POSTED UNDER Panniculectomy Reviews
Ready & Excited!
UPDATED FROM Intellectual737377
5 months post
Just a snap.
This shows the huge apron of skin under my clothes the day before surgery. The second pic is a week or so after; I still had the drains in. It's great to not have that big amount of skin hanging in front. I can actually wear leggings & pants with regular shirts, not just long tunics.
Intellectual737377's provider
UPDATED FROM Intellectual737377
1 day post
Finally had it done YESTERDAY!
So first bit of advice. Get a physical with labs before your consultation.
I had to postpone once bc of low iron. Had infusions, number were good. We set up new surgery date, so another set of preop labs. Iron was fine, but glucose was high bc I ate before the tests. Never said to fast before, plus they were really just checking my iron. Surgeon was concerned I had diabetes, so I had rush and do an a1c. This is all the 7 days before surgery. Had to coordinate between two busy doctors, trying to get clearance. Finally I was approved on Monday, surgery was still on for Wednesday. Stressful.
So surgery day. Getting everything in preop situated, Iv and a bunch of questions. Not nervous, ready to get it going. They wheel me in, next time I'm awake is in recovery. There is pain and the binder was insanely tight. They gave me more pain meds, those helped but still uncomfortable. Doctor told me he removed 29 pounds! It's amazing.
This is the day after. This has been painful. Follow up with surgeon, advises binder was to small and way to tight. Had to get another at the surgery center. Not fun, but I'm resting now.
Have someone with you to help, you'll need it. Overall, it is painful but it's manageable. I can not wait to see the results after the swelling starts to go down. I will post pictures there.
I like Dr. Brantner and his office. They're pretty busy, but helpful and were caring.
I had to postpone once bc of low iron. Had infusions, number were good. We set up new surgery date, so another set of preop labs. Iron was fine, but glucose was high bc I ate before the tests. Never said to fast before, plus they were really just checking my iron. Surgeon was concerned I had diabetes, so I had rush and do an a1c. This is all the 7 days before surgery. Had to coordinate between two busy doctors, trying to get clearance. Finally I was approved on Monday, surgery was still on for Wednesday. Stressful.
So surgery day. Getting everything in preop situated, Iv and a bunch of questions. Not nervous, ready to get it going. They wheel me in, next time I'm awake is in recovery. There is pain and the binder was insanely tight. They gave me more pain meds, those helped but still uncomfortable. Doctor told me he removed 29 pounds! It's amazing.
This is the day after. This has been painful. Follow up with surgeon, advises binder was to small and way to tight. Had to get another at the surgery center. Not fun, but I'm resting now.
Have someone with you to help, you'll need it. Overall, it is painful but it's manageable. I can not wait to see the results after the swelling starts to go down. I will post pictures there.
I like Dr. Brantner and his office. They're pretty busy, but helpful and were caring.
Replies (0)
ORIGINAL POST
Ready & Excited!
Had Gastric bypass in 2011, lost 203 lbs. Was really working out, looking good but always had a lot of skin/ fat hanging around my abdomen. Looked at a body lift, but $16k was too much.
Fast forward thru 2 pregnancies, gained some weight back. Going back to the gym was hindered by skin sores/ rashes, so looked into panniculectomy.
Found Dr Brantner, great consultation. He was confident about being able to fix this & that insurance would cover it. This was in March, right when procedures were postponed due to covid. Get ther call in May, it's covered and set the date for 6/22. Preop labs showed very low iron, couldn't do surgery. I finished 6 iron infusions last week, labs are great, got a new date 8/19. Really ready to get rid of this. Bring it on! I'll update as I go thru it, hopefully with awesome before & after pics.
Fast forward thru 2 pregnancies, gained some weight back. Going back to the gym was hindered by skin sores/ rashes, so looked into panniculectomy.
Found Dr Brantner, great consultation. He was confident about being able to fix this & that insurance would cover it. This was in March, right when procedures were postponed due to covid. Get ther call in May, it's covered and set the date for 6/22. Preop labs showed very low iron, couldn't do surgery. I finished 6 iron infusions last week, labs are great, got a new date 8/19. Really ready to get rid of this. Bring it on! I'll update as I go thru it, hopefully with awesome before & after pics.
Replies (3)
Wow. I have been thinking about one. I love in San Diego and have been looking for a Dr. Please keep us updated.
How did you go about getting insurance to pay for it? An do you have any before an after pics?
The Drs office filed the paperwork, showing the rashes and damage the hanging skin caused. The insurance company tried to deny it as cosmetic, after the procedure, but I called them to discuss. Explained they gave me a pre-auth to do it and it was not cosmetic. They eventually paid the claim.
I definitely do not regret the surgery, but I'm realistic in what the outcome would be. I only had the skin removed, no lipo or muscle repair. I can wear leggings and pants without 29 lbs of skin hanging around, which is amazing. I still have weight to lose and my belly is round, but it is soo much better than before.
I definitely do not regret the surgery, but I'm realistic in what the outcome would be. I only had the skin removed, no lipo or muscle repair. I can wear leggings and pants without 29 lbs of skin hanging around, which is amazing. I still have weight to lose and my belly is round, but it is soo much better than before.
Replies (1)