For Donna - more about plastics

[Guest guest]

Hi Donaa,

All of my plastic surgeries have been completely out-of-pocket - which

is why we are broke at the moment.

The lower body lift with the extended incision up the front to tight my

midriff was around $14,000 (if memory serves me right). The

brachioplasty and breast lift were about $11,000 combined. I did not

have implants (and I am very happy with the results without them). I

believe that using silicon gel implants would have added about $2,000 to

the price . . . saline-filled implants are somewhat less. I did not

forego implants as a cost-saving decision - I just lucked out that I am

reasonably well-proportioned without them.

I consulted with 4 plastic surgeons before deciding to use Dr.

Bermudez. I am completely convinced that I made the right decsion for

me. His prices were in the mid-range of the doctors I consulted. The

Kaiser plastic surgeons were definitely the cheapest - but after the

seeing results of a brachioplasty done by the Kaiser surgeon I almost

chose, I am incredibly glad that I didn't try to save the $4,000 that

using him would have afforded me.

I had lost about 233 lb. at the time of my first reconstruction - which

was 7 lb. below the goal that Dr. Baggs had set for me. At that weight,

I was still heavy for my height - but my body fat % was extremely low.

In fact, at 12% body fat, I had gotten a bit too lean. With the

inactivity during the recoveries and just some plain old bad choices, I

have put on some weight and my body fat has increased. These days my

weight varies between 145 and 150 - which is just about dead on where

Dr. Baggs wanted me to be. My body fat is about 20 to 22% which is

quite good - but I'd like to get it back down to about 18% which would

put me solidly into the athletic range.

None of the reconstructive surgeries has been as bad as I had feared.

The worst for me was probably the brachioplasty. I had an infection in

my left arm - it wasn't a major infection, but it was the first

complication of any sort that I'd had to deal with. Both of my arms and

both hands were really swollen and I couldn't use them for much of

anything for a few days. That was very frustrating and, because of my

problems with my knees, lead to my having a further complication. I

could not shift my weight sufficiently to relieve the pressure on my

tailbone and ended up with a bed sore. Ouch!!! The bed sore was

scarier and more painful than the incisions.

The lower body lift wasn't that bad, even with the muscle tightening.

It just takes quite a while before one can stand upright again. And,

the breast lift was the easiest of all. The only place I really noticed

any discomfort related to that at all was right about where the

incisions down from the brachioplasty nearly connected with those up

from the breast lift - which is to say in my armpits and down a bit

along the sides of my breats. It wasn't real painful, just a bit of an

ache.

I don't currently have a job, so I can't really answer the question

about returning to work.

Dr. Bermudez was my surgeon. I already sent you a linkto his

web page. He is not a Kaiser surgeon.

I don't mind the questions at all. Choosing a plastic surgeon and

deciding on which procedures to have done and so on are not the sorts of

things that most of us have ever had experience with. And they are big

decisions . . . finances are certainly an issue and so is your

confidence in the surgeon you choose. Feel free to ask anything that

comes to mind. I can't guarantee I'll have an answer, but I will do my

best.

Take care,

Kay (in San Leandro)

Open RNY 12/1/03

Donna Jordon wrote:

> Kay

> Was any of your surgeries covered or where they all out of pocket?

> Can I ask how much each surgery was? How much weight had you lost

> before you started plastic surgery? Where you at your goal weight?

> Which of these surgeries was the hardest, then next down to the

> easiest? How much time did you take off work from the hardest to the

> easiest? Who was your surgeon? Was your surgeon through Kaiser?

> Sorry for all the question, but I am at goal and my arms are bad, my

> breast also need only a left and if I can the others would be great

> also. Of course finances is what will decide when and which would be

> possible to be first. Thank you for this help. LOL Donna