Dogs Sleeping Forum

A senior plastic surgeon has said people who were obese are often forgotten about and after losing lots of weight, they should be able to get loose skin removed on the NHS.

However it's very difficult to get it removed by the NHS as it's often seen as cosmetic surgery and people who want the excess skin removed, usually have to go private.

In order to get it removed on the NHS, people have to prove the loose skin impacts on their quality of life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-43961528

Vicks wrote:

A senior plastic surgeon has said people who were obese are often forgotten about and after losing lots of weight, they should be able to get loose skin removed on the NHS.

However it's very difficult to get it removed by the NHS as it's often seen as cosmetic surgery and people who want the excess skin removed, usually have to go private.

In order to get it removed on the NHS, people have to prove the loose skin impacts on their quality of life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-43961528

This actually made me think and I came to the conclusion that yes, I think the NHS should cough up, it will be a lot cheaper in the long run than having to treat a morbidly obese person for the rest of their lives. I think it would give obese people an incentive to lose weight if they know they will look OK afterwards.

yes I agree

if someone has made that much effort to help themselves then they should be given the chance of a 'normal' life

I imagine that excess skin is so demoralising and uncomfortable, also quite disabling for everyday life activities

Holly wrote:

Vicks wrote:

A senior plastic surgeon has said people who were obese are often forgotten about and after losing lots of weight, they should be able to get loose skin removed on the NHS.

However it's very difficult to get it removed by the NHS as it's often seen as cosmetic surgery and people who want the excess skin removed, usually have to go private.

In order to get it removed on the NHS, people have to prove the loose skin impacts on their quality of life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-43961528

This actually made me think and I came to the conclusion that yes, I think the NHS should cough up, it will be a lot cheaper in the long run than having to treat a morbidly obese person for the rest of their lives. I think it would give obese people an incentive to lose weight if they know they will look OK afterwards.

I think they should be available as well Holls.

If an obese person decides to change their life by starting to eat healthy and by joining the gym, then it seems very unfair to leave them with all that loose skin.

Paying for it privately could mean years of debt and scrimping and scraping to get buy.

I disagree.... the NHS often won’t pay for life saving drugs/treatment for seriously ill people, including children.... so no, they should fund it themselves imo!

What’s next?.... ugly people wanting cosmetic surgery on the NHS, claiming its having an impact on their lives?.... bald men wanting a hair transplant on the NHS?

The line has to be drawn somewhere..... the NHS is knee deep in shit already!

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.

isn't there a simple formula here? The money saved by not buying copious amounts of junk food and drink any more, can go towards a tummy tuck op? Apart from having to buy some smaller clothes, they will find themselves much better off than they previously were.

Also I feel this 'excess skin' issue should be more widely publicised (leaflets at health centres/doctors surgeries etc) and serve as a warning for those in the process of letting themselves go. People should realise that when you get fat, there's more to getting healthy again than simply losing the weight.

Gabby wrote:I disagree.... the NHS often won’t pay for life saving drugs/treatment for seriously ill people, including children.... so no, they should fund it themselves imo!

What’s next?.... ugly people wanting cosmetic surgery on the NHS, claiming its having an impact on their lives?.... bald men wanting a hair transplant on the NHS?

The line has to be drawn somewhere..... the NHS is knee deep in shit already!

...thanks to chronic underfunding since 2011

Definitely not. There isn’t enough money for regular operations.
If people want cosmetic surgery then they have to pay.
We might not even have an NHS in the future!!

Definitely.

Loose skin is more than just cosmetic. It can harbour all kinds of bacteria and moisture and turn really quite nasty if not given the proper care. Something which is difficult when your loose skin restricts movement.

There are degrees of loose skin and they should be treated as such. If it’s restricting movement or causing issues then I think it should be removed.

Could you not get ulcers under the loose skin?

I saw an ulcer on a woman when I was in hospital once and I've never seen anything like it in my life.

It must have been so painful.

Yes me ex sister in law Linda was once 30 stone plus , she had a band thing fitted to lose weight, she lost nearly 11 stone , she covered in ulcers with puss leaking , her hair is falling out in handfuls too

Coming back to the the question about tummy tucks , know of 3 people that has lost large amounts of weight by have a gastric band fitted , I’m petty sure after losing weight they have had one option to have a operation in removing access skin either your arms or tummy , but not both , my sister in law had access skin removed from her arms on the nhs , she have to go private to have a tummy tuck now , unless you can persuad your doctor that you access skin is making you very depressed

What would happen if, after having excess skin removed, that person regains a large amount of weight? Presumably there is a limit to the skin's elasticity hence stretch marks during pregnancy? I'm wondering if there would be a higher risk of hernia.

Foxy wrote:What would happen if, after having excess skin removed, that person regains a large amount of weight? Presumably there is a limit to the skin's elasticity hence stretch marks during pregnancy? I'm wondering if there would be a higher risk of hernia.

hernias are caused by a split in muscle.