excess skin after surgery

[wasatchm]

hi,

for those that have a substaintial amount of breast tissue to be removed, is excess skin an issue or will the skin eventually tighten up? I have not read any threats on here of people having excess skin removed so I am guessing is is fairly rare.  my biggest fear of having the surgery is having a bunch of excess skin (after my chest is flattened).  

thanks

[wasatchm]

well, I don't have any excess skin now.  I'm referring to after surgery.  from what I have read the skin does tighten up after surgery for most people.  

I guess my question is,  is there any way to know for sure if there will be any excess skin after surgery?   does one just have to wait a couple months after surgery and see how much it has tighten up.  will most plastic surgeons have a pretty good idea of if you will have any excess skin after surgery.  

I've never read a thread on here where someone had to have a followup surgery to remove excess skin.  just curious.  my biggest fear is excess skin that makes my chest look abnormal (for a male).  

thanks

[haletownhill]

I had excess skin, but I think partly I had excess skin prior to surgery because I was a fat kid, and getting lipoed only pronounced the problem.

Had it removed.  Little donuts around my nips, yesterday.  Feels nice and tight now.  Doc who did the lipo went in and performed this under local for no charge.

[ifgyne2]

In the vast majority of cases, the skin will tighten up by itself after surgery.  And, as a bonus, the diameter of the areola also diminishes!

The extent of post operative skin tightening is dependent upon a number of factors.  For example, a younger person will have more inherent elasticity in their skin than an older person -- and thus will do better.  Heredity also plays a factor here.  In addition, the extent of the gynecomastia will affect skin tightening -- very large breasts have a lot of tightening to do.  Lastly, if gynecomastia is accompanies by obesity, the skin will have lost some of its elasticity--particularly if the obesity has been present for years.

I very rarely do any skin tightening at  the first surgery--preferring to allow the patient's body to do the work.  It is always surprising as to how much tightening the skin will do by itself.  If, after 6-8 months, there is still some lax skin, then a briefer and much less extensive operation would be done under local anesthesia.

Dr. Jacobs 
New York City

[headheldhigh01]

well said.