Plastic Surgery - ThinnerTimes

Metamorph7 · 07-02-2007, 12:30 PM

I'm wondering if after I have the Lap RNY this winter will I have to have plastic surgery for the loose skin. Does everyone have plastic surgery to fix the skin problem? What if I work out alot while I'm losing (weight training, Yoga and Pilates) Will that help? I don't know if I'll have enough nerve to go under the knife again after my WLS. I'm kind of a scaredy cat

. Whats the consensus? How did those of you who've already lost your weight handle this situation?

LQQkn · 07-02-2007, 12:59 PM

wait and see! I am two yrs post op and I have very little skin. I will not have any plastic surgery.. I have had enough with surgical complications. Janie

desperatelyseekingME · 07-03-2007, 08:08 AM

I agree with the wait and see theory. I'm only alittle over 8 months out, but I'm below my personal goal (actually I'm only about 4 lbs above my surgeon's goal which I never expected to reach and still look healthy, but I do!). I don't have a lot of extra skin on my stomach (enough to aggravate me, but nothing life altering) but I also have no boobs left (went from a DD to a B - pancake city) so I do want to at least get something done in that area. I wouldn't mind considering a tummy tuck too, but I have a lot of research to do before I'm comfortable with that part. I don't intend to really do anything until I'm a year out (October). By then I should have leveled out with the weight loss and my body will hopefully be where it wants to be weight wise.

They say a lot depends on how long a person has been obese as to how their skin will react to the rapid weight loss. Some people have fantastic skin elasticity and it shrinks back relatively well on its on. Others who might have been morbidly obese for the majority of their life might end up with more of a hanging skin issue....it's definitely not something you can worry about before hand.

paige52 · 07-03-2007, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LQQkn

wait and see! I am two yrs post op and I have very little skin. I will not have any plastic surgery.. I have had enough with surgical complications. Janie

Janie wht are your stats? you know what weight did you start at etc.....

I think that needed PS after surgery and wieght loss is greatly influenced by the starting numbers...

Metamorph7 · 07-03-2007, 08:56 AM

You're so right. I know I shouldn't worry about it now. I guess it's just the waiting game. I still have a little more than 4 and half months to go until my Lap RNY and my mind is all over the place. One minute I'm ecstatic and next I'm scared silly. I find myself fixating on how I'll look and feel after. I know I just have to let go and embark on the journey but telling my (control freak)mind to relax is like telling a rottweiler to give up it's meaty bone. I really appreciate the support from all of you guys. It really helps keep me grounded.

fitbefore40 · 07-03-2007, 09:53 AM

I was sure that I wouldn't want or need PS after weight loss, and I totally could have lived with the skin. I decided to have it after a friend had a tummy tuck and showed me her results . . . and I saved the money for it. Biggest cash purchase EVER in my life - with NO regrets!!

ladytonya · 07-03-2007, 10:08 AM

A lot depends on your age, what your starting weight is, if your weight has fluctuated a lot throughout your life, and how long you have been obese. The younger we are, the more elasticity our skin has. If you have fluctuated up and down for years, it's like a balloon that that been inflated and deflated over and over. The elasticity is completely gone. Also, if you've been overweight for a long time, your skin has been stretched for a long time and it might not recover. As others have said, it's one of those things that you can't really know until after surgery. With your low starting weight and young age, I would think you have a good chance of not needing PS, but then again you just never know.

I started at 457 and have not been under 400 in 7 years and under 300 in 20 years. I was pretty certain when I started this journey that I was going to need PS. I can't afford it so I'll get the panni removed and maybe something done with my breasts if insurance will cover because of rashes, but I'd still rather be the weight I am now with the excess skin that 457 and going up. Good luck to you! You'll be on the loser's bench before you know it!

Dyann · 07-03-2007, 11:20 AM

The amount of loose skin is dependant on so many variables that it is a wait and see.

I didn't think I would have it...until I was at the point and I felt like a fraud in clothes.

I worked out the entire time, don't smoke etc....I had a big ole panni and I lost my boobs. The skin got the worst with the last 50 pounds.

NOTHING has done more for my confidence, self image and comfort in clothes then having a lift and TT (not even losing 160 pounds). It is a personal decision.