Dr. Cooper In the News

Is Surgery the Answer to Unwanted Skin?

From Successful Slimming, by GWEN CARDEN

Q. Is surgery the answer to unwanted skin?

A. The truth? Yes and no! Despite wonderful advances in plastic surgery, there is no procedure that won't leave some sort of scarring.

"However if the wrinkles and 'draping' of your excess skin are terrible then the scars are worth it," advises Robert N. Cooper, M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon in Stuart, Florida.

There are two types of procedures, both major surgery, that can be done on an abdomen with excess skin.

The first is a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), a procedure designed to remove excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen and to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall.

Although the procedure can dramatically reduce the appearance of a protruding abdomen. The scar can extend from hip to hip.

There's also an apronectomy, which removes abdominal skin without involving the muscles but leaves scarring that can sometimes extend around to the sides. This procedure is reserved for those with severe excess skin.

There's also the thigh lift for the upper thighs and buttock area but this, too, will leave scars.

All the above procedures run the risk of the scars expanding because they will be in areas of the body that experience a lot of movement. Sometimes the scars can expand to around a quarter of an inch wide.

The final surgical option is brachioplasty, for excess skin on the upper arms, known as a batwing deformity. This procedure can effectively contour arms but will leave the inevitable scar running from the elbow to the armpit that won't go away and can only be disguised by clothing.

None of these procedures should be undertaken lightly," adds Dr. Cooper. "You should only consider them if the scar is more desirable than the deformity. The patient must decide which option will be easier to live with."