Loose Skin After Weight Loss Surgery

If you are considering weight loss surgery in Melbourne, FL or have already had it, then you have probably wondered about having extra or loose skin after your major weight loss.  This does sometimes happen, but not always.  The amount of weight you lose will factor into whether or not you have loose skin to deal with after your rapid weight loss.  For example, if you are a lap band surgery patient who loses approximately fifty pounds, you may not have loose skin.  However, if you are a gastric bypass patient who loses approximately one hundred pounds or more, then you may have loose skin after your weight loss. Why does this occur and what can you do about it?

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Why It Happens

When you gain significant weight, your skin stretches.  The skin has an elasticity to it due to the collagen and elastin that it contains.  However, if the skin is stretched for years due to obesity, those fibers that once allowed the skin to stretch become damaged.  Your skin may no longer have the same ability to “bounce back” that it once had.  But, we don’t want this to discourage you from pursuing your weight loss goals.  Your health is the number one issue at hand.  Obesity NEVER leads to good health.

What Can Be Done About It?

While loosely hanging skin will probably not appeal to you as far as your appearance goes, it is not bad for your health like obesity.  It becomes more like a body characteristic that you might not like, much the same as someone who dislikes the size of their nose.  The good news is that you are not stuck with this saggy, loose skin forever after rapid weight loss.  No, chances are that it will not recover completely on its own.  However, surgery is available to correct it.  You may be thinking that you don’t want additional surgeries, and we certainly understand that.  People don’t generally look forward to ANY surgery.  What they actually look forward to is the results of the surgery.  For example, people with appendicitis look forward to no more stomach pain.  People with tonsillitis look forward to no more sore throats.  In the same way, you will look forward to no more saggy skin!

Corrective Surgeries

There are a few surgeries that are the most commonly performed in order to correct loose skin after bariatric surgery.  They are abdominoplasty (commonly referred to as a “tummy tuck”), lower body lift, upper body lift, medial thigh lift, and Brachioplasty or arm lift.  The type of surgery will depend on the location of the loose skin that you want to be corrected.  While loose skin does not affect your overall health in the same way obesity does, it can cause discomfort and be difficult to care for properly as it may get sores or ulcers.  If you have had bariatric surgery and now have loose skin, we suggest contacting a highly regarded cosmetic surgeon who specializes in body contouring.

We are pleased that you are interested in taking charge of your health.  If you are interested in weight loss surgery in Melbourne, FL, then take the first step on your journey to health by calling us at Advanced Surgical and Weight Loss Institute.  Dr. Diego Velarde is a highly respected surgeon located in Merritt Island.  He uses minimally invasive techniques to help in your recovery.  He cares about his patients and their health. Please give us a call today!