considering vsg surgery and have some questions.

[sheree212 21]

Hi. I am considering having the VSG surgery. I am 30 years old I weigh 272 pounds and I'm looking to lose between 80 and 100 pounds with this surgery. Most of my weight is in my arms my thighs and my stomach . I am worried about having excess skin and droopy skin. This is really a big concern for me . At this point I'm going through the process and just getting more information to make up my mind as to whether this is a good decision for me. By reading all the posts on this website I have come to the conclusion that this maybe a good decision but I just have a couple of questions. Is there anyone out there who has already went through this process and through the surgery that can give me some information on whether or not you had excess skin left was it hard to get approved for the surgery and if you didn't have excess skin what did you do to minimize this? All input would be greatly appreciated thank you!

[Alamoloser 70]

I'm not that far out but my advice would be to try and lose as much weight pre-op as you can. Lifting weights also helps to tighten the loose skin after you've healed up.

[theoldmusicbox 399]

unfortunately, whether you lose the weight through surgery, or whether you lose it over a few years of diet and excercise, losing that much weight will leave you with the excess skin. until i finally hit the lottery, i have decided that my excess skin is just a reminder of a life that i don't miss. and hey, i never looked good fat, but at least now i look good in clothes, so, i'll take it.

and, getting approved hard or easy will depend on your dr and your insurance.

good luck

[SeriouslyChange 319]

Exercise helps. I saw a plastic surgeon for a different thing and Asked him his opinion on my likely hood to have loose skin and he said age, skin elasticity, genetics all are factors.

[geralynbrock 10]

You are a long way away from worrying about this issue! With VSG, you don't lose weight as rapidly as you would with a Roux-n-Y gastic bypass. Very rapid weight loss will cause skin sagging, but since VSG is a more gradual weight loss (my surgeon does not want any more than 10lbs/month), skin sagging is less of a problem because of how gradual the loss is, giving your body a chance to keep up.

Also, as anyone ages, skin does lose it's elasticity. However, you are so young, your skin will probably reabsorb most of the excess skin. My surgeon has also said many times that strengthening the underlying muscles (by exercising) and staying well hydrated will also help with this issue. He also said that other than doing those things, there isn't a lot else you can do about it.

Another thing to consider is plastic surgery. My surgeon has a specific plastic surgeon he works with, so when we reach goal weight, they reassess any sagging at that time. Plastic surgery is extreme, painful and expensive, so the excess skin problem would have to be reallllly bad to consider surgery..

And, there are fabulous new advancements in Spanx technology!

Having said all of this, I do worry about it....my arms are huge, and I do not want pancakes hanging off my arms. So we will see in about a year how it looks. However, I think if the worst thing I have to deal with is a little extra skin vs. 100 lbs. of excess weight, I'll take the flabby skin, thank you very much.

[Robyn Owens-Miille 132]

At 41 years old with a lifetime of obesity, my surgeon just said up front, "you will need plastic surgery when done losing weight."

He said we will document the skin issues (already having some with my panus) and show my insurance that it's not a cosmetic procedure but a reconstructive procedure after weight loss.

[NIKIMAC 19]

I do have alot of excess skin, it doesnt really bother me because I love the way I look in my clothes. I do plan to has plastic surgery one day, but Im not in any hurry. Ive recently started dating again and I will discuss with future mate early in the relationship.

[BigFrank 354]

All I have to say is that if you are 80-100 lbs overweight, who cares about excess skin. PLEASE consider this surgery for your health and well being, not for some unimportant issue that really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things! I would rather lose 100 pounds and be healthy then worry about any left over skin.

[clk 3,519]

Excess skin is almost entirely up to genetics. With more than 50 pounds to lose your odds of loose skin go up. Do you have stretch marks from previous ups/downs on the scale? Then odds are good you will experience loose skin to some extent.

Exercise minimizes this, as does losing at a slower pace. That said, loose skin is something just about everyone experiences to some extent after losing a serious amount of weight.

I lost 107 pounds quite slowly - it took me seventeen months. Prior to VSG I knew I'd have loose skin but didn't think it would bother me much. I have twins and already had a loose apron from that, and knew it would likely get worse.

At one year post op the loose skin bothered me quite a bit. I didn't like the way I looked with my clothes off, but in my clothes nobody could tell I had loose skin at all. However, at some point between one and two years post op, the majority of my skin rebounded. At one year out I might have felt I needed plastics on my arms, stomach, breasts, thighs, buttocks and even my calves. At two years out the only things I'd do would be my stomach and my breasts. The rest adjusted to the point where surgery is completely unnecessary.

Furthermore, in my Shapewear (I hate Spanx but love high quality retro undergarments), I actually get compliments from other women on how trim my middle is and how I have such a gorgeous shape. It is not obvious that I have loose skin at all. And I no longer feel any upset or disgust when I see myself with my clothes off. My loose skin rebounded A LOT.

As for insurance, I prefer to do things my way, without jumping through stupid hoops. Tricare (our insurance) is a royal PITA anyway, so I would rather pay more, self pay and get it done by a surgeon I trust and have researched than wind up with some guy practicing plastics in a military hospital. So for me, this isn't an issue. I knew that plastics would be expensive but I'd like to have the skin removed. Mostly because I'm vain. Because at this point, more than two years out, the only person that has any issues with my skin is me. My husband could care less and nobody else sees it.

~Cheri

[sheree212 21]

Thank you all for your advice! Each and everyone of you really helped me. I do understand that with thos weight I havw to loose that excess skin should be least of my worries but.....its still on my mind. Primarily because I dont look bad overweight. I actually love my curves and thickness but health is a huge concern so that ia why I am considering this surgery. My stretch marks right now are almost non existent and I exercise mostly cardio. If I get the surgery I will definately step up my weight training. I thank each of you for sharing your thoughts.