Excess Skin?

I was wondering what everyone's experience has been with any excess skin?  I am in the process of getting approved and I was watching a show this weekend that showed a woman who had a lot of skin after the weight loss.. I know age plays a role in it, i am 29 years old.  What else plays a roll?  I appreciate it!   I am getting there in the process, slowly but surely.. I had my pshc eval and go for my followup on the 3rd.  I have my sleep study scheduled for the 4th.  Afterwards i sit and wait.. I did all the other tests, like ultrasound, bloodwork and stuff..  Thanks Guys! Cindy

Age definitely plays a role.  I also think how you carry your weight, how fast you gained your weight, how much stretched out skin you have, how much water you drink and exercise you get.  I was 23 when I had my surgery and could definitely use plastic surgery on my stomach and legs.  I already had brachioplasty as my arms were pretty bad.  I still have a good amount of stretch marks on my arms and some pretty long and thick scars, but would not change my mind if I had to do it over.  I carried a lot of weight in my legs/thighs and it still shows, plus I have been overweight since I was in the 4th grade.  I think that had a lot to do with my loose skin.  :)

 

Hi there Cindy! Weigh 2 go with planning ahead!  Congrats on your upcoming journey to a better quality of life! ...Your question regarding excess skin is great!  I know that as a pre-op I had a vision of myself shrinking to a teeny tiny person and never considered the fact that my skin may not join me in that shrinking process!  LOL!  .....  I think we get so focused on losing weight that we are sometimes left a great number on the scale and yet are disappointed with the saggies we may see reflected in a mirror! I'd suggest becoming as active as possible as you wait for surgery and then continue that as a post-op!  Muscle does fill out the lose skin a bit and certainly at your young age, you are more likely to have some healthy elasticity left than many of us.  ....  Unfortunately, our damaged skin isn't always able to tighten up with exercise though.  .....  There are a huge population of Post Bariatrics who go for Body Contouring procedures following their successful weight loss!  ....  It's definitely something to consider as you plan ahead!   I'm the Post Bariatric Program Director for Dr. Steven Gitt and Dr. Dominic Heffel at North Valley Plastic Surgery.  I see oodles and oodles of every type of loose skin issue but the common thread seems to be their strong desire to "finish" their weight loss journey and to feel normal and look great; as they deserve after all they've been through! In your planning ahead....consider hunting for a surgeon who has specialized in surgery for our types of issues and who has a lot of positive peer reviews....and who is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. You wondered about what else may play a roll......=  Protein!  Water!  Exercise!  Vitamins!  Good luck to you and keep us posted on your upcoming surgery date!

Thank  you so much that was extremely helpful.. Would insurance cover this type of procedure of is it concered cosmetic?   Thanks so much and I will definetly let you all know when i get my surgery date!!  I am so excited..

On March 26, 2008 at 12:52 PM Pacific Time, dramqueen6 wrote: You wrote:  Thank  you so much that was extremely helpful.. Would insurance cover this type of procedure of is it concered cosmetic?   Thanks so much and I will definetly let you all know when i get my surgery date!!  I am so excited..  Insurance may cover things that are "medically necessary".  Just as insurances differ with their criteria for WLS; they may also differ in regards to plastic surgery.  The one thing that is often needed by post- bariatic peeps is a hernia repair.  All insurances should cover that.  A panniculectamy (not to be confused with a Tummy Tuck or Abdominoplasty) is sometimes covered if the patient has had a skin breakdown of some type i.e. rash, infection, sores, etc. and/or an overhang of a certain distance (from one certain point to another certain point:) This is like standing in front of the mirror with nothing but a smile and lifting the abdominal overhang out as far as you can and cutting it off with a pair of scissors (OUCH!  ...Do NoT ever get that desperate!! Other procedures that some have needed and have had covered are breasts, arms, thigh areas......these are not as typical though.  Each case is so unique (as are we) and so there's not really a short answer to insurance. As far as I know.....very few Plastic surgeon's (I think Dr. Gitt and Dr. Heffel may be the only ones in our area?) will even deal with any insurance on your behalf.  ......  When you get to that happy point where the only thing left between you and the body of your dreams is a trip to the p.s.; then give us a call.  The consultations are complimentary and you never know what will work for you til you find out! Good luck!!!!  LOSER'S ROCK!!!! Joyce W# 480.991.6877

Great advice Joyce! Hope to be contacting you in the future.

Good to know!  I may look into them just because of your post!  I never thought of going to a male plastic surgeon (to insecure) but it sounds like they deal with a majority of WLS patients???

Thanks for the info Joyce. I'm so glad I read this. I'm two years post-op and am interested in removing some excess skin on my stomach. I will be calling you soon!

Loose skin is a sign of successful weight loss!  Congrats!  I'm looking forward to talking to you! Joyce 480.991.6877 North Valley Plastic Surgery