by Dimples » Wed May 02, 2018 10:19 am
This is quite a tricky one, actually.
It's entirely understandable that people might feel that the NHS should not fund and carry out this sort of surgery - after all, it is considered to be largely "cosmetic".
However, there are plenty of instances where people's previous and current lifestyle choices have led to health issues for which the NHS ultimately picks up the tab - such as smoking related illnesses, alcohol-related illnesses and sporting injuries.
In the first instance, consider the individual who has actually lost all that weight. Some might have done it by dieting and exercise but some others might have gone down the route of weight loss surgery. Neither is an easy option, although some people think that weight loss surgery is. In fact, weight loss surgery is deemed to be a permanent solution but it means never being able to eat "normally" again. It's not REALLY that easy a route to go down.
Most people fund weight loss surgery themselves, so perhaps it's not unreasonable for the NHS to provide the surgery to remove excess skin as an adjunct to that, in order to improve their quality of life and restore a sense of normality and full function.
Some tummy tuck procedures are more than just removal of excess skin. Sometimes it involves tightening of the abdominal muscles too. That is a different kettle of fish in my opinion and that is perhaps not reasonable to be funded on the NHS except in exceptional cases. However, In all honesty, the simple removal of excess skin from abdomen, arms or legs is not a particularly complex surgical procedure and the costs for that should not be huge, whereas the benefit for such patients IS.
This is quite a tricky one, actually.
It's entirely understandable that people might feel that the NHS should not fund and carry out this sort of surgery - after all, it is considered to be largely "cosmetic".
However, there are plenty of instances where people's previous and current lifestyle choices have led to health issues for which the NHS ultimately picks up the tab - such as smoking related illnesses, alcohol-related illnesses and sporting injuries.
In the first instance, consider the individual who has actually lost all that weight. Some might have done it by dieting and exercise but some others might have gone down the route of weight loss surgery. Neither is an easy option, although some people think that weight loss surgery is. In fact, weight loss surgery is deemed to be a permanent solution but it means never being able to eat "normally" again. It's not REALLY that easy a route to go down.
Most people fund weight loss surgery themselves, so perhaps it's not unreasonable for the NHS to provide the surgery to remove excess skin as an adjunct to that, in order to improve their quality of life and restore a sense of normality and full function.
Some tummy tuck procedures are more than just removal of excess skin. Sometimes it involves tightening of the abdominal muscles too. That is a different kettle of fish in my opinion and that is perhaps not reasonable to be funded on the NHS except in exceptional cases. However, In all honesty, the simple removal of excess skin from abdomen, arms or legs is not a particularly complex surgical procedure and the costs for that should not be huge, whereas the benefit for such patients IS.