Do All Post-Bariatric Patients Need Plastic Surgery?

 This is not uncommon.  There are a lot of factors involved that can affect  the way the skin behaves after bariatric surgery,  including age, genetics, skin elasticity and overall health.  My advice to anybody that loses weight rapidly after bariatric surgery  is to be patient and wait around 12- 18 months (weight  and nutrition are stable and enough time has passed since surgery to get adjusted  to the new looks)  to make a final decision  on skin removal  procedures.   You may be surprised, many do not need extra skin removal, but often they want it.  Unfortunately, people often get it too soon, and don't get the results they were hoping for.  

The most common plastic surgery procedure after gastric bypass is a tummy tuck.  Probably about 50% of patients will undergo plastic surgery after massive weight loss.  Some insurance companies will cover a tummy tuck if you document recurrent intertrigo of rashes below the skin folds.