Conditions · Body

Loose Skin After Weight Loss

After significant weight loss the skin envelope can exceed the volume beneath it. This is a skin problem, not a fat problem — and fat-reduction treatments make it look worse.

Mechanism

What is actually happening

Prolonged stretch damages elastin and disorganises collagen. Once the underlying volume reduces, the envelope does not always retract, particularly after large or rapid losses.

The distinction

How it is told apart

Fat reduction and skin tightening are opposite requirements here. Removing more volume from beneath loose skin increases the redundancy. This is the single most consequential distinction in body work.

Assessment

What is established first

Degree of redundancy, skin quality and elastic recoil, how much weight was lost and how quickly, weight stability, and the site.

Approach

What is typically done

Skin-directed tightening rather than further volume reduction. The extent of what non-surgical treatment can achieve is discussed honestly, because for substantial redundancy it is limited.

When treatment waits

When it is deferred

Where redundancy is significant, non-surgical tightening will not be sufficient and a surgical opinion is the appropriate referral.

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Frequently asked

What is loose skin after weight loss?

After significant weight loss the skin envelope can exceed the volume beneath it. This is a skin problem, not a fat problem — and fat-reduction treatments make it look worse.

How is loose skin after weight loss told apart from similar conditions?

Fat reduction and skin tightening are opposite requirements here. Removing more volume from beneath loose skin increases the redundancy. This is the single most consequential distinction in body work.

What is assessed before treating loose skin after weight loss?

Degree of redundancy, skin quality and elastic recoil, how much weight was lost and how quickly, weight stability, and the site.

When is treatment deferred?

Where redundancy is significant, non-surgical tightening will not be sufficient and a surgical opinion is the appropriate referral.

Have this assessed

Every assessment is carried out personally by Dr Sin Yong, Medical Director. 9 Scotts Road, #12-01 Pacific Plaza.

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