Has anyone out there undergone excess skin removal surgery and what was their experience. I need it.

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sonjakohl9943
sonjakohl9943 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost a total of 155 pounds and I’m almost ready for excess skin removal surgery. What are other people’s experiences good or bad so I know what to expect. I hear this is costly for hidden expenses under going operation also.

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  • Jillygirl0220
    Jillygirl0220 Posts: 73 Member
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    Hi Sonjakohl, congrats on your weight loss! I lost 140 and as a result excess skin on my stomach was hanging very low. It would slap and flap when I was in Zumba and I would develop a visible crescent sweat stain (so usually only wore black) plus I had to lift it to wash underneath when showering. My boobs also drooped. I opted to have a tummy tuck, lipo and breast lift. I love the end result (the hip to hip scar not so much). My procedure went well and recovery was slow but okay. I do wish I had researched more before I moved forward to know what to expect (the pain, lipo discomfort, etc.). I wanted to also get thigh lipo and a lift but I am done with surgery. I tend to scar pretty dark and keloid and can’t accept the possibility of dark scars running down my thighs. So it’s all about further weight loss and toning. I’m happy with my outcome but once was enough for me. Good luck to you!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,619 Member
    edited March 13
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    Glad to see you're doing research.

    I did my own research and chose not to proceed with any surgery.
    Why?

    I was not getting infections and did not have any trouble caring for my skin. Thus I had a purely cosmetic and not a health issue to deal with.

    Given my past weight yo-yo's I was determined to wait the minimum recommended time of at least six months at stable low weight before considering moving forward. In fact my "soft goal" was at least a year given the monetary and non monetary costs.

    Since I continued to lose slowly for more than a year after my major loss, and since I was determined to find maintenance first before worrying about skin improvements.... well in the time frame involved things naturally improved in terms of my skin.

    AFAIK it is not uncommon for skin and fat reserves to continue to improve and redistribute for a good couple of years post weight loss.

    Additionally my perception during that time frame changed from "OMG my sagging skin is a major issue" to: "MEAH this skin thing is a relative non issue for me given how good I feel overall".

    Which led to and fed into: I am a natural chicken!

    The pain and potential side effects from the surgery, not the least of which would be a reduction in my ability to enjoy the outdoors for a good number of weeks while recovering, were too large of a price to pay for incremental improvements. Why just incremental? because in addition to temporary pain there would remain permanent visible scaring and likely long term loss of sensation.

    So it was not just "good stuff" that would be the likely result of the surgery for me and in the end the potential benefits did not appear to me to clearly out-weight (ha ha!) the likely risks.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    I've heard many posters here say their skin did not finish tightening up for up to two years after hitting their goal weight, so I suggest you maintain for two years and reevaluate.

    During this time, do cardiovascular and strength training exercises.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
    edited March 14
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    You may find the thread posted below insightful. Please note VUA21, who made the post and had the surgery, is no longer active on MFP.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10687999/tummy-surgery-after-180-pound-weight-loss-warning-some-graphic-pics/p1

    Cheers, h.

    The thread is quite graphic, view with this in mind.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,102 Member
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    middlehaitch wrote: »
    You may find the thread posted below insightful. Please note VUA21, who made the post and had the surgery, is no longer active on MFP.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10687999/tummy-surgery-after-180-pound-weight-loss-warning-some-graphic-pics/p1

    heers, h.

    Oh, yay! I was trying to find that thread via search, and failed. I think I'm going to suggest it be stickied, since I've seen others ask - unless you found it somewhere in the stickies already, @middlehaitch? (I looked, didn't see it but could've missed it.)
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    @AnnPT77, I have it (MFP) bookmarked so didn't check stickies. h.

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