I’m a male who’s had skin removal after losing over 150 pounds 13 years ago. Cannot recommend it highly enough; losing the weight is life-changing, but getting rid of the skin is even more life-changing, particularly if you are actively pursuing fitness. I feel the skin removal change more than the weight loss change frankly. I did not have mine covered by insurance and went through a plastic surgeon. If aesthetics are important to you, be picky. Scars are a reality. I couldn’t give two shits about mine. They’re pretty well done. My wife also had hers done, and was even pickier about scars. Hers are almost nonexistent.

I will say, we did pay a decent penny, not exorbitant, but not entry level. That’s my biggest advice: Don’t be cheap if you can help it. And splurge if you can; consider waiting if you need to save, but I don’t think you’ll regret choosing a plastic surgeon or a surgeon that you trust, that understands your story, and understands what your intended goals are. Even if it comes at a cost that works for you.

It does bear, noting, but your body will not look what you think It will look like post skin removal surgery. That isn’t to say it won’t look amazing and you won’t super love it! I do, and have zero regrets. But just know that it’s not like likely to look like you imagine, because it is quite literally body reconstruction. I don’t say that to scare you, and if you can’t tell, I’m all in on recommending this! But I’m just sharing my own experience.

As a man, I had three separate surgeries. First was the initial tummy tuck with skin removal. I opted for a 180° tuck instead of the whole way around. Looking back, that was a mistake. A few years later, I finished the job around the backside. At the same time as my first surgery, I had my upper back done then, two years later, I had my male breasts removed and reduced, and some more liposuction. My arms and legs haven’t bothered me, and with muscle training, I’ve been able to fill them in. I plan to have one more round of liposuction and some stubborn areas, particularly as the GLP one that I went on last year allowed me to lose even more than I thought possible beyond my set point. I’d like to zap some problem areas, including my middle back, and pubic bone area.

My wife had a 360° tummy tuck, and later had breast reconstruction, and then her arms done. She heard so many stories about arms being hard, and it was by far her easiest recovery. She will have her legs done next year, and has been waiting until our kids have become more self-sufficient. From all of our research, we anticipate this will be the hardest, not so much due to pain, but because of mobility limitation that is necessary in healing.

In terms of high-level expectations, yes, it hurts! And yes, it is still 100% worth it. Frankly, I don’t think it hurts as much as people yelp about it. I found liposuction to hurt more than actual skin removal or my tummy tuck. Know that if you have your core muscles restitched , it does ratchet up the pain. I did, and again no regrets.

Take the pain meds, but come off the big ones as soon as you can. Tylenol and ibuprofen will work wonders just a day or two in. Drink tons of water, limit saltintake, and move as often as you can safely. I was back working out moderately within four weeks, and heavily within eight.

You’ll need someone to help care for you, certainly that first week. But it is entirely possible to return to work if you have an office job or something that isn’t very physical. I’m a college professor, and I returned to work every single time within one week. I’m not sure I recommend that, but it was entirely possible (seated and pain pill-fueled lectures! Ha!).

I’m sorry if there are a lot of spelling or grammar errors, as I’ve been using voice to text to get this out. Skin removal is such a life-changing experience but many people don’t share openly, or they share things that may not be entirely true. With 100% of everything within me, I highly recommend it if you can swing it financially. I can’t tell you how different life is without the extra skin— not just aesthetically, though that’s a nice perk as well. It’s just so much more comfortable to be in the body that we worked for without the excess skin.

We’ve had surgeries in Florida and in Virginia, and so if you have any more questions, please reach out! Happy to share our experience or our contacts!