Does HS Make Excess Skin Removal Surgery Riskier?

February 1, 2025

This plain-language research summary was generated by AI, courtesy of HS Simplified.

AI Generated Content Verified By: Hal Flowers, MD, FAAD | University of Virginia

Does HS Make Excess Skin Removal Surgery Riskier?

A study from 2025 revealed that patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a chronic inflammatory skin condition causing painful lumps in areas where skin rubs together, aren't at higher risk for complications during body contouring surgery. While some postoperative HS flares were noted, their link to surgery remains unclear. The findings suggest HS shouldn't be a barrier to considering such procedures after major weight loss.

Does Having Hidradenitis Suppurativa Make Skin Removal Surgery Riskier?

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a long-lasting and painful skin disease. It causes lumps and sores, especially in places where skin rubs together, like your armpits or under your breasts. Sometimes, people with HS lose a lot of weight and are left with extra skin. They may want body contouring surgery (removal of extra skin) to feel better, look different, or help with their HS.

Scientists at the University of Virginia wanted to know if people with HS have more problems after body contouring surgery than others. They studied 44 people with HS (42 women and 2 men), most of whom were overweight or had other health problems like diabetes (trouble controlling blood sugar), anemia (low red blood cells), or a weak immune system. These patients had 49 surgeries, mostly on their breast or belly.

What Did They Find?

After surgery, some people had problems like:

• 6 people got a wound infection (an infection where the surgery was done), but no one had a whole-body infection.
• 4 people needed another surgery to fix bleeding or close a wound.
• 18 people had slow wound healing, but this only needed regular wound care at home.
• 13 people had a flare-up of their HS (their skin disease got worse) within three months.

Overall, about 18% had serious problems like big wounds, bleeding, or infections that needed extra help from doctors. About 37% had smaller problems, like slow healing. These numbers are similar to or better than what doctors usually see in people without HS who have this kind of surgery.

What Does This Mean?

This study suggests that having HS does not make body contouring surgery much riskier. The chance of having a problem after surgery is about the same as for anyone else, even if you have this skin disease. Some people did have flare-ups of their HS after surgery, but this is common for people with HS anyway, so it’s hard to say if surgery caused it.

Limitations of the Study

There are a few things to keep in mind. The study only looked at 44 people, which is not a lot. Also, people had different health issues, and not everyone was followed for the same amount of time. This means some problems might have been missed, and we can't be sure the results would be the same for everyone. More research with more people is needed.

The Bottom Line

If you have HS and are thinking about removing extra skin after weight loss, this study shows you probably don’t have a higher risk of serious problems than other people. Still, it’s important to talk with your doctor about your own health and risks before having surgery.

Author(s)

Katherine G Byrnes, Margaret Mercante, Grace Y Im, Christopher A Campbell, R Hal Flowers

Read Original Paper

https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(24)03005-6/abstract