannus of sorts. Unfortunately it is probably not low enough to qualify for another surgery pain for by insurance. I am looking into getting a lower body lift and a breast lift.

Oh, and one more thing. In my case at least, having the panniculectomy early was not a lost opportunity, because my doctor told me that even if I lost all my weight and then went in for surgery he couldn't do a lower body lift all at once because my pannus would have been so bad, he would have had to stage the surgeries anyway. So in my case I'm very glad I had the panni early. But I wouldn't advise that for everyone, only more severe cases.

Kathy

[rosstheboss 21]

Thank you for your post, in fact I was going to post for men to discuss their PS. I am down 55/lbs now and want to loose another 20 or so. But am also thinkng of talking to a PS for Tummy Tuck etc.