How to tighten sagging or loose skin after bariatric surgery

How to tighten sagging or loose skin after bariatric surgery

If you choose to try tightening it up, there are four principles you need to follow:

Stay hydrated – try to drink at least 8-9 cups of water per day

Lose your weight gradually applying regular strength training sessions all the time

Eat proper food

Improve the maintenance of your skin – daily exfoliation, hot bath with sea salts, skin tightening creams are good solutions, while we recommend you to stay away from harsh detergents, shampoos, dishwashing liquids, prolonged exposure to the sun, and chlorinated water.

Bariatric surgery can help people who struggle with obesity lose significant amounts of weight, but after that weight comes off, it can leave behind sagging or loose skin.

This happens because the skin does not tighten fully after rapid, massive weight loss, according to Sebastian Winocour, MD, a plastic surgeon at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who treats patients who have had bariatric surgery.

“Substantial sagging skin is less common after traditional, non-surgical weight loss,” because people who lose weight through means like diet and exercise usually drop fewer pounds and do so more slowly, says Winocour. Here’s what to do about sagging skin after bariatric surgery.

Sagging skin after bariatric surgery may be temporary

In the 6 to 18 months that follow surgery, your body will change a lot. For example, most people will have some degree of sagging skin, but the problem is often more temporary than they expect, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

A number of factors influence how much your skin tightens, including your age, genetics, and the amount of weight you lose. Certain medical conditions can lead to skin thinning, Winocour says. And whether or not you exercise or smoke will also influence how your body heals from bariatric surgery.

If you want to opt for a quick fix, compression garments can help reduce the appearance of sagging skin in the short term. They can also reduce common rashes that can occur from chaffing. You can also control chaffing and excess moisture between loose layers of skin with powder, according to PennMedicine.

How to tighten sagging skin after bariatric surgery naturally

While Winocour says there is no guaranteed way of preventing sagging skin before surgery, there are a few things you can do to aid tightening afterward.

“Balanced nutrition, including appropriate vitamin supplementation as recommended by your bariatric team, will ensure that your body has the necessary building tools to heal your surgical wounds,” he says.

This is easier said than done since people who have had bariatric surgery are prone to malnutrition because the surgery alters the gut’s ability to absorb nutrients. Therefore, patients must have their nutrient levels monitored and take supplements, such as iron and vitamin B12, to avoid malnutrition and give their body, including sagging skin, the best fighting chance to heal.

While some topical creams and therapeutic massages claim to help tighten skin after bariatric surgery, these have not been proven effective, according to Winocour.

How to tighten sagging skin after bariatric surgery with body contouring

Laser treatments and cryotherapy, which uses extreme cold, offer some degree of tightening, but not enough to fully address sagging skin following bariatric surgery. The most effective tightening is accomplished through surgery.

These so-called body contouring procedures are aimed specifically at people who have recently undergone bariatric surgery or have lost a significant amount of weight through diet and exercise. During these procedures, excess skin is cut off using long incisions that are made so as to reduce visible scarring.

In 2014, nearly 45,000 people who had massive weight loss, which is generally associated with bariatric surgery, had plastic surgery, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Insurance often covers the removal of sagging abdominal and breast skin, but may consider procedures on the arms and elsewhere cosmetic and therefore not eligible for coverage, according to the ASMBS.