r/The10thDentist • u/slclgbt • 20h ago
Society/Culture Healthy weight loss should be rewarded with free/optional excess skin removal and other elective cosmetic surgeries.
I want to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with excess skin or stretch marks. They are 100% natural, especially if someone is loosing weight or battling obesity.
But I think it would be a huge incentive to those wanting to get healthier if they knew any excess skin they may have can be removed if they would like it to be (without costing an arm and a leg).
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u/Educational-Fox-9040 20h ago
If I, a stranger, come to you, a cosmetic surgeon, 100+ lb lighter than I was but with a ton of loose skin, how would you know if my weight loss was healthy or not?
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u/Pure_Preference_5773 19h ago
I’d imagine the best way to do this would be routine weight management visits
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u/BiKingSquid 20h ago
Yes, this is exactly the kind of Public Health measure we in Canada love. Financial benefits if you provide proof you worked with a doctor to lose a lot of weight, giving discounts to surgeries that are considered elective.
The reduction of stress in the healthcare system is more than worth that incentive.
But it'd never happen in a country with a private medical system.
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u/rch-out 20h ago
wait this exists? that is amazing
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u/BiKingSquid 20h ago
My only experience is my grandfather's gastric bypass not costing him anything after he proved he could keep the weight off, but I believe so.
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u/Routine_Log8315 19h ago
A lot of things in Canada exist in theory… my city has a 5-7 year wait list just to get a family doctor (and even when you have one it’s months till an appointment). My parent has a history of abdominal tumors and has a massive lump so large you can see it through his clothes and still has been waiting over 6 months for his MRI…
So while that Benefit may be offered on paper I’m sure it’s almost impossible to actually utilize.
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u/ToobularBoobularJoy_ 20h ago
Wow, certain types of redditors really don't like this one 💀 I don't disagree with you though lol
Edit: LMAO one of the disagreers is the "I don't care about climate change" guy
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u/Pure_Preference_5773 19h ago
I support this for publicly funded healthcare and believe private healthcare insurance should also provide such opportunities.
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u/stellamae29 19h ago
100,000 percent. I've watched people lose weight and watched their skin literally plataue them at a certain point because they can't physically move with the loose skin. I usually hate most of the opinions on this sub, but this one I can get behind. I have never been overweight, so I can't pretend to know what that is like. I however very very competitively danced and eventually got accepted into a top ballet school in my 9th grade year of school. I got my period and despite staying mostly the same physically, my hips and thighs fully decided I was packing on weight to bear 13 children and suddenly my thighs weren't touching the same they did before despite me keeping the same abs I had before. This was enough to impact my performance like a young boy in choir who reached puberty. I sucked. I did everything I did before times 10, and my body just changed. Knowing how hard getting over than hurdle and then imagining the loose skin someone worked just as hard, probably harder than me, has to deal with after they've made it and then to be told it's not medically necessary...I would be shooting a ceo. It's ABSOLUTELY medically necessary for some.
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u/Seaofinfiniteanswers 20h ago
People largely don’t lose weight due to systemic issues. Hard to meal prep healthy foods if you work 3 jobs and have two grade school kids. Also no time to exercise. Don’t forget the constant stress that makes you want to do something for quick dopamine like .75 donut. There are already tons of benefits to weight loss. Feel better, people treat you better, better job opportunities. Most of us know that you can lose weight by eating less food also. It’s all the stuff in the middle that’s the problem. I don’t think that free skin surgery would make a huge difference. Free ozempic on the other hand…
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u/oftcenter 20h ago edited 19h ago
I bet a certain type of crowd would be against it. Because they'd say it was your fault for getting "fat" in the first place, so why should you be rewarded for doing what you should have been doing all along?
And then they'd extend the concept to other types of medical problems. Should a former alcoholic get a free liver transplant? Should a former meth addict get free skin treatments at the dermatologist? Should ANYBODY who damaged their body in an irresponsible way get free, restorative treatment?
And on and on.
They believe in the "Just World" fallacy where everyone gets what they deserve and therefore should accept it without complaint. It's a very punitive mindset.
Maybe there could be an argument for people who incurred damage truly through no fault of their own. Although I suspect it would be difficult to prove total and complete "innocence".
But what about everyone else? What about people who incurred damage by accident. Should they get free treatment, or should they just be classed as negligent and be left to deal with the results on their own?
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u/Mondai_May 20h ago
if such a procedure is necessary, it is likely that the excess skin is impacting the quality of life and maybe even the health of the person since that could cause infections. So even from a healthcare/not purely cosmetic perspective it'd be beneficial that those procedures are covered.
I haven't had to deal with such a thing and I live somewhere with government healthcare so I think possibly someone could get that procedure covered where I am. But for somewhere that doesn't have this it'd be nice if it was covered.
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u/Smelliphant 19h ago
I, someone who has lost and gained weight in several periods of my life, and who has watched other people do so, have never seen someone lose weight in a healthy manner that leaves excess skin that doesn't tighten to their frame after about three months.
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u/concernedworker123 20h ago
If we have the ability to make a widespread component of healthcare free, that is not the most impactful one to pick. It’s not even close.
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u/slclgbt 19h ago
You’re right and I hear you, but I don’t think it’s impossible to have a world where folks can get free insulin/medication/life saving surgeries etc as well as free/affordable elective surgeries to improve the quality of their lives.
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u/concernedworker123 19h ago
Yes but if you have to pick you should pick the life-saving ones and forfeit the others.
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u/TheOneWhoGazesBack 20h ago edited 20h ago
It would be a nice and kind thing to do and the incentive feedback loop would be amazing but taking care of health is a personal responsibility so excess skin removal should just be covered by insurance(fat (ha) chance of that) it shouldn't be the government's responsibility and I'll even go as far as to say that all major quality of life improvement surgeries/medical devices should be covered by insurance. But it shouldn't be free if Healthcare in general isn't free.
It makes no sense to reward people for fulfilling personal obligations to themselves. If the government isn't even willing to roll out universal healthcare.
TLDR: Major QOL Cosmetics should be free if healthcare is free otherwise it should be covered by insurance.
Edit:Downvoted because universal health care isn't unpopular.
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u/throwaway669_663 20h ago edited 20h ago
Maybe discounted? but yes In a perfect world that would be amazing! Also, mom’s getting free mommy makeovers if they want them.
The word used is WANT not NEED. Cosmetic surgery is NOT A NEED but many moms have voiced wanting it.
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u/TheGreatGoatQueen 20h ago
I feel like “free mommy makeovers” kind of feeds into the idea that women even need to get cosmetic surgery after giving birth in the first place. Your body changes with pregnancy and childbirth, that’s normal and healthy.
We need to break away from unrealistic body standards for mothers, instead of feeding them.
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u/throwaway669_663 20h ago
You’re spot on which is why I said “if they WANT them” a lot of women have voiced wanting cosmetic procedures after having a baby. It isn’t a need!
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u/TheGreatGoatQueen 20h ago
Even just presenting it as a thing that is so important it’s offered for free would perpetuate it as a “normal” thing for women to get, and not getting one as “abnormal”.
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u/throwaway669_663 20h ago
Well that could be said about any cosmetic procedure really. Plastic surgery is more than butt and boobs, some women do have loose skin after giving birth. It’s okay for them to miss their old bodies and want to go close to what they looked like. Again want vs need. It’s not a necessity.
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u/TheGreatGoatQueen 19h ago
I think it would be just as bad and perpetuating to offer any of those kinds of surgeries for free as well. Offering all women free boob jobs would perpetuate the idea that it’s normal and standard for a woman to get a boob job.
We don’t even offer free dentist procedures, something that impacts your life in a very extreme way every single day, what message would we be sending to women to offer them free cosmetic surgery?
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u/throwaway669_663 19h ago edited 19h ago
A free dentist procedure is very different, dental care is a NEED. A Boob job is a WANT, even if it was the standard there will be women who would opt out of it. Not every woman desires getting plastic surgery. Again I get where you’re coming from but it seems like a reach.
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u/TheGreatGoatQueen 19h ago
Exactly, dental care is a need, and we don’t even provide that for free. Cosmetic surgery is a luxury and the government typically does not provide luxuries for free, and providing it for free would send the message that it’s normal and routine for women to get it, not an abnormal luxury procedure.
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u/throwaway669_663 19h ago
Right. It still stands. Some new moms would still opt out of doing it whether it is seen as the norm or not. Women aren’t stupid to the point they can’t have autonomy over themselves and make informed decisions based on what they want. Again this is all hypothetical and would never happen in the real world.
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u/TheGreatGoatQueen 19h ago
Women aren’t stupid, but they are still susceptive to societal pressure and stigma. It also still hurts to be judged on your the natural appearance of your body, even if you aren’t planning on getting surgery to change it.
In a world where “mommy makeovers” are offered for free, they would be presented as normal and not a luxury, women who don’t get them would be seen as less attractive or strange because the norm is to not have your body be different after pregnancy. Even if you don’t want surgery, normalizing cosmetic surgery to fix natural changes to the body to the point where it’s offered for free helps no one.
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u/lizzanniaa 20h ago
and who exactly would be paying for these skin removal surgeries? Tax payers? No thanks 💀
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u/femmesbian 20h ago
if I'm paying for some congressman's viagra already I don't really mind if my taxes are going to help someone who is struggling due to their excess skin after weight loss
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u/lizzanniaa 20h ago
Well I do mind.
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u/femmesbian 20h ago
womp womp
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u/lizzanniaa 20h ago
Womp womp to you as well since you’ll still be paying for the viagra and not the excess skin loss 💀 child ass.
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u/femmesbian 20h ago
womp womp i don't actually care that much, because my taxes also help pay for children's education, sick people, disabled people, etc. I understand how out governmental and economic system works, and i feel like a child wouldn't understand that.
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u/lizzanniaa 20h ago
You do care hence why you’re here and replied two minutes later 💀
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u/femmesbian 19h ago
obviously not as much as you, but I'll let the ratio speak for itself. I don't care about the taxes, I care about selfish people who would rather see others suffer for their own minute benefits, and I don't like those people very much.
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u/MalevolentDisciple 20h ago
Other countries actually use tax money to fund free healthcare for their citizens
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u/Even_Discount_9655 20h ago
God forbid your tax money go towards making people happy instead of blowing up brown people in countries you can't find on a map
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u/TheMonkeyDidntDoIt 20h ago
It wouldn't be instead of, it would be in addition to.
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u/JurassicP0rk 20h ago
So it's a drop in the bucket.
I could also type up a whole ass thing about how the motivation to get the skin reduction surgery might lead more people to lose weight, and thereby reducing obesity related medical costs, but I don't think you'll actually give a shit
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u/lizzanniaa 19h ago
Yeah people are crying about how they can’t afford shit yet they wanna spend more money so people can get rid of excess skin? wtf?💀
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u/Bacon_Techie 20h ago
(I’m assuming you’re from the US) the US pays the most per capita towards healthcare out of any country with their current taxes, yet they pay on top of that the most out of any country I can think of.
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u/cornfarm96 20h ago
Oh this is a pretty good one. The reward/incentive to lose weight is a longer lifespan and better quality of life in general. No way should the taxpayers foot the bill for expensive cosmetic surgery just because some fat slob decided to be healthy for a change.
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u/lizzanniaa 20h ago
Thank you. Like WTF type of entitlement BS is this? That’s like saying we should pay for mommy makeovers after women choose to have kids. Fuck outta here. No ones fault but your own for being a fatty. And this is coming from someone who does have loose skin since losing 43 pounds at the beginning of the month.
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u/tahtahme 20h ago
We get it. It triggers you to think of other people getting healthcare and you think wanting to be healthy is entitled. You're a real edge lord, you've proven it multiple times in the last few minutes.
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u/JewelerOk5317 19h ago
The issue is who's gonna fund it. There's no such thing as free in the world. Resources are gonna be used and someone's gonna be performing the surgery, the resources used will cost something and the doctor performing the surgery will want to be compensated for it. It's a nice idea but the money's gonna have to come from somewhere.
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u/Flendarp 20h ago
Just so you know, the excess skin from rapid weight loss is usually only temporary. In most cases, the skin will form to the new body in a year or so. Some people do need the surgery, but not nearly as many as you might think.
I think having this surgery available for free would be excellent, but i also think removing the stigma from bariatric surgery could do a lot more good. There are a lot of people who need bariatric surgery and are automatically declined because it is one procedure that they can automatically decline without any real repercussions in the USA.
Also just for the record, I have a medical condition with my stomach that can only be corrected with the bariatric surgery and has nothing to do with my weight. But since this surgery is so stigmatized I can't get it even with my doctor writing multiple letters to the insurance company explaining the medical necessity.
Also also, bariatric surgery for weight loss is not a magic fix all for weight problems. It's a life altering surgery that requires complete changes to lifestyle for the rest of your life and is a massive commitment. Lots of people get the surgery and go back to their old lifestyle and put all the weight back on if they even lose weight in the first place.
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