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.
What size are you now Sushee, if you don't mind me asking? How much weight have you lost. I love all these inspirational weightloss stories.
i'll be hoping to get a regular TT, but i found out there is an endoscopic TT too, where the incision is where a c/s cut is, so the scar is not visible. With the regular TT the scar is visible when you wear bikinis or low rise pants, but who cares as i know the scar will fade to a silvery line given time. I will find out how much price difference there is between a regular TT and an endoscopic TT, but overall if it's quite a difference, i'll just stick with the regular TT.
I bet you feel fantastic and your Dh would love it too It's amazing how one feels about themselves when they start liking what they see in the mirror.
I'm sitting on a size 8 now, down from a size 20. I lost 37kgs all up. Lapband surgery was a huge success for me. It isn't for everyone, so I was very lucky (plus I worked my butt off! Lol!)
My circumferential body lift scar is quite low down, in that I can wear low rise jeans and bikini bottoms without those scars showing. But I also have a vertical scar running up the front of my tummy so I'll never wear a bikini again. But a regular one-piece swimsuit covers everything.
As for DH, the weight loss actually hasn't changed anything for him tbh. Lol! Size 20 or size 8, he treats me exactly the same way, which is actually nice because I think if he started paying me more attention because I was thinner, I guess I would feel like he never really found me attractive when I was more voluptous. But he has always said he would love me no matter what I looked like, and he's true to his word!
So for me, not much as changed, except that I just found a whole new love for shopping!
It was either the scars or lots of excess, hanging skin. I prefer the scars.
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It's amazing how one feels about themselves when they start liking what they see in the mirror.
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