TD, do you know why it's only considered medically required for c/s?? What makes a saggy post-c/s belly different to a saggy post-vaginal-birth belly?
Just wondering as a good friend of mine had a c/s with her son a few weeks before I had DD1 (vaginally) and her belly's in better shape than mine - I know every person is different but I'm just wondering what the logic behind only c/s bellies qualifying for rebates? Is there something in the c/s procedure that does more damage to your abdomen (I mean, obviously, cutting through all that skin and muscle etc, but apart from that), but at the end of the day isn't a tummy tuck for aesthetic purposes?
I think Glam, its cause you get a bit of a depression in the skin where the scar is, and it causes more of a pouch.
I`d be interested to hear if there is some other reason.
A tummy tuck, as such, isn't covered by Medicare. A simple panniculectomy MAY be if the 'overhang' is bad enough to be considered an 'abnormal structure'. This can be from weight loss, or a c/s, but not necessarily only from a c/s. I lost a lot of weight from having lapband surgery and never ever had a c/s, but qualified for Medicare rebates for the panniculectomy portion of my lower body lift because my overhang was bad enough to be qualify for reconstructive surgery.
A panni is a straight cut and remove. There is no 'tightening' of the underlying stomache muscles as you would have with a tummy tuck. You get no tightness in your skin (by pulling the skin down to to flatten the bumps), no body contouring, sometimes you don't even get a new belly button (depending on your surgeon). They cut off the overhang, and sew you back up. Most of a panni is covered by Medicare if your overhang is 'bad' enough, but the end result is not great.
A tummy tuck is more expensive because you're paying for extras over and above a panni. A panni is a straight removal of the 'abnormal structure' but the other stuff associated with getting an upgrade to a tummy tuck is considered 'cosmetic' and therefore does not attract a Medicare rebate. Lipo then costs even more. A lower body lift, like I had, costs the most.
My surgery costs about $26k all up, but after PHI and Medicare rebates, I paid $16k out of pocket. My torso looks better than when I was 18, BUT I have a lot of scars in the exchange. Not that DH seems to mind. It was either the scars or lots of excess, hanging skin. I prefer the scars.
Pain wise - it was bearable. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Now, almost 5 months out, I mostly forget I have had the surgery. I would do it again in a second, but the surgery was a complete success, so really, I don't need any more surgery than I've already had.
Last edited by sushee; September 7th, 2009 at 12:12 AM.
I am not worried about the pain at all, i had a natural birth for my first and cs for my second, i suffered more with the first i was in labour for three days and then took 9 month to recover from it. My stiches down below got infected i couldnt even walk, my scond was a breeze after having an emegancy c/s, i was up the next day. They say a tummy tuck is similiar to a c/s. If thats the case im not worried at all.
Of course it is not considered medically required just because you had a c/s. Like in my other posts, i've said that it could be from weight related probs, weightloss and/or c/s. For me, it is c/s.
Glamourcide - i don't why they would consider a tummy tuck required for those who have had c/s. I didn't even know. I went to my plastic surgeon asking if he would do a tummy tuck at the same time as my boobies but he wouldn't because the op is too long and so is the recovery and the risk of infection can be high and it may also cause more bruising and swelling in my boobies than normal. That's when he asked how i'd delivered my 2 kids and i said via c/s. He then said it would be medically required.
It might be due to the cut, don't know. I personally had thought that it was because of my weightloss.
Sushee - geez, that's a bit crud of the drs not giving people who have had a panni body contouring or tightening of the muscles. That totally sucks. How long has it been since your surgery? Have the scars faded? I agree, i'll have scars over an apron belly anyday.
The apron belly gets me really depressed, as i have about 5kgs to lose of my total 20kg, and i know that at least 3kg of it can be removed with the TT and some lipo around the flanks (love handles)
yeah it kinda sucks that you don't get tightening with your panni, but I guess there are some people who just don't need it. I saw a chick who'd lost over 50kgs but whose tummy is washboard flat. But she has this overhang on the front of her tummy that could probably do with a snip and remove. I guess a panni would be great for people like that.
As for me, I had my surgery April this year, so it's been about 5 months since I got the work done. My scars are fading nicely but they'll never go away completely, but that's okay. They've 'worn in' now which means they don't pull and look awkward anymore like 'new' scars do. They're soft and pliant, and with clothes on, they're so seamless you wouldn't know they were there.
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It was either the scars or lots of excess, hanging skin. I prefer the scars.
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