How expensive is the surgery? Will the scars go completely away and if so how long will it take? Oh and you look Amazing!!!
Thank you very much!!! No, scars will continue to fade but never go away, it's a trade off that you need to make your peace with. For me, it was an easy decision, I had
hated that hanging, lumpy, bumpy leftover skin and tissue that exercise wouldn't ever touch. I'm also a "good healer" and previous surgical scars are barely visible. Granted, these are long incisions made all over my body but I'm hopeful that by a year, I'll have healed up pretty well. And a bonus with the surgeon I went with is that if I have any scars that are still pretty ugly after a year, he'll do a scar revision as an outpatient procedure in his office. That is "free" (or lets get real, I consider that part of the total cost).
Recovery is rough but I live alone and managed. I had to take 8 weeks off of work because I could neither sit long because of the 360 degree incision just above my tush, nor could I stand long since I had my ab muscles tightened and was hunched over the first 4-6 weeks. I had to change positions often. I'd say that getting in and out of bed was the hardest part for me since I had everything done at once and couldn't use my arms or core muscles to sit up. But I researched and prepared for months. I hired someone to come in for an hour, three times a week to vacuum, bring my grocery deliveries up the stairs (I live in a second floor condo) and keep an ear out for me while I showered, just in case. I only needed her for 3 weeks. After that, I could do a lot more on my own.
I met with 5 surgeons who specialize in post-weight loss body contouring either in person or virtually. The quotes varied, quite significantly. The first surgeon that I was seriously considering had thousands of positive reviews and was in Mexico. His estimate was about $17,000 and even included an inner thigh lift which I couldn't afford with any US surgeon. But the travel would be a lot on a healing body from NY. My highest quote in the US (without the thigh lift) was $35,000. Each surgeon will evaluate your body, health and base your quote on how long he/she expects your case to take. Many will only do one or two procedures at once, they don't want to keep you under too long. Fortunately for me, based on my good health, age, and body type, my surgeon could do everything (again, except thighs) in a single surgery. I'm sure that saved me several thousand dollars in hospital costs, the anesthesiologist and other misc. costs that add up if I had needed multiple surgeries. So you really need to get estimates based on your specific body since there are so many factors to consider. What may cost one person $26,000 may cost someone else $5,000-$10,000 more.
