BariatricEating.com Health & Nutrition
Rant - No belly button!!??
Today I am sitting in the waiting room of Dr. Alan Pillersdorf, in Palm
Beach, Florida, while my girlfriend JoAnne undergoes the second of her
three planned reconstructive procedures; a lower body lift, medial &
lateral thigh life and upper arm lift. I had completed a different rant
for this month but my environment prompted a quick change of subject.
At noon, we entered Dr. Pillersdorf’s pre-surgical suite, while Dr. DeJesus, the anesthesiologist (not a nurse anesthesiologist, but an M.D.), started her IV. Then Jo, a beautiful 68-year-old who loves her new life, gave me a hug and shuffled into the surgical suite. She is now in the strong and capable hands of one of the best plastic surgeons who is a pioneer in the emerging specialty of gastric bypass reconstruction. Dr. Pillersdorf understands the skin challenges that remain after a loss of 100 pounds or more and has perfected techniques to not only safely remove excess skin, but also leave a nice looking result. He makes it clear that he believes we deserve to enjoy our bodies after such a large weight loss and is proud of his handiwork. This is what having a plastic surgery procedure is about. It should be exciting for the patient to be able to look forward to a normal body after years of morbid obesity and Dr. Pillersdorf is a star example of a surgeon who is pleased to play an integral role by providing outstanding surgical results.
Last night there was a message board thread from a gastric bypass post-op that went for a plastic surgery consult. She was upset that the doctor told her that she wouldn’t have a belly button after her tummy tuck procedure as he didn’t ‘do’ bellybuttons. This bothered her and she asked for opinions and support. She actually felt silly for wanting to have a belly button after her tummy tuck! As I read the first 15 or so responses, I could feel my eyebrows begin to rise, and my fingers itch for my keyboard as there was not one post so far that encouraged her to find another surgeon for another opinion. All the replies to her post encouraged her to be happy that her insurance company was covering her surgery, be satisfied that she was going to be rid of the large skin flap, and chided her for mourning the loss of her belly button as it was ‘useless’.
I clenched my teeth as I contemplated the pathetic mindset of these folks who didn’t understand that they were the customer and that they got to approve or reject the planned result. They didn’t realize that they should shop around and compare dossiers? That even though this was plastic surgery, that it was still an operation and that they should expect at least reasonable results?
No belly button!!?? This doesn’t even make sense. How can a plastic surgeon not be able to leave a patient with an intact belly button? More importantly, why wasn’t anyone else upset about this? When you have a tummy tuck, your belly button isn’t moved; the skin around it is moved. The surgeon first makes a horizontal incision between your belly button and pubic hairline; cuts around your belly button (known as your umbilicus), loosens the surrounding belly skin, pulls down the excess skin and then cuts a hole in the skin so your belly button can peek through again. So it is never detached… it stays put while the area around the umbilicus is manipulated. So basically, an experienced plastic surgeon leaves you with a belly button… in fact, the same one you started out with.
We need to be educated consumers when it comes to medical procedures. We agonize over buying a vacuum cleaner, but don’t investigate a gastric bypass surgeon or plastic surgeon because they are in our insurance book. There are surgeons, good surgeons, and great surgeons; based on the numbers of procedures they perform, technique, schooling, and results. Find a surgeon who is practiced in dealing with large amounts of excess skin. This is an art and a surgeon who is gifted in this art leaves you with a belly button. While I am on a rant… he doesn’t use staples either. Plastic surgeons are proud of their delicate nearly invisible perfect stitches. This is a hallmark of plastic surgery. STAPLES? Now this is just my opinion, but RUN, don't walk; you would have to be out of your mind to let a plastic surgeon staple you closed. Maybe (just maybe) if you were having such extensive procedures done where you had miles of incisions, this might justify staples. For the average tummy tuck, I repeat, RUN... don't walk.
Did you know that any doctor practicing in any specialty can decide he is going to start doing brow lifts or even breast augmentations starting next Tuesday. Make sure he or she is board certified in the specialty of Plastic Surgery. Use your head and make sure the surgeon you choose specializes in the procedure you are having done. Ask the surgeon just how many tummy tucks, or thigh lifts, or body lifts they perform each month… each week. Do you really want a guy who has only done three other arm lifts (called a brachioplasty), doing his forth one on on you? I don't think so! Doing a tummy tuck on someone who has a little flab after having a baby, is very different from reconstructing an 11 pound skin flap after a 219 pound weight loss. Don't choose a plastic surgeon who has never done a medial thigh lift, even if this is the same guy that did an incredible nose job on your cousin. Did you ever hear practice makes perfect? Well, in surgery, studies prove it is true. Choose someone who is practiced in the procedure you want or need.
THINK… ask questions, don’t be intimidated, and please do not think for a moment that you should settle for a crummy result because you are using an insurance benefit.
Other stellar examples of plastic surgeons who specialize in bariatric patient skin removal are Dr. Bernard Shuster of Hollywood, Florida and Dr. Timothy Katzen of Beverly Hills, California. So I have you covered in Florida with Dr. Pillersdorf and Dr. Shuster, and in California with Dr. Katzen! I have linked their websites below and adore these men for their dedication to helping us!
A last thought... please, please, before you have that plastic surgery, STOP SMOKING, take your vitamins, and use plenty of protein so your body can heal. Plan for your success bellas!
Susan Maria
Link to Dr. Alan Pillersdorf website Please speak with his assistant Courtney, for a private consult, reference that you are a gastric bypass post op and that you know Susan Maria.
Link to Dr. Bernard A. Shuster website Make sure you check out his online secure photo consultation service. The doctor will speak with you personally.
Link to Dr. J. Timothy Katzen website I have known Dr. Katzen for several years; I know many of his patients
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© BE, Inc. 2011 - Susan Maria Leach. All rights reserved.
