Starting my PS journey-first consults today

[kristieshannon 1,649]

I’m now 18 lbs from goal, which if I continue on my trend I should hit in October. I want a lower body lift, arm lift, and breast lift done. I met with two surgeons today, and have a third consult next week. I was very surprised in the different opinions/approaches of the two doctors today. Both were very nice, personable, and professional and per their photos have good results and good reviews online. Here’s what they had to say:

Arm lift:
Doc #1 said he could do all three procedures on the same day. He said my arms would have a great outcome, would require a compression garment for 2-4 weeks, each would have a drain in for the first 7 days.
Doc #2 does arm lifts as an in office procedure under local anesthesia only! Internal sutures only with minimal steri strips, NO compression garment, said he often has people return to work after just a day or two off!

Breast lift:
Doc #1 pushed hard for implants, which I don’t want and don’t think I need. I’m a 36DD right now and wouldn’t mind if the tissue removed from the lift dropped me a cup size. He would do the lift/implant same surgery as the other procedures.

Doc #2 agreed my breast size is fine, and would look great with just a lift. He would do the lift along with the LBL.

Lower body lift:

Doc #1 said he’d do a belt lipectomy and would leave in a drain on each side.

Doc #2 said I don’t need a belt lipectomy, just a extended hip-to-hip incision. Again, NO drains. He uses a quilted internal stitching technique which he said reduces drainage to nearly none.

Doc #2 is who I am leaning towards. He has about 10 years more experience. Sounds like his recoveries are quicker and easier. I’d say their photo results and reviews are on par with each other. The quote for Doc #2 was about $6000 less ($40,000 vs $34,000).

Both doctors agreed a December/January planned surgery time frame is reasonable.

I’m so excited to be starting down this road! Hopefully after my third consultation on Thursday I come away with a clear preference.

I’ll update this thread as I go along.

Bat wing photo for reference, I’ve lost about 10 more pounds since this was taken.

[California Guy 131]

10 years more of experience is a big deal. Experience makes good doctors great.

[kristieshannon 1,649]

On 06/26/2020 at 16:43, California Guy said:

10 years more of experience is a big deal. Experience makes good doctors great.

I agree! I felt good about Doc # 1 until I met Doc #2. I’m sure experience was part of the difference.

[catwoman7 11,214]

my first two consults were vastly different, like yours. So I decided to do a third consult - and it was with a guy who has a reputation of being outrageously expensive but is nationally known and specializes in plastic surgery for massive weight loss patients. I had no intention of going to him because of the assumed cost, but he was the king of these things so I wanted to see what he thought. He had the exact same opinion as surgeon #2, so that verified for me that that was probably the better plan.

HOWEVER, I liked Dr. Expensive so much and he wasn't THAT much more than the other two (plus he only does surgeries in a hospital - and makes you spend the night at the hospital to boot - which probably accounted for the difference in cost -- but I wanted the peace of mind of being in a hospital). So I ended up going with him after all!

P.S. LBL's are more expensive than a Tummy Tuck because they do your backside, too, so that probably accounts for the $6000 difference in price.

Edited June 27, 2020 by catwoman7

[kristieshannon 1,649]

I am definitely going to continue on with consult #3! I have also considered going to other cities, as I’ve heard Seattle is on the expensive side but worry about traveling soon after surgery. We also have a home in Oregon, so am considering having a consult there as well.

[catwoman7 11,214]

17 minutes ago, kristieshannon said:

I am definitely going to continue on with consult #3! I have also considered going to other cities, as I’ve heard Seattle is on the expensive side but worry about traveling soon after surgery. We also have a home in Oregon, so am considering having a consult there as well.

a lot of people travel - some even go across the country - or out of the country. There are no plastic surgeons in my area who either specialize in massive weight loss patients or have done a truckload of surgeries on them, and I felt that was important. Supposedly plastic surgery on massive weight loss patients is a complicated subspeciality, so I wanted someone who has does them all the time (or better yet, specializes in it). So I had to go to Chicago for that, which fortunately is only a two-hour drive from here. I was OK with that. I figured if I had some complication after I got home that no local MD wanted to deal with, at least I could drive back down there fairly easily.

P.S. those quotes you got were about what I was finding. I was told both here and on another forum to expect about $8K-10K per procedure, with an LBL counting as two procedures (since they do front & back). I found that rung true. That was a couple of years ago, but it sounds like your estimates are in the same ballpark.

Edited June 27, 2020 by catwoman7

[kristieshannon 1,649]

Thank you for your input catwoman7! I’ve now requested a virtual consult with a surgeon in Portland, and one with a surgeon in Miami that has been mentioned by a couple members here. Since I have plenty of time prior to when I plan to have surgery, I have the luxury of time to get as many consults that I need to get it right!

[New&Improved 1,780]

Yes plz do your research and do not just go for the cheapest option seen so many ppl go to a 3rd world country for surgery and end up in hell.....

[kristieshannon 1,649]

I agree about that MIKEYY84, the only out of country on my list of “maybes” would be Canada as I’m only a couple hours from Vancouver, BC. However the boarder has been closed since COVID so probably not likely to happen.

[catwoman7 11,214]

9 hours ago, kristieshannon said:

Thank you for your input catwoman7! I’ve now requested a virtual consult with a surgeon in Portland, and one with a surgeon in Miami that has been mentioned by a couple members here. Since I have plenty of time prior to when I plan to have surgery, I have the luxury of time to get as many consults that I need to get it right!

have you checked out realself.com? I found lots of potential candidates on this site. Patients review lots of doctors on this site - not all are plastic surgeons, but most seem to be. Some also include photos. I made a list of all the ones who looked good whom I wanted to research further - and then whittled it down to three or four that I wanted to my consults with.

[JRT Mom 919]

Kristieshannon, keep us posted on your journey! Your picture could be of me--my arms look just like yours! So when I see your "after" pictures I'll know what mine would look like!🤣

[ChubRub 1,706]

It's so exciting to begin the process!! Good luck with consult #3. Can't wait to hear all about it, and what you ultimately decide is best for you!

[It's time. 145]

Great info, thanks for sharing. I will be following.

[kristieshannon 1,649]

On 06/27/2020 at 06:22, catwoman7 said:

have you checked out realself.com? I found lots of potential candidates on this site. Patients review lots of doctors on this site - not all are plastic surgeons, but most seem to be. Some also include photos. I made a list of all the ones who looked good whom I wanted to research further - and then whittled it down to three or four that I wanted to my consults with.

Oh yes, I’ve spent many hours checking out surgeons, their reviews, and photo galleries! What a great resource.

[kristieshannon 1,649]

On 06/27/2020 at 07:04, JRT Mom said:

Kristieshannon, keep us posted on your journey! Your picture could be of me--my arms look just like yours! So when I see your "after" pictures I'll know what mine would look like!🤣

Man that pic is painful! I can’t wait to feel confident wearing a tank top, or really even short sleeves. It sucks to feel like I have to wear long sleeves all summer. I found a beautiful dress for my daughter’s wedding in September, but wish I could have gone with something sleeveless as temps will likely be in the 70’s.