Leanne's Story: When choosing your doc, personality matters

If you’ve had plastic surgery, or any type of surgery for that matter, then you’ll likely agree that the patient-surgeon relationship is a strange thing. It’s a blind date followed by this massive commitment – kind of like that reality TV show ‘Married at First Sight.’

If you recall from my first post, I’m Leanne, and I’m just over two months away from my lower body lift or LBL. After a lifetime of struggling with my weight, I made the decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery. It definitely helped me lose the weight, but left me with a very prominent apron of loose skin.

When deciding to remove that skin, I met with two surgeons in my city roughly a year ago before deciding who to go with. The two doctors couldn’t have been more different.

Dr. A’s clinic was very modest. She was very soft-spoken and matter-of-fact. She described, in great detail, the surgery she thought was best for me, and told me it could be booked for two months from that date. One thing that I found really strange was how different she looked in person compared to her website. The image that she portrayed didn’t match the person I met. I really felt strongly about transparency and authenticity.

Dr. C’s clinic was large and luxurious. His waiting room was full, which told me was that he was clearly in-demand. My appointment was 90 minutes late – something that would typically tick me off and cause me to run and never look back, but when he came in the exam room his energy was fantastic. He managed to make me feel like he’d been thinking about my case the entire day.

Dr. C presented the idea of performing a belt lipectomy, a procedure that removes all the extra skin around the belt line. Up to that point, I had really only been seeking a panniculectomy (which just removes the apron), but he made a compelling case. He was able to show me before and afters of women who looked like me, and at the end of the day, the cost was surprisingly just a few thousand more than Dr. A’s quote. And although cost is a huge consideration for me, I wasn’t going to nickel and dime this surgery. I wanted the right procedure and the right doctor, even if it cost more. He could do the surgery in January 2025. See my prior comment about demand.

I said before that my main motivation for this surgery is to end the sores and rashes under my apron belly. That’s true. However, I’d be lying if I said I’m not interested in the effect of the finished product. I am going to look different. Clothing will fit differently. I will likely drop a pant size or two. I’ll also be able to see my vagina for the first time in years. Listen, we have NOT been on speaking terms. Now, she’s going to have to deal with me a lot!

Returning to the cost of surgery for a moment. All told, I’m looking at $20,000. It is a lot of money, and I’m not sugar coating it. But, if you are considering surgery but think you can’t afford it, I want you to know that there are options. Speak to a financial advisor, surgical financing, and speak to doctors about their financing options. In the end, it’s still not cheap, but there are ways to manage it.

Then there are the added costs you may not have considered. In my case, I will require a lift chair for sleeping and hanging out in. Thankfully, the chair can be rented. I won’t be able to care for my dog so he will be staying with his sitter for at least two weeks. There’s also the cost of the compression garments I will need to wear throughout my recovery. For some others, there’s time off of work, and maybe even the cost of a caregiver if you don’t have support nearby.

There’s a lot to consider before pulling the trigger, but a good doctor should be able to walk you through what to expect, both physically and financially. 

I feel comfortable with Dr. C. He has done that, and made me feel excited while doing it.