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After bariatric surgery, your life changes. You can eat much less, and the kilos soon start falling off. That is exactly what you want — but another reality often comes into view: excess skin. Particularly around the abdomen, legs, and breasts, this can be a real challenge.
In this blog, we tell you why excess skin occurs and what you may be able to do about it.
How does excess skin develop?
Skin is fairly elastic. It can grow along with your body — and it can also shrink back quite well. It just needs time to do this. And as you get older, elasticity is increasingly lost.
Your skin can struggle after bariatric surgery. You are now eating only six small portions a day, and your body absorbs far less from your food. As a result, you lose weight very rapidly in the first few months — transitioning from a body with a great deal of stretched skin to a new, slimmer body.
The weight loss happens so quickly that your skin cannot keep up and is unable to contract sufficiently. It is therefore virtually impossible to avoid having some areas of looser skin. In particular, the breasts, abdomen, and upper thighs are areas where excess skin tends to remain.
Complaints associated with excess skin
Excess skin can cause physical discomfort when it folds. During movement, this can create an unpleasant, chafing sensation, which may lead to skin irritation — causing itching and an unpleasant odour. On warm days it is even more uncomfortable, as you sweat more and the moisture worsens the irritation. The folds of skin can also get in the way and limit your ability to move freely.
An uncertain feeling
Excess skin can make you feel self-conscious about your body. Your body itself is slimmer, and you are undoubtedly very proud of that. But when you look in the mirror, the loose skin can be confronting. It shows you the journey you have been on and just how much your body has changed since your surgery.
"My reflection showed me a completely new body — but with folds and skin I had never expected. It made me very unhappy. My true self still felt hidden."
What can you do about it?
You have very little control over how quickly you lose weight after bariatric surgery, so excess skin is also difficult to prevent. Fortunately, the degree to which it affects people varies considerably from person to person. Moreover, regular exercise and building muscle mass can help make the excess skin less noticeable.
Many people with excess skin wear supportive clothing. Shapewear underwear, for example, can give your body extra support and sometimes prevent skin folds from rubbing together. It can also make your new, slimmer figure look its best beneath your regular clothes. Stretch-fabric trousers are also wonderfully comfortable, as they place less pressure on the skin.
Supportive clothing is not always sufficient. Some people continue to experience daily limitations in their ability to move freely, or persistent skin irritation that cannot be resolved any other way. In such cases, a medical procedure such as a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) may be a possible solution.
Is a skin correction an option?
A skin correction is a significant procedure. Depending on how much skin is removed and how well you heal, the recovery period can range from a few weeks to several months.
If you are considering a skin correction, it is important that you have been at a stable weight for at least one year. This is often around 18 months after the stomach reduction, but it may also be somewhat later.
If your weight has not been stable for very long, your body is still changing too much. A skin correction will then be of less benefit.
It is also important to know that a skin correction is by no means always covered by health insurance. There must be a serious excess of skin, which is often determined based on photographs. There must also be a medical necessity — meaning your health genuinely benefits from the removal of the excess skin, for example if you have unmanageable chafing spots that cause you daily discomfort.
To make sure the procedure will be covered in your case, it is best to contact your health insurer. If the procedure is not covered, there are clinics where you can have the correction carried out. You will then have to pay for the procedure yourself.
In conclusion
Bariatric surgery is an enormous step towards a healthier life. But to be honest: excess skin often comes with the territory. There are, however, ways to manage it — from supportive clothing to a surgical procedure. Whatever you choose, you have every right to be proud of what you have achieved.
