Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 Dear , WOW what a good letter filled with information for all of us as well as concise questions. I am pre-op and the only thing I can help you with is there is a section titled DISCHARGE DIRECTIONS, you will find it on the left hand side of any of the website pages that have all those little subtitles. It tells you all the meds you will be taking. I think the idea of getting them filled and bringing them with you sounds great, I just wonder if sometimes he gives different ones depending upon complications. But at least you could get all the basics! Keep on working, I like your style. And Yes, I would like a copy of the updated contact list. I am Liz at ElsbethLiz@.... thank you. Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 Dear , WOW what a good letter filled with information for all of us as well as concise questions. I am pre-op and the only thing I can help you with is there is a section titled DISCHARGE DIRECTIONS, you will find it on the left hand side of any of the website pages that have all those little subtitles. It tells you all the meds you will be taking. I think the idea of getting them filled and bringing them with you sounds great, I just wonder if sometimes he gives different ones depending upon complications. But at least you could get all the basics! Keep on working, I like your style. And Yes, I would like a copy of the updated contact list. I am Liz at ElsbethLiz@.... thank you. Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 Hi! I'm new to the list but I've been reading everything about gastric surgery for the past three months. Insurance has already conceded medical necessity. All I have to do is get everything in to Dr. Rutledge that he needs so insurance can approve him and get my date. I'm hoping 2-3 weeks from now! I'm really excited and looking forward to it. I was already approved for the Fobi procedure but I kept reading on the Fobi list very frequently about gaping surgical wounds and a lot of other complications. I got kicked off the Fobi list for being " too negative " for asking questions about the complications. Well, by the time I got through fighting my insurance company for approval, I'd found out enough that I was beginning to regret choosing Fobi. Fobi's office did not help one iota with the insurance company, either. It was as if, after the initial denial, " No money? See-ya-later-bye. " Someone different had my file everytime, and the last person couldn't find it for two days. They had a different person for each piece of paper, it seemed. I began to feel like nothing but a fat statistic. The clincher came when I came across a webpage by a lady I had chatted with. She was the same size as me and had the Fobi with a panniculectomy, which is what I was planning. Well, she had 14 day and 27 day post-op pictures of her bare abdomen, and frankly, it looked *B-R-U-T-A-L.* No way did I want to go through that. The meaning of " 8 weeks of recovery " was really brought home for me by those pictures! Call me a wuss, I'm a wuss! I remembered reading Dr. Rutledge's page. The only reasons I had decided against him earlier were that he didn't do the panniculectomy (which I decided I don't want right now for sure!) and the two months liquid diet. I wondered how much weight loss was from the diet rather than the procedure! Anyway, I have heard from a lot of people that it's not that big a deal. Well, Dr. Rutledge's office and style is sure a BIG BIG BIG improvement (and so is this list)!!! I really like how all his patients rave about him, so I am looking forward to meeting him. The people on this list seem to be really nice folks, too. I've gotten a lot of " patient contacts " from the webpage list and they are just wonderful and full of good information! Thanks to each and everyone who replied. By the way, if anybody needs it, I have a *complete* email list I made from the webpage, out of which I have already culled all the bad email addresses. (I also redid the addresses on the page and sent that to Dr. R. with a list of the names and emails that were bad). It's good for getting a lot of patient contacts in one day, let me tell you! I got 30! So far for me, no question has gone unanswered. I feel like I'm ready to have this tomorrow. Now I'm just impatient! The one main thing I am still concerned about is that people stop losing weight about 30-70 pounds overweight. I *really* want to lose all the weight and not have to " diet " to do it. Any ideas? On a practical note, one lady recommended staying at the Extended Inn and said it only costs $239 for the week and you get a kitchen with refrigerator and sink, pots and pans, but that it is about 15 min. from the hospital. How close is the Dr.'s office to the hospital? How easy will it be to get transportation from the Extended Inn to the Dr.'s office and back for my first visit and then to the hospital and back and then to get the staples out? I am flying in and will also need to find transportation to the Extended Inn (I will call them for info about this). One of the ladies who wrote me suggested getting all the post-op medications from my PCP before I go so I don't have to try to get to a pharmacy while I'm in Durham and that sounded like a good idea. How do I find out what meds/amounts/size? Thanks! email: lindat@... homepage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat workpage: http://www.fourlane.com/laventures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 In a message dated 4/22/00 2:34:51 AM Central Daylight Time, lindat@... writes: << The only reasons I had decided against him earlier were that he didn't do the panniculectomy >> Hi , Sounds like you have it all together. Good for you. Dr. Rutledge's office is very very close to the hospital. I believe a cab wouldn't be that outrageous for you to use from Extended Stay for and there maybe even some other out of towners staying there who can share a cab or have rented a car. I suppose you could ask Dr. Rutledge about getting the scripts ahead of time. My husband went to Walmart to get mine with no problem after my release. As far as the two month liquid diet, I really don't think that there are too many people who actually stay strictly on liquids for two months. I am 5 weeks post op and have slowly been adding little things to my diet. The key is small amount, little bites, chew well, eat slow. So far everything has been just fine. I have not had any nausea. Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? Jane Kunert MGB 3/20/00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 In a message dated 4/22/00 2:34:51 AM Central Daylight Time, lindat@... writes: << The only reasons I had decided against him earlier were that he didn't do the panniculectomy >> Hi , Sounds like you have it all together. Good for you. Dr. Rutledge's office is very very close to the hospital. I believe a cab wouldn't be that outrageous for you to use from Extended Stay for and there maybe even some other out of towners staying there who can share a cab or have rented a car. I suppose you could ask Dr. Rutledge about getting the scripts ahead of time. My husband went to Walmart to get mine with no problem after my release. As far as the two month liquid diet, I really don't think that there are too many people who actually stay strictly on liquids for two months. I am 5 weeks post op and have slowly been adding little things to my diet. The key is small amount, little bites, chew well, eat slow. So far everything has been just fine. I have not had any nausea. Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? Jane Kunert MGB 3/20/00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 In a message dated 4/22/00 2:34:51 AM Central Daylight Time, lindat@... writes: << The only reasons I had decided against him earlier were that he didn't do the panniculectomy >> Hi , Sounds like you have it all together. Good for you. Dr. Rutledge's office is very very close to the hospital. I believe a cab wouldn't be that outrageous for you to use from Extended Stay for and there maybe even some other out of towners staying there who can share a cab or have rented a car. I suppose you could ask Dr. Rutledge about getting the scripts ahead of time. My husband went to Walmart to get mine with no problem after my release. As far as the two month liquid diet, I really don't think that there are too many people who actually stay strictly on liquids for two months. I am 5 weeks post op and have slowly been adding little things to my diet. The key is small amount, little bites, chew well, eat slow. So far everything has been just fine. I have not had any nausea. Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? Jane Kunert MGB 3/20/00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 In a message dated 4/22/00 2:34:50 AM Central Daylight Time, lindat@... writes: << One of the ladies who wrote me suggested getting all the post-op medications from my PCP before I go so I don't have to try to get to a pharmacy while I'm in Durham and that sounded like a good idea. How do I find out what meds/amounts/size? >> All of the post operative medications are on pages 33-34 of the patient manual. You can tell Dr R is a teacher/researcher/statistician by his thoroughness. You will be more that adequately prepared if you absorb all the information on his website and patient manual. Hope this helps. danielle still waiting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 : I enjoyed reading your letter. I to am a newbie! You asked some good questions, I can't wait to read the answers. Keep in touch! God Bless You! {{{{{HUGS}}}}} in Michigan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 A panniculectomy is the surgical removal of the apron of redundant flesh caused by abdominal obesity. The apron is called a pannus. I personally intend to wait until at least 1 year past reaching my goal before considering reconstructive surgery. I've always heard that it takes 6 months to a year for your residual fat to redistribute itself in a natural way. The local WLS surgeon commonly does the panniculectomy w/open RNY. I think that's a horrible risk and assault on your system. Sincerely, na MGB 12/27/1999 -- 272 04/21/2000 -- 204 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 A panniculectomy is the surgical removal of the apron of redundant flesh caused by abdominal obesity. The apron is called a pannus. I personally intend to wait until at least 1 year past reaching my goal before considering reconstructive surgery. I've always heard that it takes 6 months to a year for your residual fat to redistribute itself in a natural way. The local WLS surgeon commonly does the panniculectomy w/open RNY. I think that's a horrible risk and assault on your system. Sincerely, na MGB 12/27/1999 -- 272 04/21/2000 -- 204 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 A panniculectomy is the surgical removal of the apron of redundant flesh caused by abdominal obesity. The apron is called a pannus. I personally intend to wait until at least 1 year past reaching my goal before considering reconstructive surgery. I've always heard that it takes 6 months to a year for your residual fat to redistribute itself in a natural way. The local WLS surgeon commonly does the panniculectomy w/open RNY. I think that's a horrible risk and assault on your system. Sincerely, na MGB 12/27/1999 -- 272 04/21/2000 -- 204 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 na, I hear you one of the ladies on another list here in Vegas had the tummy tuck done at the same time and said her belly hangs over it and her belly button is 2 inches off..Yuk I will just wear something binding until I get my weight down. trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 , Welcome to our list. It sounds like you've really done your research. BTW, what is a panniculectomy ?? Just curious. Best / e ************************************************* gabjones@... ************************************************* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 , Welcome to our list. It sounds like you've really done your research. BTW, what is a panniculectomy ?? Just curious. Best / e ************************************************* gabjones@... ************************************************* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 In a message dated 04/22/2000 2:42:29 PM Central Daylight Time, smootgen@... writes: << we may be surgery siblings. >> Now " Surgery Siblings " sounds like an option. What do you guys think? I prefer something a little more flattering than " littermates. " Any thoughts? le Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 McJaneygrl@... wrote: > > > Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? It's called a " tummy tuck, " but if you do a search on the web to see what is actually *done* to do this " tummy tuck, " the name doesn't come close to describing what is done. Basically, they cut you from hip to hip. Then they pull all the skin up to your rib cage lose from the underlying muscles. (Can you say " YEEEE-ooooowwwweee!!!! " ?) Then they stitch all the muscles tighter together. Then they cut off the " apron " of fat and skin that hangs down below the navel and pull the skin down. Then they cut out your belly button and sew it back up higher (where it used to be before they pulled all the skin down). Then they sew the side-to-side cut closed. It leaves a pretty ugly scar, too, because apparently the people doing it (or at least putting pictures on the web) don't give a rat's behind about how you look *out* of clothes, because they *could* make the incision a lot lower, in a bikini cut, if they wanted to. Fobi doesn't do a laparoscopic bypass but if you get the panniculectomy done at the same time as the bypass, he works from the panniculectomy cut (so in my case, I already have a scar there from a hysterectomy and it would have meant no new scar except one trocar hole he makes below the ribcage). But after I saw what all this would actually *do* to me, I said, " No, thanks, I'll pass. " If you want to see the after-surgery pictures that talked me out of it of the lady who was the same size as me who had the panniculectomy and Fobi done (WARNING, THESE ARE AWFUL): 14 days post-op (still covered in tape): http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/Incision.htm 27 days post-op (you can see how bad the wounds and bruising were here): http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/cleanincision.html Here are some panniculectomy pictures on people who just have the panniculectomy done by a plastic surgeon later (after losing weight, etc.): (I would never go to this doctor. If you look on his webpages, he really has poor looking results and big scars. He is most impressed with the " sideways view " and doesn't care how the scar and frontal view look. You can tell this especially from the " massive " one he is so proud of and some of his moving small pics on the page, but anyway, here's some pics): 44 year old: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html 27 year old: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty3.html Massive pannus: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty7.html Small moving pics (all side views): http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html -- Kind regards, EMAIL: lindat@... Webpage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat *** Call L. A. Ventures for online solutions! http://www.fourlane.com/laventures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 McJaneygrl@... wrote: > > > Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? It's called a " tummy tuck, " but if you do a search on the web to see what is actually *done* to do this " tummy tuck, " the name doesn't come close to describing what is done. Basically, they cut you from hip to hip. Then they pull all the skin up to your rib cage lose from the underlying muscles. (Can you say " YEEEE-ooooowwwweee!!!! " ?) Then they stitch all the muscles tighter together. Then they cut off the " apron " of fat and skin that hangs down below the navel and pull the skin down. Then they cut out your belly button and sew it back up higher (where it used to be before they pulled all the skin down). Then they sew the side-to-side cut closed. It leaves a pretty ugly scar, too, because apparently the people doing it (or at least putting pictures on the web) don't give a rat's behind about how you look *out* of clothes, because they *could* make the incision a lot lower, in a bikini cut, if they wanted to. Fobi doesn't do a laparoscopic bypass but if you get the panniculectomy done at the same time as the bypass, he works from the panniculectomy cut (so in my case, I already have a scar there from a hysterectomy and it would have meant no new scar except one trocar hole he makes below the ribcage). But after I saw what all this would actually *do* to me, I said, " No, thanks, I'll pass. " If you want to see the after-surgery pictures that talked me out of it of the lady who was the same size as me who had the panniculectomy and Fobi done (WARNING, THESE ARE AWFUL): 14 days post-op (still covered in tape): http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/Incision.htm 27 days post-op (you can see how bad the wounds and bruising were here): http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/cleanincision.html Here are some panniculectomy pictures on people who just have the panniculectomy done by a plastic surgeon later (after losing weight, etc.): (I would never go to this doctor. If you look on his webpages, he really has poor looking results and big scars. He is most impressed with the " sideways view " and doesn't care how the scar and frontal view look. You can tell this especially from the " massive " one he is so proud of and some of his moving small pics on the page, but anyway, here's some pics): 44 year old: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html 27 year old: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty3.html Massive pannus: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty7.html Small moving pics (all side views): http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html -- Kind regards, EMAIL: lindat@... Webpage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat *** Call L. A. Ventures for online solutions! http://www.fourlane.com/laventures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 McJaneygrl@... wrote: > > > Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? It's called a " tummy tuck, " but if you do a search on the web to see what is actually *done* to do this " tummy tuck, " the name doesn't come close to describing what is done. Basically, they cut you from hip to hip. Then they pull all the skin up to your rib cage lose from the underlying muscles. (Can you say " YEEEE-ooooowwwweee!!!! " ?) Then they stitch all the muscles tighter together. Then they cut off the " apron " of fat and skin that hangs down below the navel and pull the skin down. Then they cut out your belly button and sew it back up higher (where it used to be before they pulled all the skin down). Then they sew the side-to-side cut closed. It leaves a pretty ugly scar, too, because apparently the people doing it (or at least putting pictures on the web) don't give a rat's behind about how you look *out* of clothes, because they *could* make the incision a lot lower, in a bikini cut, if they wanted to. Fobi doesn't do a laparoscopic bypass but if you get the panniculectomy done at the same time as the bypass, he works from the panniculectomy cut (so in my case, I already have a scar there from a hysterectomy and it would have meant no new scar except one trocar hole he makes below the ribcage). But after I saw what all this would actually *do* to me, I said, " No, thanks, I'll pass. " If you want to see the after-surgery pictures that talked me out of it of the lady who was the same size as me who had the panniculectomy and Fobi done (WARNING, THESE ARE AWFUL): 14 days post-op (still covered in tape): http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/Incision.htm 27 days post-op (you can see how bad the wounds and bruising were here): http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/cleanincision.html Here are some panniculectomy pictures on people who just have the panniculectomy done by a plastic surgeon later (after losing weight, etc.): (I would never go to this doctor. If you look on his webpages, he really has poor looking results and big scars. He is most impressed with the " sideways view " and doesn't care how the scar and frontal view look. You can tell this especially from the " massive " one he is so proud of and some of his moving small pics on the page, but anyway, here's some pics): 44 year old: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html 27 year old: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty3.html Massive pannus: http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty7.html Small moving pics (all side views): http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html -- Kind regards, EMAIL: lindat@... Webpage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat *** Call L. A. Ventures for online solutions! http://www.fourlane.com/laventures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 CuteAKA2nv@... wrote: > > In a message dated 4/22/00 2:34:50 AM Central Daylight Time, > lindat@... writes: > > << > One of the ladies who wrote me suggested getting all the post-op > medications from my PCP before I go so I don't have to try to get to > a pharmacy while I'm in Durham and that sounded like a good idea. > How do I find out what meds/amounts/size? > > >> > > All of the post operative medications are on pages 33-34 of the > patient > manual. You can tell Dr R is a teacher/researcher/statistician by his > thoroughness. You will be more that adequately prepared if you absorb > all the > information on his website and patient manual. Hope this helps. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 , Thanks for the info. I would appreciate the updated e-mail address list. I haven't started my 10 contacts yet, so this would be helpful to me. After reading all the posts most of my questions have already been answered. I'm mainly interested in finding out how the surgery affected each individual personally. I wish you well in your new life. Sounds to me those not-too-nice people on the Fobi site did you a favor. You are in better hands now with Dr. R. Who knows, we may be surgery siblings. Your Fluffy Friend, Genz ( Genzel from Texas) lindat@... wrote: > Hi! > > I'm new to the list but I've been reading everything about gastric > surgery for the past three months. Insurance has already conceded > medical necessity. All I have to do is get everything in to Dr. > Rutledge that he needs so insurance can approve him and get my date. > I'm hoping 2-3 weeks from now! I'm really excited and looking > forward to it. > > I was already approved for the Fobi procedure but I kept reading on > the Fobi list very frequently about gaping surgical wounds and a lot > of other complications. I got kicked off the Fobi list for being > " too negative " for asking questions about the complications. Well, > by the time I got through fighting my insurance company for approval, > I'd found out enough that I was beginning to regret choosing Fobi. > Fobi's office did not help one iota with the insurance company, > either. It was as if, after the initial denial, " No money? > See-ya-later-bye. " Someone different had my file everytime, and the > last person couldn't find it for two days. They had a different > person for each piece of paper, it seemed. I began to feel like > nothing but a fat statistic. The clincher came when I came across a > webpage by a lady I had chatted with. She was the same size as me > and had the Fobi with a panniculectomy, which is what I was planning. > Well, she had 14 day and 27 day post-op pictures of her bare abdomen, > and frankly, it looked *B-R-U-T-A-L.* No way did I want to go > through that. The meaning of " 8 weeks of recovery " was really > brought home for me by those pictures! Call me a wuss, I'm a wuss! > > I remembered reading Dr. Rutledge's page. The only reasons I had > decided against him earlier were that he didn't do the panniculectomy > (which I decided I don't want right now for sure!) and the two months > liquid diet. I wondered how much weight loss was from the diet > rather than the procedure! Anyway, I have heard from a lot of people > that it's not that big a deal. > > Well, Dr. Rutledge's office and style is sure a BIG BIG BIG > improvement (and so is this list)!!! I really like how all his > patients rave about him, so I am looking forward to meeting him. The > people on this list seem to be really nice folks, too. > > I've gotten a lot of " patient contacts " from the webpage list and > they are just wonderful and full of good information! Thanks to each > and everyone who replied. > > By the way, if anybody needs it, I have a *complete* email list I > made from the webpage, out of which I have already culled all the bad > email addresses. (I also redid the addresses on the page and sent > that to Dr. R. with a list of the names and emails that were bad). > It's good for getting a lot of patient contacts in one day, let me > tell you! I got 30! > > So far for me, no question has gone unanswered. I feel like I'm > ready to have this tomorrow. Now I'm just impatient! > > The one main thing I am still concerned about is that people stop > losing weight about 30-70 pounds overweight. I *really* want to lose > all the weight and not have to " diet " to do it. Any ideas? > > On a practical note, one lady recommended staying at the Extended Inn > and said it only costs $239 for the week and you get a kitchen with > refrigerator and sink, pots and pans, but that it is about 15 min. > from the hospital. > > How close is the Dr.'s office to the hospital? > > How easy will it be to get transportation from the Extended Inn to > the Dr.'s office and back for my first visit and then to the hospital > and back and then to get the staples out? > > I am flying in and will also need to find transportation to the > Extended Inn (I will call them for info about this). > > One of the ladies who wrote me suggested getting all the post-op > medications from my PCP before I go so I don't have to try to get to > a pharmacy while I'm in Durham and that sounded like a good idea. > How do I find out what meds/amounts/size? > > Thanks! > > > email: lindat@... > homepage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat > workpage: http://www.fourlane.com/laventures > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > eGroups eLerts > It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! > http://click.egroups.com/1/3079/1/_/453517/_/956388848/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > This message is from the Mini-Gastric Bypass Mailing List at Onelist.com > Please visit our web site at http://clos.net > Get the Patient Manual at http://clos.net/get_patient_manual.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 , Thanks for the info. I would appreciate the updated e-mail address list. I haven't started my 10 contacts yet, so this would be helpful to me. After reading all the posts most of my questions have already been answered. I'm mainly interested in finding out how the surgery affected each individual personally. I wish you well in your new life. Sounds to me those not-too-nice people on the Fobi site did you a favor. You are in better hands now with Dr. R. Who knows, we may be surgery siblings. Your Fluffy Friend, Genz ( Genzel from Texas) lindat@... wrote: > Hi! > > I'm new to the list but I've been reading everything about gastric > surgery for the past three months. Insurance has already conceded > medical necessity. All I have to do is get everything in to Dr. > Rutledge that he needs so insurance can approve him and get my date. > I'm hoping 2-3 weeks from now! I'm really excited and looking > forward to it. > > I was already approved for the Fobi procedure but I kept reading on > the Fobi list very frequently about gaping surgical wounds and a lot > of other complications. I got kicked off the Fobi list for being > " too negative " for asking questions about the complications. Well, > by the time I got through fighting my insurance company for approval, > I'd found out enough that I was beginning to regret choosing Fobi. > Fobi's office did not help one iota with the insurance company, > either. It was as if, after the initial denial, " No money? > See-ya-later-bye. " Someone different had my file everytime, and the > last person couldn't find it for two days. They had a different > person for each piece of paper, it seemed. I began to feel like > nothing but a fat statistic. The clincher came when I came across a > webpage by a lady I had chatted with. She was the same size as me > and had the Fobi with a panniculectomy, which is what I was planning. > Well, she had 14 day and 27 day post-op pictures of her bare abdomen, > and frankly, it looked *B-R-U-T-A-L.* No way did I want to go > through that. The meaning of " 8 weeks of recovery " was really > brought home for me by those pictures! Call me a wuss, I'm a wuss! > > I remembered reading Dr. Rutledge's page. The only reasons I had > decided against him earlier were that he didn't do the panniculectomy > (which I decided I don't want right now for sure!) and the two months > liquid diet. I wondered how much weight loss was from the diet > rather than the procedure! Anyway, I have heard from a lot of people > that it's not that big a deal. > > Well, Dr. Rutledge's office and style is sure a BIG BIG BIG > improvement (and so is this list)!!! I really like how all his > patients rave about him, so I am looking forward to meeting him. The > people on this list seem to be really nice folks, too. > > I've gotten a lot of " patient contacts " from the webpage list and > they are just wonderful and full of good information! Thanks to each > and everyone who replied. > > By the way, if anybody needs it, I have a *complete* email list I > made from the webpage, out of which I have already culled all the bad > email addresses. (I also redid the addresses on the page and sent > that to Dr. R. with a list of the names and emails that were bad). > It's good for getting a lot of patient contacts in one day, let me > tell you! I got 30! > > So far for me, no question has gone unanswered. I feel like I'm > ready to have this tomorrow. Now I'm just impatient! > > The one main thing I am still concerned about is that people stop > losing weight about 30-70 pounds overweight. I *really* want to lose > all the weight and not have to " diet " to do it. Any ideas? > > On a practical note, one lady recommended staying at the Extended Inn > and said it only costs $239 for the week and you get a kitchen with > refrigerator and sink, pots and pans, but that it is about 15 min. > from the hospital. > > How close is the Dr.'s office to the hospital? > > How easy will it be to get transportation from the Extended Inn to > the Dr.'s office and back for my first visit and then to the hospital > and back and then to get the staples out? > > I am flying in and will also need to find transportation to the > Extended Inn (I will call them for info about this). > > One of the ladies who wrote me suggested getting all the post-op > medications from my PCP before I go so I don't have to try to get to > a pharmacy while I'm in Durham and that sounded like a good idea. > How do I find out what meds/amounts/size? > > Thanks! > > > email: lindat@... > homepage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat > workpage: http://www.fourlane.com/laventures > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > eGroups eLerts > It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! > http://click.egroups.com/1/3079/1/_/453517/_/956388848/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > This message is from the Mini-Gastric Bypass Mailing List at Onelist.com > Please visit our web site at http://clos.net > Get the Patient Manual at http://clos.net/get_patient_manual.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 , Thanks for the info. I would appreciate the updated e-mail address list. I haven't started my 10 contacts yet, so this would be helpful to me. After reading all the posts most of my questions have already been answered. I'm mainly interested in finding out how the surgery affected each individual personally. I wish you well in your new life. Sounds to me those not-too-nice people on the Fobi site did you a favor. You are in better hands now with Dr. R. Who knows, we may be surgery siblings. Your Fluffy Friend, Genz ( Genzel from Texas) lindat@... wrote: > Hi! > > I'm new to the list but I've been reading everything about gastric > surgery for the past three months. Insurance has already conceded > medical necessity. All I have to do is get everything in to Dr. > Rutledge that he needs so insurance can approve him and get my date. > I'm hoping 2-3 weeks from now! I'm really excited and looking > forward to it. > > I was already approved for the Fobi procedure but I kept reading on > the Fobi list very frequently about gaping surgical wounds and a lot > of other complications. I got kicked off the Fobi list for being > " too negative " for asking questions about the complications. Well, > by the time I got through fighting my insurance company for approval, > I'd found out enough that I was beginning to regret choosing Fobi. > Fobi's office did not help one iota with the insurance company, > either. It was as if, after the initial denial, " No money? > See-ya-later-bye. " Someone different had my file everytime, and the > last person couldn't find it for two days. They had a different > person for each piece of paper, it seemed. I began to feel like > nothing but a fat statistic. The clincher came when I came across a > webpage by a lady I had chatted with. She was the same size as me > and had the Fobi with a panniculectomy, which is what I was planning. > Well, she had 14 day and 27 day post-op pictures of her bare abdomen, > and frankly, it looked *B-R-U-T-A-L.* No way did I want to go > through that. The meaning of " 8 weeks of recovery " was really > brought home for me by those pictures! Call me a wuss, I'm a wuss! > > I remembered reading Dr. Rutledge's page. The only reasons I had > decided against him earlier were that he didn't do the panniculectomy > (which I decided I don't want right now for sure!) and the two months > liquid diet. I wondered how much weight loss was from the diet > rather than the procedure! Anyway, I have heard from a lot of people > that it's not that big a deal. > > Well, Dr. Rutledge's office and style is sure a BIG BIG BIG > improvement (and so is this list)!!! I really like how all his > patients rave about him, so I am looking forward to meeting him. The > people on this list seem to be really nice folks, too. > > I've gotten a lot of " patient contacts " from the webpage list and > they are just wonderful and full of good information! Thanks to each > and everyone who replied. > > By the way, if anybody needs it, I have a *complete* email list I > made from the webpage, out of which I have already culled all the bad > email addresses. (I also redid the addresses on the page and sent > that to Dr. R. with a list of the names and emails that were bad). > It's good for getting a lot of patient contacts in one day, let me > tell you! I got 30! > > So far for me, no question has gone unanswered. I feel like I'm > ready to have this tomorrow. Now I'm just impatient! > > The one main thing I am still concerned about is that people stop > losing weight about 30-70 pounds overweight. I *really* want to lose > all the weight and not have to " diet " to do it. Any ideas? > > On a practical note, one lady recommended staying at the Extended Inn > and said it only costs $239 for the week and you get a kitchen with > refrigerator and sink, pots and pans, but that it is about 15 min. > from the hospital. > > How close is the Dr.'s office to the hospital? > > How easy will it be to get transportation from the Extended Inn to > the Dr.'s office and back for my first visit and then to the hospital > and back and then to get the staples out? > > I am flying in and will also need to find transportation to the > Extended Inn (I will call them for info about this). > > One of the ladies who wrote me suggested getting all the post-op > medications from my PCP before I go so I don't have to try to get to > a pharmacy while I'm in Durham and that sounded like a good idea. > How do I find out what meds/amounts/size? > > Thanks! > > > email: lindat@... > homepage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat > workpage: http://www.fourlane.com/laventures > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > eGroups eLerts > It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! > http://click.egroups.com/1/3079/1/_/453517/_/956388848/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > This message is from the Mini-Gastric Bypass Mailing List at Onelist.com > Please visit our web site at http://clos.net > Get the Patient Manual at http://clos.net/get_patient_manual.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 Dear , Awful doesn't describe the pictures of the 68 year old woman. That poor soul. Even after surgery she is still deformed. I'm not scared of the actual surgery.I agree with you, I want to wait until after I lose my weight. Most plastic surgeons recommend waiting until after the weight loss because it is easier to separate the skin and the results are much better. After seeing those pictures, I'm even more motivated to take GOOD care of myself. I don't want to look like that 20 years from now. I have a bikini cut scar from my hyterectomy and I know of an EXCELLENT plastic surgeon in Dallas. His name is Dr. Fredrick Lester. He did my daughters breast augmentation and her rhinoplasty. His work is absolutely beautiful. All I'm waiting for is the MGB to lose this weight. Thanks for sharing the research with all of us. Your Fluffy Friend, Genz da wrote: > McJaneygrl@... wrote: > > > > > > > Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? > > It's called a " tummy tuck, " but if you do a search on the web to see > what is actually *done* to do this " tummy tuck, " the name doesn't come > close to describing what is done. > > Basically, they cut you from hip to hip. Then they pull all the skin up > to your rib cage lose from the underlying muscles. (Can you say > " YEEEE-ooooowwwweee!!!! " ?) Then they stitch all the muscles tighter > together. Then they cut off the " apron " of fat and skin that hangs down > below the navel and pull the skin down. Then they cut out your belly > button and sew it back up higher (where it used to be before they pulled > all the skin down). Then they sew the side-to-side cut closed. It > leaves a pretty ugly scar, too, because apparently the people doing it > (or at least putting pictures on the web) don't give a rat's behind > about how you look *out* of clothes, because they *could* make the > incision a lot lower, in a bikini cut, if they wanted to. > > Fobi doesn't do a laparoscopic bypass but if you get the panniculectomy > done at the same time as the bypass, he works from the panniculectomy > cut (so in my case, I already have a scar there from a hysterectomy and > it would have meant no new scar except one trocar hole he makes below > the ribcage). But after I saw what all this would actually *do* to me, > I said, " No, thanks, I'll pass. " > > If you want to see the after-surgery pictures that talked me out of it > of the lady who was the same size as me who had the panniculectomy and > Fobi done (WARNING, THESE ARE AWFUL): > > 14 days post-op (still covered in tape): > http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/Incision.htm > > 27 days post-op (you can see how bad the wounds and bruising were here): > http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/cleanincision.html > > Here are some panniculectomy pictures on people who just have the > panniculectomy done by a plastic surgeon later (after losing weight, > etc.): > > (I would never go to this doctor. If you look on his webpages, he > really has poor looking results and big scars. He is most impressed > with the " sideways view " and doesn't care how the scar and frontal view > look. You can tell this especially from the " massive " one he is so > proud of and some of his moving small pics on the page, but anyway, > here's some pics): > > 44 year old: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html > > 27 year old: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty3.html > > Massive pannus: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty7.html > > Small moving pics (all side views): > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html > > -- > Kind regards, > > > EMAIL: lindat@... > Webpage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat > > *** > Call L. A. Ventures for online solutions! > http://www.fourlane.com/laventures > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Your high school sweetheart-where is he now? With 4.4 million alumni > already registered at Classmates.com, there's a good chance you'll > find her here. Visit your online high school class reunion at: > http://click.egroups.com/1/3139/1/_/453517/_/956429568/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > This message is from the Mini-Gastric Bypass Mailing List at Onelist.com > Please visit our web site at http://clos.net > Get the Patient Manual at http://clos.net/get_patient_manual.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 Dear , Awful doesn't describe the pictures of the 68 year old woman. That poor soul. Even after surgery she is still deformed. I'm not scared of the actual surgery.I agree with you, I want to wait until after I lose my weight. Most plastic surgeons recommend waiting until after the weight loss because it is easier to separate the skin and the results are much better. After seeing those pictures, I'm even more motivated to take GOOD care of myself. I don't want to look like that 20 years from now. I have a bikini cut scar from my hyterectomy and I know of an EXCELLENT plastic surgeon in Dallas. His name is Dr. Fredrick Lester. He did my daughters breast augmentation and her rhinoplasty. His work is absolutely beautiful. All I'm waiting for is the MGB to lose this weight. Thanks for sharing the research with all of us. Your Fluffy Friend, Genz da wrote: > McJaneygrl@... wrote: > > > > > > > Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? > > It's called a " tummy tuck, " but if you do a search on the web to see > what is actually *done* to do this " tummy tuck, " the name doesn't come > close to describing what is done. > > Basically, they cut you from hip to hip. Then they pull all the skin up > to your rib cage lose from the underlying muscles. (Can you say > " YEEEE-ooooowwwweee!!!! " ?) Then they stitch all the muscles tighter > together. Then they cut off the " apron " of fat and skin that hangs down > below the navel and pull the skin down. Then they cut out your belly > button and sew it back up higher (where it used to be before they pulled > all the skin down). Then they sew the side-to-side cut closed. It > leaves a pretty ugly scar, too, because apparently the people doing it > (or at least putting pictures on the web) don't give a rat's behind > about how you look *out* of clothes, because they *could* make the > incision a lot lower, in a bikini cut, if they wanted to. > > Fobi doesn't do a laparoscopic bypass but if you get the panniculectomy > done at the same time as the bypass, he works from the panniculectomy > cut (so in my case, I already have a scar there from a hysterectomy and > it would have meant no new scar except one trocar hole he makes below > the ribcage). But after I saw what all this would actually *do* to me, > I said, " No, thanks, I'll pass. " > > If you want to see the after-surgery pictures that talked me out of it > of the lady who was the same size as me who had the panniculectomy and > Fobi done (WARNING, THESE ARE AWFUL): > > 14 days post-op (still covered in tape): > http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/Incision.htm > > 27 days post-op (you can see how bad the wounds and bruising were here): > http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/cleanincision.html > > Here are some panniculectomy pictures on people who just have the > panniculectomy done by a plastic surgeon later (after losing weight, > etc.): > > (I would never go to this doctor. If you look on his webpages, he > really has poor looking results and big scars. He is most impressed > with the " sideways view " and doesn't care how the scar and frontal view > look. You can tell this especially from the " massive " one he is so > proud of and some of his moving small pics on the page, but anyway, > here's some pics): > > 44 year old: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html > > 27 year old: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty3.html > > Massive pannus: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty7.html > > Small moving pics (all side views): > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html > > -- > Kind regards, > > > EMAIL: lindat@... > Webpage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat > > *** > Call L. A. Ventures for online solutions! > http://www.fourlane.com/laventures > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Your high school sweetheart-where is he now? With 4.4 million alumni > already registered at Classmates.com, there's a good chance you'll > find her here. Visit your online high school class reunion at: > http://click.egroups.com/1/3139/1/_/453517/_/956429568/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > This message is from the Mini-Gastric Bypass Mailing List at Onelist.com > Please visit our web site at http://clos.net > Get the Patient Manual at http://clos.net/get_patient_manual.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2000 Report Share Posted April 22, 2000 Dear , Awful doesn't describe the pictures of the 68 year old woman. That poor soul. Even after surgery she is still deformed. I'm not scared of the actual surgery.I agree with you, I want to wait until after I lose my weight. Most plastic surgeons recommend waiting until after the weight loss because it is easier to separate the skin and the results are much better. After seeing those pictures, I'm even more motivated to take GOOD care of myself. I don't want to look like that 20 years from now. I have a bikini cut scar from my hyterectomy and I know of an EXCELLENT plastic surgeon in Dallas. His name is Dr. Fredrick Lester. He did my daughters breast augmentation and her rhinoplasty. His work is absolutely beautiful. All I'm waiting for is the MGB to lose this weight. Thanks for sharing the research with all of us. Your Fluffy Friend, Genz da wrote: > McJaneygrl@... wrote: > > > > > > > Question for you........ What is a panniculectomy? > > It's called a " tummy tuck, " but if you do a search on the web to see > what is actually *done* to do this " tummy tuck, " the name doesn't come > close to describing what is done. > > Basically, they cut you from hip to hip. Then they pull all the skin up > to your rib cage lose from the underlying muscles. (Can you say > " YEEEE-ooooowwwweee!!!! " ?) Then they stitch all the muscles tighter > together. Then they cut off the " apron " of fat and skin that hangs down > below the navel and pull the skin down. Then they cut out your belly > button and sew it back up higher (where it used to be before they pulled > all the skin down). Then they sew the side-to-side cut closed. It > leaves a pretty ugly scar, too, because apparently the people doing it > (or at least putting pictures on the web) don't give a rat's behind > about how you look *out* of clothes, because they *could* make the > incision a lot lower, in a bikini cut, if they wanted to. > > Fobi doesn't do a laparoscopic bypass but if you get the panniculectomy > done at the same time as the bypass, he works from the panniculectomy > cut (so in my case, I already have a scar there from a hysterectomy and > it would have meant no new scar except one trocar hole he makes below > the ribcage). But after I saw what all this would actually *do* to me, > I said, " No, thanks, I'll pass. " > > If you want to see the after-surgery pictures that talked me out of it > of the lady who was the same size as me who had the panniculectomy and > Fobi done (WARNING, THESE ARE AWFUL): > > 14 days post-op (still covered in tape): > http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/Incision.htm > > 27 days post-op (you can see how bad the wounds and bruising were here): > http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6698/cleanincision.html > > Here are some panniculectomy pictures on people who just have the > panniculectomy done by a plastic surgeon later (after losing weight, > etc.): > > (I would never go to this doctor. If you look on his webpages, he > really has poor looking results and big scars. He is most impressed > with the " sideways view " and doesn't care how the scar and frontal view > look. You can tell this especially from the " massive " one he is so > proud of and some of his moving small pics on the page, but anyway, > here's some pics): > > 44 year old: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html > > 27 year old: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty3.html > > Massive pannus: > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty7.html > > Small moving pics (all side views): > http://plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty4.html > > -- > Kind regards, > > > EMAIL: lindat@... > Webpage: http://www.fourlane.com/lindat > > *** > Call L. A. Ventures for online solutions! > http://www.fourlane.com/laventures > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Your high school sweetheart-where is he now? With 4.4 million alumni > already registered at Classmates.com, there's a good chance you'll > find her here. Visit your online high school class reunion at: > http://click.egroups.com/1/3139/1/_/453517/_/956429568/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > This message is from the Mini-Gastric Bypass Mailing List at Onelist.com > Please visit our web site at http://clos.net > Get the Patient Manual at http://clos.net/get_patient_manual.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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