Plastic Surgery Forum

Regardless of the procedure, plastic surgery after bariatric surgery and subsequent weight-loss is a serious undertaking. Post-bariatric body contouring is a relatively new specialty in the cosmetic surgery industry, which means that it can be challenging to find a surgeon with extensive experience and expertise. Having at least a few formal consultations with different surgeons is recommended to make sure you find a surgeon with an appropriate level of experience; a surgeon you can trust and who will help you feel comfortable with your decision.

The primary cause of excess skin following weight loss is relatively simple. As in pregnancy, where the muscles, skin and other tissues of the abdominal wall expand to accommodate the fetus, sometimes causing skin tissues to lose their elasticity, the accumulation of fat in the body a causes similar process of expansion and tissue degradation. There are, however, important differences between the skin problems cause by pregnancy and those caused by excess weight. The process of fat accumulation in morbidly obese individuals often begins during childhood or adolescence, prolonging the period of tension on the skin. In addition, the area of tissue expansion in obesity is generalized rather than mostly limited to the abdomen.

Probably the most important determinant of how much loose skin an individual will have following weight loss is age. Younger patients tend to have less loose skin. The next most important factor is the amount of weight loss. An individual who loses 250 pounds is likely to have more excess skin than somebody losing only 80 pounds.

Whatever your personal circumstances and your amount of excess skin, the plastic surgery forum will give you the ability to investigate and review the safety and effectiveness of procedures you are considering, explore emerging trends in plastic surgery and meet plastic surgeons that focus on post-op bariatric surgery patients as part of their practice.

Choosing to have post-op plastic surgery is a very important decision, just as choosing to have bariatric surgery and finding the right surgeon were critical earlier in the journey. Fortunately, for the past few years, post-op members of ObesityHelp have been posting reviews on the plastic surgeons they have used. Those reviews, often witty and wise, are collected in this forum for your benefit. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn from this extensive collection of experiences and recommendations.