Plastic surgery for skin removal

 Lora-how many procedures did that take?

Three: the panni was done first, then the arms and mons lift were done together, and the tummy tuck was done last.  

Lora

I haven't had mine yet and I am worried about the exact thing... what will I do with all that flabby skin? I say if you have invested this much into your life, then you are worth the rest of the investment... we are both blessed with supportive husbands and you can't buy that for any amount of money.... I say you are worth it.... Keep at the ins thing and don't give up! 

I had my tummy tuck 3 years after my RNY - they removed 8 pounds of skin and fat and I am so happy with the results. 

My father died and had a little life insurance policy that came to me - guess where the money went  - to my plastic surgeon!!!  Yes, there were bills I could have paid and purchases I could have made but this TT was so necessary for me.  I try not to look back and think about the money and what else I could have done with it - I just stand sideways and look in the mirror and smile!!

I'm still preop so I don't know. Does anyone know if you can be billed for plastic surgery or if it has to be paid in full before the procedure?

I have never heard of anyone who did not have to pay the surgeon in full before the procedure.  Often it has to be paid by a certain number of days before the procedure to make sure charges clear, checks clear, etc. You can, however, take out specific loans for medical costs or can put it on a credit card and pay those over time, of course.

Lora

Depends on the surgeon. Mine financed his portion of my bill. The surgery center had to be paid in full before my surgery.

 does anyone know if you can use a health savings account to pay  for plastics?

Many policies prohibit flexible Spending Accounts to be used for cosmetic surgery, but I have heard of people doing it anyway.  I am not sure about actual HSAs which have slightly different rules.

Lora

My husband had a panniculectomy in early April.  Because of medical issues, our insurance did pay for it.  We had to meet the deductible of course, and 20% after that, up to the out of pocket max.  So, $4500.

I will tell you, meet with more than one surgeon.  The first doc we met with was 'in network' and therefore would have cost less.  But after meeting the second PS, who did NOT offer a free consult even, we knew we wanted the 2nd surgeon to do the procedure.

Make sure you are very clear on what type of procedure you are discussing with the surgeon.  A panniculectomy is NOT a tummy tuck, and does not yield great cosmetic results.  My husband looks better, yes, but more important, he feels better.  That was his goal and so we are happy with his results.  He is still just 2 months post op, so it will look a little better as time goes on.

Also, there are different types of tummy tucks.  Personally, if I decide to have a TT, I would want an anchor TT.  I also want a thigh lift.  But I don't want either badly enough right now to pay for them out of pocket.

As far as I know, a Healthcare Spending Account/Savings account cannot be used for cosmetic procedures.  Because my husband's surgery was deemed 'medically necessary' (if your insurance will pay for it, it is pretty much guaranteed it has been deemed 'medically necessary') we were able to pre-plan and put aside the whole $4500 tax free.  It saved us $1000 in taxes, at least.....

And finally, as others have said, no you are not selfish for wanting this.  If you can swing the payments, go for it.