A common question potential patients have is “How much loose skin will I have after I lose weight?”  Most consider some loose skin a good trade-off for better health and a lower body mass index (BMI).  How much loose skin a patient will have depends on several variables:

• Age.  Younger patients have a higher percentage of collagen in their skin and tend to have less loose skin after weight loss than older patients.
• Fat distribution.  Patients whose fat areas are evenly distributed tend not to have one problem area.  Those who have a larger percentage of their fat stored in one area may be more likely to have a problem in that area. 
• Rate of weight loss.  Band patients, who typically lose weight at a slower pace than bypass patients, may have an advantage in this area, especially if they exercise during the process. 
• Amount of weight lost.  For most of our patients with a BMI within the range of 35-50 lose about 60-120 lbs., loose skin is not a major problem. For those who lose much more than this it may become an issue.

Lasers and fat dissolving clinics are gimmicks and work very poorly for this.  Although only about 5% of our patients are bothered enough by their loose skin to have plastic surgery to remove it, surgical excision is still the best option.  If the plastic surgeon you choose is not familiar with how to handle the band port during a tummy tuck, they will usually call me, Dr. Atkinson, or Brian, our Physician Assistant and Program Director, before the procedure to discuss this.  Because our program is the most successful surgical weight loss program in Las Vegas, some of the local plastic surgeons have created special discounted rates exclusively for our patients.  We also have some Las Vegas plastic surgeons periodically give seminars to our patients to educate them on their options.  Contact Denise, our Practice Manager, at 702-384-8446, for more info on this topic. 

– Dr. Darren Soong