BariatricEating.com Health & Nutrition
The Finishing Touch – Post Bariatric Plastic Surgery
Susan Maria Leach
I had lost 143 pounds and couldn’t wait to have my abdominoplasty procedure. I had worked hard to change my life and deserved to take those final steps and have a nice shape for the first time in my life.
The
decision to have bariatric surgery is one of the biggest commitments we
will ever make. Once we take the surgical measure as a means to end our
morbid obesity, make permanent changes to our life, and fight to arrive
at and maintain a healthy goal weight, many of us either need or feel
like we want to complete our transformation with plastic or reconstructive
surgery.
It is very important that you are well informed when choosing someone to transform you. Plastic surgery is still surgery and is not to be taken lightly. It's not as easy as it looks on television where patients go to sleep and in a one hour show appear to have multiple procedures with little or no consequence.
We should choose a plastic reconstructive surgeon as carefully as we chose our bariatric surgeon. This is not the time to look for a deal or cheapest price as we live with the results forever, and it is sometimes difficult under the best of circumstances to achieve an attractive result given what the surgeon is given to work with.
I had my extended abdominoplasty eighteen months after my bariatric surgery. I researched, chose my surgeon carefully, and was fortunate that his skilled hand produced a nearly perfect result. However, my best friend at the time thought she chose wisely as well, but her extended abdominoplasty that was performed by another surgeon just three days after mine went horribly wrong, and it took her almost two years to heal from her terrible wounds and still deals with the emotional damage.
It's
important to select someone who is practiced in dealing with the large
skin flaps and challenges we present after massive weight loss. This is
why surgeons like Dr. Shuster, who are creating the specialty of Bariatric
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, are gaining in popularity as they
focus on perfecting existing techniques, as well as creating new ones.
No one wants to lose 200 or more pounds and then be forced to accept an
unattractive outcome for what should be the proverbial cherry on top of
the sundae!
After all our hard work, we deserve a beautiful result!
I am very particular in regards to making my personal medical choices.
I know that practice makes perfect and that unless I am in an emergency
situation, it only takes a little time and effort to find out which doctor
or surgeon is best suited for my medical need.
I feel very strongly about making an informed decision when choosing a bariatric surgeon, and I would not hesitate to travel out of town to be able to have my bariatric procedure performed at an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence and have a surgeon that has been chosen by Surgical Review Corporation as a top surgeon meeting their strict requirements.
Ditto when choosing a surgeon to perform reconstructive plastic surgery after I have reached and maintained a healthy goal weight. I know that I have just one opportunity to have an attractive end result and given the skin situations that I bring to the table, the surgeon I choose must know the particulars of working with the large skin flaps and understand the unique challenges that massive weight loss creates.
- Susan Maria
Copyright
© BE, Inc. 2011 - Susan Maria Leach. All rights reserved.
