I've been deflated!

Sep 29, 2010

One side effect of WLS I have to prepare and save for is S-K-I-N. Loose and excess skin is one of the side effects of WLS. Imagine what a deflated balloon looks like! Stretched out and puckered!   Saggy skin can vary among patients depending on their age, smoking history, size, elasticity and speed of weight loss. Exercise helps mitigate the appearance and significance of excess skin. I’d love to turn out to be one of the ones who don’t have much of an issue, but I’m not counting my chickens on this! Some people live with the skin and others undergo surgery to get rid of it. I’ve seen posts where a patient loses an additional 20 lbs after having the excess skin cut off or they go down an additional pant size. That’s quite something. I’ll be lifting weights and exercising to minimize the effects. 

Cosmetic surgery for the skin issue occurs once weight loss has maximized and stabilized. Insurance rarely covers this unless there are health issues associated with excess skin, but even then they can by choosy. The most common procedures are tummy tucks, pannilectomies (imagine pulling trousers up at the waist and cutting off the excess skin), total body lifts, skin removal of the flabby arms and breast lifts/implants. I won’t know what I’ll need until I see how I deflate. Even with the possibility of excess skin, I’ll still be healthier and look better….at least with clothes on. Sorry honey!

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