Would you ever perform or recommend any body lift procedures for patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome? (age: 27)

Dear EDSPatient,

Thank
you for your clinical post and excellent clinical question. Congratulations on your weight loss; however,
it has resulted in skin laxity. To make
matters worse, you suffer from the congenital collagen abnormality syndrome of
EDS. EDS patients generally do have a
more difficult time with wound healing, as production of collagen is
compromised and it is the production of collagen in primary wound healing that
is critical to uneventful postsurgical outcomes.

I
would definitely proceed cautiously and seek out a physician with experience
with EDS surgery. In general, very
conservative procedures – small-zone skin laxity removals and certainly not
closed under extreme tension. The
postoperative support would be critical and nutritional optimization, which may
be a factor if you’re still losing weight.

Performing
small lift and skin removal excisions without tension, sequential over time, is
probably your best option. If there is a
complication in a small area with wound healing, all other surgical excisions
and hopes and options would probably be abandoned at that point in time.

I
think there is hope. You’ve made a
commitment to losing weight and there may be an opportunity to tighten up some
of the loose skin areas one small zone at a time.

I
hope this information has been of some assistance and best of luck.

For
more information, please review

Sincerely,

R.
Stephen Mulholland, M.D.

Certified
Plastic Surgeon

Yorkville,
Toronto