Question:
Has anyone had multiple reconstructive surgeries performed at one time?
I just had my first consult with a plastic surgeon. He said that if we do the tummy only, then it pulls the breasts down a little and makes them look worse. He recommends doing a few at the same time (saves money and only one period of recovery). Has anyone else gone this route, and were you happy with doing it this way? He also takes the skin from right under the bra and pulls it down to where it will be located right above the pubis area. Everything in between will be removed. He says that he makes it *really tight*, so much that he had a patient that was scared to straighten up and had to have physical therapy for assistence. But from the photos, the results are phenomenal. Please share your experience. — Cheri M. (posted on February 28, 2004)
February 28, 2004
I only had two surgeries performed at once, my abdominoplasty along with my
breast lift/implants. No other plastic surgeon was willing to do everything
at once and I thing at once. I recall one woman who had quite a few things
done and people saying her doctor was crazy, but she pulled through well.
You didn't say specifically what you were having done, but if its something
like arms and legs at the same time, I would just suggest you have
somewhere to help you for a while after surgery. Best of luck to you.
— Lisa N M.
February 28, 2004
I am scheduled next month to have abdominoplasty with muscle repair and a
breast lift ( no implants) The nurse said the breast lift would be
relatively painless but the tummy would definitely hurt a while. I decided
to have them both done together because of time off from work issues.
— Connie M.
February 28, 2004
I work for a doctor, his wife is a plastic surgeon, and I will probably go
to her for plastics when the time comes. She told me she would do the
tummy tuck and breast lift at the same time if after the tummy I was still
in a stable condition, if not....breasts would wait till another time. The
tummy tuck is a major surgery with a lot of blood loss. I do admire
doctors that won't do any other procedure with the tummy tuck...it is for
our safety. However, I want as much done at once as can be. I want the
tummy tuck, breast lift, and brachioplasty. I did find a surgeon in Mexico
who said he might be willing to do all 3, I am still looking in to that
route.
— jennap
February 28, 2004
I went for a consult with my PS last week on my 1 year anniversary. I
kinda wanted to do the breasts with the TT, but he said that he didn't like
to do multiple surgeries due to the extended period of being under
anesthesia. He prefers not to keep anyone under more than 4-5 hours unless
absolutely necessary and that my abdominoplasty would be approximately 4
hours. I am a little disappointed, but he is also family and is playing it
conservative and safe. he also seems to feel that if one surgery is
approved it is more likely that the additional ones will be, and I guess I
will just have to space them out. I will not have anything done w/o
insurance approval, so whatever he can get approved will be what I have
done, ie. breast/arm lift, and maybe inner thigh lift---the ones w/o the
major scars.
— Fixnmyself
February 28, 2004
I am 5 days out from a lower body lift, which in my case was a full
extended abdominoplasty and lateral thigh lift. Let me tell you, it is no
piece of cake. However, it was me that pushed to do the whole lift at
once. This is typically done on someone with a lot less skin to remove
than I had. He removed just short of 19lbs of skin and I'm not sure how
much fat was lipo'd also. He mainly did lipo in the saddlebag areas and
for contouring around the back and butt etc. It's an incredible end result
but a very major surgery at least in my case. I ended up being in surgery
for over 10 hours, lost almost 5 units of blood. I was transfused the unit
I donated at the end of surgery but then had to get two more units the next
morning. The major blood loss was caused by the blood thinner that was
used. He was extremely concerned of using it but also very worried about
clots and a pulmonary embolism. All in all it came out fine, but not
without it's issues.
My experience is that be careful which procedures you package together. In
this case I still had great use of my legs and arms and could use them to
maneuver myself in bed etc. I plan to have a 2nd procedure in May which is
the upper half of a full abdominoplasty. Strange anatomy prevented it from
all being taken care of the first time. I plan to roll either my breasts
(probably small implants) or arms into this procedure. I'm not sure that
doing all three would be wise but we will see what the doc says. I'm
really not sure if I'm up for another 10 hours of surgery. This time I
will donate 2 units, so hopefully I won't need anyone else's blood. The
last procedure I will likely have is a thighplasty. I really would prefer
not to, because the pain is horrendous from the tight skin. That was my
major pain issue this time, how much pain I had from tight skin. I imagine
because of swelling at first. Now it's not too bad and I don't take much
for pain killers. The problem is if I don't do the arms with this next
surgery then it would mean doing the thighs and arms at the same time and I
really don't want both of those incapacitated at the same time. I just
really think I am going to need my arms to do lots of lifting etc, when the
thighs are done.
<p>I'll have to see what my PS says, but that's sort of my plan.
— zoedogcbr
February 28, 2004
I have a consult in 10 days and I am going to push hard for Lower body life
and arms at the same time, I can't see that my employer is going to
appreciate me having multiple leave of absences for plastic surgeries. I
have a physically strenuous job and would not be able to return to work too
fast. I do not qualify for fmla, and any extra time off is a gift.
— **willow**
February 29, 2004
I had liposuction on my upper arms and a full abdominoplasty done at the
same time. I would try and do 2 separate procedures (upper and lower body)
at the same time to maximize your time and save your money.
— Patty H.
March 1, 2004
HI!! My husband and I are 7 weeks post-op from our multiple plastic
surgeries. Mine was 5 hours long and my husband's was 6 hours long. I had
a breast lift/implants, nipple/areola repositioning, radical pubic lift and
extended tummy tuck that goes almost to my back. My husband had a full
body lift with the all the way around scar, breast reduction and lift with
nipple/areolar repositioning and a pubic lift. They took 7 pounds of skin
off me and they took 13 off him. We were so happy that we had it all done
at the same time and it wasnt all that rough! It is definitely less
expensive the more you can do at one time because of the anesthesia costs.
Many times the doctors will give you a discount when you have it all done
at once. Let me know if you have any questions. Sounds like you need the
same stuff I had done!
Hugs,
Dana
— danabky
March 1, 2004
I had an extended TT with lipo on the flanks, breastlift and brachioplasty
on my arms all done at the same time in a 9.5 hour operation. Home the next
day and back to work in 2.5 weeks. Email me at [email protected] if you
want to see my pictures. I'm THRILLED with the results!
— Kris T.
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