Question:
Does Everyone Have Loose Skin After WLS?

After losing a lot of weight have a lot of people had to have plastic surgery? For underarms, breastlift, tummy flabbiness? Can you prevent this or is it just kinda in the deal for aftermath when you choose to have WLS? How can you tighten your skin, or can't you?    — Lynne W. (posted on March 20, 2003)

March 20, 2003
It depends on your age, genetics, how long you've been obese, what your highest weight was, what your lowest weight will be. Basically, you just don't know. Exercise help fill up the extra skin with muscle, and some people think drinking lots of water helps. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones!
   — mom2jtx3

March 20, 2003
Not everybody gets loose skin, but darned few avoid it entirely. Exercise and good nutrition (perhaps aided by protein supplements, perhaps not -- that's another whole debate) will help you build lean muscle mass underneath your skin, but it won't stop loose skin from being on top of it all if you're going to get it. Whether or not you get it is probably a function of age, genetics, amount of weight loss, skin type, luck, etc. -- in other words, it's hard to predict whether you'll have it and where and how bad. Then, there's the issue whether some of the looseness might tighten up on its own, given time, and if so, how much. Some folks get plastics sooner rather than later (often because of rashes, pains, mobility issues, and other medical conditions related to excess skin), while others wait awhile and have their plastics later. I've heard that our skin "settles into" the weight loss a little bit given time (especially in the face), but in many cases, you just KNOW you have too much skin left over to settle into it!! Some folks never have plastics, which is where I'm leaning at the moment, personally, even though I look like a melted candle ... just can't bring myself to hop back on the table (at least, not yet!).
   — Suzy C.