I recently lost 50lbs and am considering aesthetic surgery (Photo)

In regards to the scarring, the history of diabetes is definitely a contributing factor. When there is elevated levels of glucose in your blood, it impairs wound healing. However, just because someone has diabetes does not mean that they cannot safely undergo cosmetic procedures. We just have to be careful and do our best to control your blood glucose before and after surgery. As far as the management of the diabetes, my question would be what treatments you are currently receiving for the diabetes. Some meditations actually would have to be stopped or transitioned, depending on the anesthesia and the medication that you were taking. So that would be something to keep in mind. Also, if you are considering cosmetic surgery I would also ask if you are planning to lose any more weight or if you are at a weight that you are comfortable with. If you’re happy with the 50 pounds you you have lost then we could certainly pursue options that you are interested in. However, if you told me that you were still interested in losing more weight, then it may be worth it to wait on the cosmetic procedures until your weight has stabilized. And on the topic of weight loss, the GLP class of medications are fantastic meditations for helping patients lose weight. Especially if they a history of diabetes, for example. At our office we are also able to manage and prescribe medication‘s like Ozempic and Semaglutide to help patients get to their pre-surgery goal weight and to optimize their results. I would be happy to talk to you more about your questions and your specific goals. Hope this helps.

Thank you for your question regarding undergoing aesthetic surgery after your recently lost 50 pounds. Thank you for your history and your pictures. It is well known that diabetics do not heal well. The medical literature supports this fact. However, you have to weigh the risks. Would you rather live with your arms and their current shape or consider aesthetic surgery with residual scars? This is a question which is very personal and only you can answer. Most patients are willing to trade excess fat and loose skin for scars. There are a multitude of interventions which can be done to minimize scarring. Scar treatment options include application of silicone cream, silicone patches, injection of steroids, injection of 5FU, Fraxel, V-beam laser, micro-needling, dermabrasion, and even surgical revision. The most important thing is that you’ve lost weight. Congratulations! Weight loss will also help to control your diabetes better. That is the most important thing. If you wish to have aesthetic plastic surgery, that is your decision. Yes, diabetics do you have poor healing, but not all diabetics have hypertrophic or keloid scars. However, again, most patients are willing to trade excess skin and fat for scars. Good luck. I have answered your question regarding losing 50 pounds and considering aesthetic surgery.

I would like to suggest that you have detailed face to face conversation with Vaser specialist surgeon. Take all your medical notes with you to share in your appointment; and have detailed conversation to reach your realistic goals

Your primary problem in regards to aesthetics is obesity and there’s no good cosmetic Surgery thar effectively treat that condition.
I want to congratulate you on your 50 pound weight loss. Considering that you started at around 250 pounds skin laxity may become an issue with successful for their weight loss. Based on your pictures you appear to have a significant percentage of visceral or intra-abdominal fats. Well, Liposuction may seem like a tempting option. It’s not a good procedure for those who lost a significant amount of weight and it’s not a good treatment for obesity.
Surgically removing large amounts of fat tends to trigger people to gain weight rather than to lose weight.
Your best bet is to continue doing what’s already working and continue losing weight until you reach your ideal weight or plateau at your goal weight.
Weight loss does become more challenging as we get closer and closer to our ideal weight. Since you’ve already lost weight, you know what works for you and I suggest you continue doing more of the same.
There are generally two avenues or schools of thought for improving body contouring for people who are obese. The first is Liposuction, which can be excellent for body, contouring for individuals who have tight skin and modest amount of excess undesirable, the subcutaneous fat.
Most plastic surgeons will not remove more than 5 L of fat during a single procedure. Some states have laws restricting the amount of fat they can be removed. Florida for example, limits fat removal as an outpatient procedure to 4 L of fat during liposuction surgery. 5 L of fat is about 8 pounds. Some other fat and fluid removed from Liposuction and contains water and not all the volume removed represents subcutaneous fat. 5 L of fat is typically sufficient to treat the torso and possibly including the arms on someone who is about 160 pounds. As patients become heavier than that, the amount of fat required to get quality results increases. And Wayne close to 200 pounds. You would probably need to run to Liposuction to get good results and this could be obtained much more naturally, and in a far more healthy way with weight loss than having a proper assessment regarding what your body looks like and what your needs are.
Cosmetic surgery should not be the tool that motivates people to lose weight, but rather than reward after a successful weight loss.
While are you have lost 50 pounds and that is to be commended you were still obese, and need to lose further weight to look your best.
In my opinion, you’re not yet at a place where you’re ready to consider cosmetic surgery.
Continue losing weight until you reach a BMI that is consistent with recommendations from your primary care physician.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD

Hello cbgb1, Thank you for the question. Congratulations on the weight loss. A good starting place for you would be liposuction to get rid of the fat that is underneath the skin. This would help to contour your body more. It is important to note that we carry fat in multiple compartments in our bodies. We carry fat underneath the skin which we can access with liposuction. We also have fat below the muscle around our organs which cannot be removed with liposuction. That fat can only be dealt with using exercise and diet. Liposuction would be a good start for you. The Diabetes and easy scarring are not deal Breakers but require further discussion. Any evaluation and discussion with the surgeon would be recommended.