Cambridgeshire weight-loss patient wants NHS to remove his excess skin after losing 20 stone

A man who lost more than 20 stone (127kgs) following surgery said he had been left feeling worse after losing the weight - because the NHS will not remove his excess skin.

Wayne Shepherd had gastric sleeve surgery - where part of his stomach was removed to make it smaller and stop him being able to eat as much - after reaching 35 stone (222kgs) in June 2022.

"I couldn't walk from my house to the car. It was that bad," he said.

"I thought my life was pretty much done with. I was 39 and couldn't walk anywhere, couldn't walk upstairs. It was debilitating."

The 40-year-old from Soham in Cambridgeshire was referred for the surgery by Addenbrooke's Hospital and, because of his size, travelled to Portsmouth for the operation which was funded by the NHS.

He said, at the time, he had been led to believe follow-up procedures to remove excess skin would also be covered.

But after losing more than half his body weight, he has been told he does not qualify for the funding.

He said he now felt worse about his appearance than before the weight loss and cannot leave the house without covering his arms and legs.

"I feel more disgusting than I did when I was bigger," he said.

"I can't thank the NHS enough. I'm immensely grateful. It's completely changed who I am as a person, the way I look and the way I feel about my health.

"But it's also changed the way I feel about myself in a negative way.

"The excess skin has really affected me mentally. I can't bear anybody to look at it. I don't even look at it myself."

Mr Shepherd said that if he had been told he would not get the excess skin removed, he would have thought more about whether to have the operation or not.

"Body contouring", including tummy tucks, or abdominoplasty, and arm lifts, is classed as cosmetic surgery and is not automatically available on the NHS.

Local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), can choose to fund the procedures in exceptional cases.

But if a patient decides to pay for it themselves, a tummy tuck alone can cost between £4,500 and £6,000.

Mr Shepherd, who has been receiving mental health treatment from a psychologist at the hospital in Portsmouth, estimates it will cost at least £30,000 for the surgeries he would need.

He said he had begun fundraising to pay to have the surgery done through a private provider.

Sarah Le Brocq, from the charity All About Obesity, said weight-loss surgery needed to be look at as a package - which included skin removal.

She said the NHS, and society as a whole, continued to view obesity as "something someone has done to themselves" rather than a chronic condition.

"Ultimately, someone's mental health is just as important as their physical health," she added. "We need to look at this in a much more holistic, all-rounded approach.

"It's not just about someone wanting to look in a mirror and look at themselves in a different way. This is actually about how to let someone live a better quality of life."

A spokesman for NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said: "While it would not be right to comment on individual cases, body contouring procedures are not routinely funded by the NHS in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

"Exceptional funding may be considered in some circumstances where specific conditions are met, in line with our Exceptional and Individual Funding Request policy."

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