If you've recently lost a lot of weight, but still feel uncomfortable about the way you look due to excess skin, then you should talk to a plastic surgeon, like Cusenz Bruce MD, about having skin removal surgery. Not everyone who loses weight has an excess skin problem. If you do, it could be due to your age, the length of time you were overweight, the amount of extra weight you carried, and your genetic skin type. If your skin has lost its elasticity, then surgery could be the only hope you have for getting the body shape you sought by losing weight. Here is some more information about this type of plastic surgery.

Your Weight Should Be Stable First

One of the big struggles that comes with losing weight is keeping it off. Many people get caught in a lifelong cycle of losing and then gaining back the weight. Your doctor may want evidence you can keep the weight off by making you wait several months to make sure the weight doesn't come back on. Another reason to delay skin removal surgery is to allow time for your body to shrink the skin as much as it can. If you lose weight quickly, it may take your skin a few months to catch up and shrink back into shape. However, if you were overweight by many pounds, your skin may never be able to recover. This is one reason a consultation with a plastic surgeon is a good idea. It lets you know where you are in your transformation journey, whether your skin is permanently damaged, and whether surgery is a good option for you.

Health Problems Should Be Addressed

Another thing to consider about this type of surgery is that it is a major operation that stresses your body. If you need work done from the top down, then you may be looking at multiple surgeries. For that reason, you'll need to be in good health. You may have nutritional deficiencies due to your restrictive diet and weight loss. Your doctor will want to correct problems with iron, blood counts, and vitamin deficiencies. For a speedy recovery, you'll want to be in good health before you undergo the surgery.

Choose Your Most Bothersome Areas

Since it isn't likely your surgeon can perform all the work needed at once, you'll need to pick the areas that bother you most. After those are corrected and your body has fully recovered, you can then progress to another surgery in several months. Removing all the excess skin on your body could take a long time, so you'll need to be patient. However, you'll probably get a lot of relief and notice a big change in how you look right after your first procedure. Many people are bothered most by the skin hanging over the abdomen, since that leaves you looking like you have fat there when it's only skin. Plus, skin in that area stays damp and warm, so it gets infections quite easily and can be uncomfortable. Another big problem area is the underarms, which start to resemble wings because of the hanging skin. It might not be possible to do both of these surgeries at the same time, and that's why you need to decide which is most important based on health concerns, the way the skin makes you look, and how much the excess skin in a certain area bothers you.

Finally, you'll want to be prepared for the recovery phase of the surgery. Your doctor will explain the entire process to you ahead of time, so you'll know how long to take off from work and what to expect about pain and mobility. Going through the surgery to get rid of bothersome excess skin isn't easy, but it is worth it. It can be demoralizing to struggle for months or years to lose weight and then be left with a body that you're still ashamed of. Plastic surgery could be the solution to finally getting the body you've dreamed of, and that makes the discomfort you may experience worthwhile.