Plastics Risky?

So I have read a few post about extra skin and plastics rescently. I noticed a lot of people were saying that they werent worth the risk to them. I was just wondering why plastics such as ( tummy tuck, breast, thigs, and arms) are so risky. Im 24 about 371 and will be revising to RNY from band. I have over 200 pounds to lose so i know I will have a lot of extra skin. I just dont think I could go through the rest of my life with it.......Money is not going to be the issue, but reading some posts has me thinking they are like super dangerouse or something. Any info about them would be helpful

As far as I know, no more dangerous than any other major surgery.  People die having plastics, just like people die having WLS.  With any major surgery, you risk infection, excessive blood loss, blood clots, etc.  Since obesity was beginning to cause health problems for me, I thought it was worth the risk to lose weight.  But my saggy breasts aren't causing any health problems.  I don't think it's worth the risk just so my breasts will be perky.

 Every surgery has risks! From complications with anesthesia, blood clots during surgery, delayed healing, respiratory difficulties after surgery, bleeding problems during surgery, and the risk of infection. These are the most common risks! Be an informed consumer, do your research and talk to your doctors, get recommendations for plastic surgeons or any other doctor who might operate on you!

It's another major surgery.  More pain than RNY surgery, limited movement during healing, potential slower healing, cost--these are what to expect from plastics. A well known surgeon speaks to my suppport groups. He can do almost any plastic surgery on a wt loss pateint, but has a LIMIT of 6 hours of surgery at one time.  That's what data seems to indicate--any more time than 6 hours under aneshesia and you run higher risks of complications.  So if you need multiple procedures, you may need to have surgeries at different times.  Personally, I'd avoid any surgeon that says "I can do it all at one time" , ending up with 8-9 hours on the surgery table.  That's when it can be a dangerous surgery. DAVE

Thing is, when they do a panniculectomy, they take a HUGE amount of your flesh, and they chop it off. You've basically been cut halfway in half right at the abdomen. The sheer length of the incision creates a LOT of skin-real-estate where an infection can sprout up. Also it is lengthy involved surgery with a HUGE incision, a LOT of blood vessels, a large strain on the cardiovascular system. And ultimately a freakishly HUGE amount of pain!

Here's my Panni 


Side view gives you an idea of how much of this is excess. (I can stretch my skin out forward about a foot:)


Here's a side view that sort of shows my actual size (as these two pictures make me look quite hefty still): 


And then there's the batwings 


And the "flubber thighs" 

13 years ago I lost 160lbs and went in for a full TT , well the nurse anesthetist didn't like how the vent was placed in my throat so he pulled it out and sprayed my throat with whatever they use and he could not get the tube back in. It took several minutes to get me stabilized < I woke up with respiration's of 4 meaning I took a breath on my own only 4 times a minute, I was inti-bated ( YUCK) and transferred to the hospital.
Two weeks later I went back and the NA wanted to do an allergy skin test so he put the anesthesia just under the skin, well that stuff makes you stop breathing, so I stopped breathing , and all hell broke loose , the NURSE saved my life BP dropped they had paddles ready , had benydril and all of what they  use, they even got more from a surgery center across the street !! then the N anesthetist injected me BY MISTAKE with the rest of the anesthesia....REALLY , the guy was so shook up he was making mistake after mistake , and if it was not for the nurse and the EMT's I would be dead.
The first episode was o.k. because I was knocked out but the second time I was awake through the whole thing , I tried to stay as calm as possible .
SOOOO even "happy " surgeries can go very wrong.
I did finally have the TT in a hospital and with the head of anesthetics but suffer to this day from panic attacks and I take nothing medical lightly , even having my eyes dilated in an eye exam , I have to take Valium to even go to the dentist !!!
NO SURGERY IS RISK FREE !!!!!!!!

My WLS I was scared of dying (I'd just lost my mum to cancer)... in fact I was still not sure I was going to do it as we drove to teh hospital (Who knew we'd get caught in a traffic jam at 5:15 am?) ... I wasn't sure as I disrobed, and I was really ready to cancel as nurse #1 tried four places for the IV, nurse #2 tried five OTHER places for the IV, and finally the anaesthetist came in and got it right with Try #1.... When hubby came to give me a kiss and take my wedding ring and personal belongings, I was about ready to call it off. Then the anaesthetist gave me the versed and I asked him, "Was that the Versed?" and he said yes. The next thing I knew, I was rock-solid certain that NO, I didn't want the surgery, I made my mind up. And I turned to tell someone and found myself in recovery. What a time to make that decision!

When I had my ****ygectomy, I was 10 times more freaked out and scared of teh surgery. Of course, it's hard to have a surgery that has a 25% serious complication rate, a 40% failure rate (half of which have WORSE symptoms after), on top of just plain now-it's-a-phobia screaming fear.

 Do your research. Try the plastics board here on OH. Most people are v. happy with their post-plastic results. Make sure you go to the best surgeon you can afford and make sure the surgeon has worked with patients with Massive Weight Loss.
I've done a ton of research and am having PS in December. I've decided quality of life outweighs the risk of surgery.

Part of the risk of plastic surgery other than what has already been mentioned is that the skin is often in very bad condition, with limited blood supply, from being stretched so much for so long.  This causes the rate of the incision breaking down and turning necrotic to be much higher than for or types of surgery where teh skin is healthy.  That is why the complication rate for lifts is so high... the skin on the thighs is often quite thin and fragile after losing massive amounts of weight. 

When necrosis sets in, all they can do is to go through a series of rounds of cutting out the dead skin and tissue ****asionally it only takes once if the area is small, but it can take many more times for larger incisions), so you end up with a large hole that must heal "from the inside out" and then re-grow the skin over the top of the large wound.  The nerves usually do not regenerate there when the wound is deep (the nerves end up getting cut out completely).  This is not especially dangerous, but it requires either a wound vac or packing and cleaning the wound twice a day for several months until it heals up.

Lora

Yeah, I always wondered about that. I look at my crepe-y skin and see that it's frail and thin and just not blooming with health, and wonder, "If it's not in good shape, cutting a hole in it won't change the 'health and bloom' of the remaining stuff stitched together.

Perhaps this is why I focus more on my breasts and batwings as potentials. I know that the bat-wing part of my arm skin is kind of weak-looking skin, but the top parts of my arms are semi-healthier, and the same is true of my breasts, I look at it as some of my less-stressed skin comparing to my thighs and panni.

Also, I've already been through breast surgery, I feel like I could handle that.... it can't be TOO much worse than having half your breast amputated in a surgery that was supposed to remove a large-grape-sized piece.