I lost 170lb, Are there any alternatives to massive surgery to remove excess arm and inner thigh skin? photo)

Question

I was 300lb back in 2000, Sz 26 & I'm down to 130 Sz 4. Is there anything less $$ than major surgery? I so much wanted to get thin & be healthy. I did not expect the excess skin with the exercising I did. I am embarrassed to be out in short sleeves, shorts, or swim wear. Do those wraps work? I know i don't need lipo because there is no fat there? What is cool sculpting.. HELP?! My insurance looks at it as cosmetic unless you know a reason it may be covered. Mental Stability? :)

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Morpheus 8 is a non-invasive skin and soft tissue tightening treatment that is consistently amazing in our patients. We use the Morpheus to exact fractional induced RF into the skin or tissue in order to tighten collagen and stimulate contraction of the tissue. For acne scars, it is quite useful to build collagen in patients who have atrophic scars but is not very productive for ice-pick scars which require TCA Cross. For tissue tightening, Morpheus is ideal for the face and neck and we often combine it with CO2 laser or Ultherapy to further enhance results. Chemical peels and skin resurfacing should be done at least 5 to 7 days after, but can be performed earlier, depending on treatment severity. Avoid exfoliating skin treatments before Morpheus and expect a period of 2-4 weeks for skin contraction to set in.

Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian 
Realself100 Surgeon

Karen Stolman, MD · Answer

Congratulations on your significant weight loss!it is possible to do non-invasive skin tightening but it requires multiple treatment sessions and produces just modest improvement, except in a lucky few who get great results.  I see the best results with 1064nm Nd laser tightening,  No anesthesia is needed, but it does require minimum of 4-5 brief treatment sessions spaced a few weeks apart.  Radiofrequency and ultrasound are also being marketed for skin tightening but tend to cause more pain, and take much longer (an hour) to complete.   These methods work to tighten the skin by gradually heating the skin to a safe but high temperature of 43 degrees c.  Coolsculpting is cryolipolysis or freezing of fat to reduce it.  As you said, you don't seem to need fat removal, so Coolsculpting would not be helpful to you.

I lost 170lb, Are there any alternatives to massive surgery to remove excess arm and inner thigh skin? photo)

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I lost 170lb, Are there any alternatives to massive surgery to remove excess arm and inner thigh skin? photo)

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Everything you need to know about Skin Tightening

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.