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Do You Need Skin Removal Surgery due to weight loss?

Posted by celia16 @celia16, Mar 23, 2024

I’m interested in hearing from those who either have had skin removal surgery, due to substantial weight loss or feel they may need it in the future. I have lost 70 pounds so far and have 20-30 pounds to go….and I’m seeing loose skin that is bothersome. I’ve heard that for those over 50, it’s more problematic. I’m thrilled with my weight loss, but the skin is something I don’t I can tolerate.

Does insurance cover it? Hmmm….any information from those who have had it is appreciated. (Full disclosure, I haven’t had bariatric surgery, but this forum seems like the right place for the discussion.)

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Bariatric Surgery & Weight Loss Support Group.

Profile picture for beccasch
beccasch | @beccasch | Sep 3 3:07pm

Hi,
I am scheduled next week for skin removal surgery and liposuction. I am having the belly done plus the upper arms. Insurance did not cover so I am paying for the treatment. ($28,000)
I have been told I will have drains in the pubic area for 2-6 weeks, wear a compression body suit,
and no exercise except walking for 2 months.
My bariatric surgery was a year and a half ago and my weight has been stable since January.
My weight loss was 75 pounds with no complications. I am moderately active. I take strength training classes three times a week and go to water exercise 3 times a week.
I will let you know how it goes.

REPLY
2 replies
Profile picture for celia16
celia16 | @celia16 | Sep 3 3:55pm
In reply to @beccasch "Hi, I am scheduled next week for skin removal surgery and liposuction. I am having the..." + (show)
Profile picture for beccasch @beccasch

Hi,
I am scheduled next week for skin removal surgery and liposuction. I am having the belly done plus the upper arms. Insurance did not cover so I am paying for the treatment. ($28,000)
I have been told I will have drains in the pubic area for 2-6 weeks, wear a compression body suit,
and no exercise except walking for 2 months.
My bariatric surgery was a year and a half ago and my weight has been stable since January.
My weight loss was 75 pounds with no complications. I am moderately active. I take strength training classes three times a week and go to water exercise 3 times a week.
I will let you know how it goes.

Jump to this post

@beccasch , good luck with everything! It sounds quite exciting. Congratulations too! Please post more as you can.

REPLY
Profile picture for Laurie, Volunteer Mentor
Mentor
Laurie, Volunteer Mentor | @roch | Sep 30 6:36am
In reply to @beccasch "Hi, I am scheduled next week for skin removal surgery and liposuction. I am having the..." + (show)
Profile picture for beccasch @beccasch

Hi,
I am scheduled next week for skin removal surgery and liposuction. I am having the belly done plus the upper arms. Insurance did not cover so I am paying for the treatment. ($28,000)
I have been told I will have drains in the pubic area for 2-6 weeks, wear a compression body suit,
and no exercise except walking for 2 months.
My bariatric surgery was a year and a half ago and my weight has been stable since January.
My weight loss was 75 pounds with no complications. I am moderately active. I take strength training classes three times a week and go to water exercise 3 times a week.
I will let you know how it goes.

Jump to this post

@beccasch
Hope surgery went well. How are you doing?

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for beccasch
beccasch | @beccasch | Oct 2 2:06pm
In reply to @roch "@beccasch Hope surgery went well. How are you doing?" + (show)
Profile picture for Laurie, Volunteer Mentor @roch

@beccasch
Hope surgery went well. How are you doing?

Jump to this post

@roch
This is my check in 3 weeks post skin removal and liposuction surgery.
The healing process has been more difficult than I anticipated. My surgery lasted 5 and a half hours and I went home that night. I had extended tummy tuck, liposuction and brachioplasty (arms). My plastic surgeon said it would be a lot of surgery at one time because normally when you have the tummy tuck you use your arms to push yourself up from chair or bed but I wouldn't be able to do that. I decided to go ahead and do both because I was afraid I wouldn't have the energy to go through with a second surgery. For the first week I had to have someone lift me out of bed to use the bathroom etc.
According to my doctor everything went well and healing is proceeding normally. For the first 2 weeks I had 4 drains that came out of my pubic area that had to be measured and emptied several times a day. While not really that painful, they made moving about difficult. My arm incisions are from my armpit to my elbow. the adominal incision is 3/4 of the way around my body, but contoured so that it won't show under most garments. My belly button was moved to a new location and stitched in place. In addition to the liposuction, the surgeon made several tightening sutures in the abdominal area to correct for sagging muscles.
When I left the OR I had a corset like garment from hips to just under breast and ace wraps on both my arms. After the last drain was removed at 2 weeks I switched to compression garments. Compression sleeves for my arms and a type of compression girdle for the rest. After a couple of days I started to develop a rash and pain from the compression garments, probably an allergic reaction. I have only been able to wear them for part of the day and the reaction from the compression garments is now more painful than my incisions.
In the beginning I couldn't stand upright so walked bent over at the hips. this caused me a great deal of back pain which has since gone away.
I still feel quite weak. I know walking is good for me at this point but after walking just 2 blocks, I have to go home and take a rest. I am starting to resume some normal activities, went out to lunch with girlfriends a couple of days ago but it exhausted me.
I am normally pretty active so this staying home and recuperation is draining on me. On the plus side, even with swelling, I can tell that I have a definite waistline for the first time since my 30's and my arms no longer flap around when I move. The belly button is numb but looks normal.
Can''t wait to get back to a "normal" life.

REPLY
2 replies
Profile picture for Laurie, Volunteer Mentor
Mentor
Laurie, Volunteer Mentor | @roch | Oct 2 3:36pm
In reply to @beccasch "@roch This is my check in 3 weeks post skin removal and liposuction surgery. The healing..." + (show)
Profile picture for beccasch @beccasch

@roch
This is my check in 3 weeks post skin removal and liposuction surgery.
The healing process has been more difficult than I anticipated. My surgery lasted 5 and a half hours and I went home that night. I had extended tummy tuck, liposuction and brachioplasty (arms). My plastic surgeon said it would be a lot of surgery at one time because normally when you have the tummy tuck you use your arms to push yourself up from chair or bed but I wouldn't be able to do that. I decided to go ahead and do both because I was afraid I wouldn't have the energy to go through with a second surgery. For the first week I had to have someone lift me out of bed to use the bathroom etc.
According to my doctor everything went well and healing is proceeding normally. For the first 2 weeks I had 4 drains that came out of my pubic area that had to be measured and emptied several times a day. While not really that painful, they made moving about difficult. My arm incisions are from my armpit to my elbow. the adominal incision is 3/4 of the way around my body, but contoured so that it won't show under most garments. My belly button was moved to a new location and stitched in place. In addition to the liposuction, the surgeon made several tightening sutures in the abdominal area to correct for sagging muscles.
When I left the OR I had a corset like garment from hips to just under breast and ace wraps on both my arms. After the last drain was removed at 2 weeks I switched to compression garments. Compression sleeves for my arms and a type of compression girdle for the rest. After a couple of days I started to develop a rash and pain from the compression garments, probably an allergic reaction. I have only been able to wear them for part of the day and the reaction from the compression garments is now more painful than my incisions.
In the beginning I couldn't stand upright so walked bent over at the hips. this caused me a great deal of back pain which has since gone away.
I still feel quite weak. I know walking is good for me at this point but after walking just 2 blocks, I have to go home and take a rest. I am starting to resume some normal activities, went out to lunch with girlfriends a couple of days ago but it exhausted me.
I am normally pretty active so this staying home and recuperation is draining on me. On the plus side, even with swelling, I can tell that I have a definite waistline for the first time since my 30's and my arms no longer flap around when I move. The belly button is numb but looks normal.
Can''t wait to get back to a "normal" life.

Jump to this post

@beccasch
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. You did a lot at one time, but I understand taking care of everything at once. And if paying out of pocket, I am sure there are savings in doing it all at once.

I have thought about having skin removed, at least from the arms. I did a lower face lift years ago. It was most visible and more due to age and genetics than to weight loss. My mom had the same turkey neck. I do not regret doing it. Plastic surgery is a very personal choice; luckily, I was able to pay for it out of pocket. In addition, in my will, I have left money to a charity that provides funds for children with cleft lips.

I would be curious how you picked your plastic surgeon?

REPLY
Profile picture for celia16
celia16 | @celia16 | Oct 3 1:41am
In reply to @beccasch "@roch This is my check in 3 weeks post skin removal and liposuction surgery. The healing..." + (show)
Profile picture for beccasch @beccasch

@roch
This is my check in 3 weeks post skin removal and liposuction surgery.
The healing process has been more difficult than I anticipated. My surgery lasted 5 and a half hours and I went home that night. I had extended tummy tuck, liposuction and brachioplasty (arms). My plastic surgeon said it would be a lot of surgery at one time because normally when you have the tummy tuck you use your arms to push yourself up from chair or bed but I wouldn't be able to do that. I decided to go ahead and do both because I was afraid I wouldn't have the energy to go through with a second surgery. For the first week I had to have someone lift me out of bed to use the bathroom etc.
According to my doctor everything went well and healing is proceeding normally. For the first 2 weeks I had 4 drains that came out of my pubic area that had to be measured and emptied several times a day. While not really that painful, they made moving about difficult. My arm incisions are from my armpit to my elbow. the adominal incision is 3/4 of the way around my body, but contoured so that it won't show under most garments. My belly button was moved to a new location and stitched in place. In addition to the liposuction, the surgeon made several tightening sutures in the abdominal area to correct for sagging muscles.
When I left the OR I had a corset like garment from hips to just under breast and ace wraps on both my arms. After the last drain was removed at 2 weeks I switched to compression garments. Compression sleeves for my arms and a type of compression girdle for the rest. After a couple of days I started to develop a rash and pain from the compression garments, probably an allergic reaction. I have only been able to wear them for part of the day and the reaction from the compression garments is now more painful than my incisions.
In the beginning I couldn't stand upright so walked bent over at the hips. this caused me a great deal of back pain which has since gone away.
I still feel quite weak. I know walking is good for me at this point but after walking just 2 blocks, I have to go home and take a rest. I am starting to resume some normal activities, went out to lunch with girlfriends a couple of days ago but it exhausted me.
I am normally pretty active so this staying home and recuperation is draining on me. On the plus side, even with swelling, I can tell that I have a definite waistline for the first time since my 30's and my arms no longer flap around when I move. The belly button is numb but looks normal.
Can''t wait to get back to a "normal" life.

Jump to this post

@beccasch , wow! You really have gone through a lot. I’m trying to envision it. I had my under the muscle lipoma removed several weeks ago and due to fluid they inserted a drain this week. It didn’t work well and was removed.

I’m relieved that you had limited pain. I think the fatigue is understandable, but I’d let your doctor be aware. That was a lot on your system. I’m so happy you are seeing results you like! It’s very inspiring.

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