Plastic surgery - when to schedule?

[Violetsareblue 18]

I know nobody has a crystal ball 🔮 (I wish!) but if you were about 50# from your goal weight, would you be comfortable scheduling a procedure or procedures (tummy tuck, skin removal, etc) in about 6-7 months from now? This doctor is very popular and books about this far out, so I would love to book now just to get on his schedule.

For the record, I had my VSG in May and I’m almost 50% to my goal weight. Weight loss has slowed to about 2# per week, so by my calculations, I should be at goal in 6 months as long as I can sustain that weekly loss.

[ChubRub 1,709]

Can you reschedule if need be? I'm scheduled for PS in January (I was 36lbs from goal when I scheduled), and am pretty confident I will be at goal weight before my surgery. My surgeon will let me reschedule, however, if need be. It was only a $500 deposit to book the surgery, which was well worth it for me to get on the schedule.

Good luck, and join us on the Plastic Surgery board!

[catwoman7 11,223]

I'd wait for a couple of reasons - 1) you don't know how much weight you're going to end up losing, or how long it's going to take 2) most people have a 10-20 lb bounce back in weight in year 2 or 3.

many plastic surgeons want you to be at a stable weight for 6-12 months before having plastic surgery because of the common weight fluctuations the first couple of years (and because of the bounce back phenomenon). Also, some will tell you not to gain or lose more than 10 lbs after having plastic surgery or your results may be affected. I gained eight lbs after my PS (I spent a month in Asia last fall - and then, the holidays), and my plastic surgeon told me (at one of my follow-up appts this past January) to NOT gain any more weight and reminded me of the 10 lbs +/- deal.

you definitely could start doing consultations, though. I went on three consultations (in Chicago) and also did an email consultation with a surgeon in Mexico. I learned a lot from those meetings - and I discovered different surgeons have different ideas on what to do. It was a pretty educational experience.

I guess if you go ahead and decide to book regardless, make sure you can reschedule it without penalty. And they'll probably want you to reschedule it well in advance so they can stick someone else in the slot...