Excess Skin

[watch87]

Hello,

As you may have guessed I'm a new member. Having read all your post and stories I finally feel as though someone understands me and the frustration of suffering such a condition.

A little about myself. I was over weight the vast majority of my life especially my teen years. As I grew older I became more and more self concious of my appearance and how others perceived me to the extent I became almost an introvert and very withdrawn.

At age 17 I decided to make a change and finally lose weight. I lost an incredible 6 stone, an achievement I'm still proud off.

The problem I have now is with all this weight loss it has left me with terrible drooping skin on my chest and I require far more then the basic Gynecomastia. I require excessive skin removal.

My first question is has anyone out there had such an experience and under gone surgery to have this corrected? and if so what were the results like?

Secondly can anyone recommend a good surgeon who can perform such a procedure. I would prefer to have it done in the UK but due to final reasons I don't think this is possible. Has anyone had experience with surgeons abroad in Europe? I'm leaning towards Prague as I've heard good things.

I'm grateful for you to take your time out and read my story and appreciate any feedback you may have.

[thetodd]

Do not go abroad, seriously skin removal could be a big procedure and it will probably cost you more abroad than karidis/levick.

If i was in your shoes, id book a consultation with levick or Karidis. And get their opinion on what you need doing there consultation fees are both around £100 and this will give you an idea on what you will need performed. You are under no obligation to go with them and it will give you an idea on costs etc.

Good luck anyway mate you've done well to lose the weight, and its hard to tell since you dont have any pictures but you might not even need skin reduction. Youd be amazed to see how skin snaps back into place post op, but levick or karidis will let you know this.

[watch87]

Thanks for the feedback, I just have to weigh up the cost/benefit of each option

[kingboob]

Thanks for the feedback, I just have to weigh up the cost/benefit of each option

Hi, I went from 34st to about 16.5 ish.... put some back on and 5 years later I am around the 20 mark but I am very tall / large framed. Trying to do something about getting it down again now but that is another story.

As you can probably imagine I had extensive excess skin ALL over. I had it removed as well as gynecomastia surgery with skin excision of the chest.   What you get done really depends on what areas of your body bother you and where the skin is located, individual body shape and so on. It is very individualised surgery, major surgery that requires more than 1 operation to get it right and a significant investment of money, time, emotional and physical energy.

I don't know if you are going for all over body work or 'just' the chest area?   Even so getting the skin removed from the chest will most likely need 1 op to get if off and then another to tidy things up. Depending on how bad the problem is it could be done with minor scars around the nipple area or if you need large amounts of skin removed it would be more like a full length scar under the pecs.


 My case was pretty extreme and I didn't scar particularly well, 3 reasons IMO: I'm mixed race, my skin is very stretchy and damaged from the extreme weight & weight loss, my weight has fluctuated since surgery.   I wouldn't go shirtless in public but I do not regret having it done, infact having my chest sorted was the best thing I've ever done, I cannot imagine living with it how it was before.  Having large breasts (and they were full blown breasts) throughout childhood / adolescence was not fun and then being left with a total mess after losing weight was even more devastating. I can now enjoy wearing normal closes, exercising, walking around shops, etc etc,  without constantly trying to cover my chest.

Results vary.... scars vary... recovery time varies....cost varies....   You can get some idea of what can be done by searching for photos online but having skin excision is quite unusual and not many guys share their photos for obvious reasons. You could try on the NHS or else get a private consultation.

I had my surgery with Mr Levick.  If you want to go privately I would say go and have a chat with him, he is very friendly and will give you a very honest, no BS opinion of what can realistically be achieved. He has lots of experience with gynecomastia surgery at the more extreme end of the scale.

[kingboob]

Oh, and whoever you choose to go with I would strongly advise you save up extra and have the surgery done in this country.

Having the skin removed is more major than normal gyne or lipo surgery and would normally be an overnight stay in hospital because it carries more risk of bleeding, infection and so on.  Complications are rare but believe me if you do start spurting blood a few hours after the operation you can feel quite ill very quickly and it is scary.  You will be grateful to be in hospital surrounded by well trained English speaking nurses/surgeon.

[watch87]

Oh, and whoever you choose to go with I would strongly advise you save up extra and have the surgery done in this country.

Having the skin removed is more major than normal gyne or lipo surgery and would normally be an overnight stay in hospital because it carries more risk of bleeding, infection and so on.  Complications are rare but believe me if you do start spurting blood a few hours after the operation you can feel quite ill very quickly and it is scary.  You will be grateful to be in hospital surrounded by well trained English speaking nurses/surgeon.

Thanks for the reply and well done on the weight loss, that must have taken an incredible amount of hard work and determination.

My case I guess is not as extreme as yours. I have already had a tummy tuck procedure carried out to remove excess skin from stomach area and now its really just the chest left and I will be happy and confident. The tummy tuck was also carried out abroad and I'm pleased with the results and honestly the doctors/nurses were excellent and all spoke fluent English. The only reason I'm concerned about going abroad for the chest reduction surgery is because it is not a common procedure carried out on men were as a tummy tuck has become almost common place, it could be argued.

Your right about how results will vary according to the individual and its a very personal surgery. I would prefer to minimise scaring but I'm not to concerned as I see it as a small sacrifice to achieve the bigger goal. I may just have to book a consultation with Mr Levick and get his opinion on things.

[kingboob]

Ah ok, if you have already had a tummy tuck then you know how it is really.  I think you are correct about the tummy tuck being a common thing and male chest reduction not so much so.

Scarring is a strange thing but your tummy tuck scar should give you some idea as to how well you scar (i.e. if you develop thick scars or whatever).  Of course depending on your situation you may get a compromise where you can get an 80% improvement in the loose skin with a minimal scar or 100% improvement with a larger scar and so on.  Really the best thing to do is have some consultations and see what the options are.

It sounds like you had a great experience with the tummy tuck abroad and maybe that is an option for you as well.  My personal concern is what happens if something goes wrong because as unlikely as that is, it would worry me.

Anyway, best of luck, keep us updated!

[Tonytony]

I had the same problem as you and had the gyne surgery together with skin reduction here in London with Harley Medical.

Overall the cost was about £6400, not cheap but i'm happy with the results (scars and all)

Hit me up with a personal message with any questions as I don't check this forum regularly. You can go ahead and post the answers in the thread for future searchers.