Man backs woman's call for excess skin removal surgery

Elora Harre lost 55kg through a low-carb diet and exercise. Photos / Instagram (@elorahh)

A Hamilton man who lost 70kg is backing a woman's call for the government to fund excess skin removal.

Elora Harre documented her two-year battle against obesity online and has called on her thousands of fans to help fight Christchurch Hospital's decision not to go ahead with a "life changing" operation.

The 21-year-old wants the excess skin - which is the result of losing nearly 55kg through healthy eating and exercise - to be removed from her body.

Now, Hamilton man Joseph Arthur, 21, said he was in the same position and supported her call.

About five years ago he weighed in at more than 174kg, but has since lost 70kg through eating healthy and exercise.

Arthur said doctors have told him we would not be able to remove his excess skin because there is not enough funding.

"I can use things like Bio Oil to help but it won't be instant. I don't see why I don't see why I can't have surgery. I'm a lot more healthy than I was," he said.

"I've gone through all that hard work, they didn't spend the money on a gastric bypass. Imagine if I had become diabetic, how much I'd cost the health system. The health difference is astronomical."

Arthur added that the excess skin made him unhappy and he felt his weight loss was not such an achievement.

"I have no self-confidence and feel personally unattractive and other people think I am. I really wanted to look better and be healthier," he said.

The call to have the surgery funded for patients like Arthur and Harre has sparked debate online.

"I'm a bit bewildered by it all, taken aback by what's been going on," she told the Herald on Sunday.

"It's good that it sparked debate."

Harre's sister has set up a Give A Little page so that she can pay for the surgery privately.

"I will still be sticking up to the CDHB to try and pave the way for others in my shoes," she said.

She has booked a consultation with a surgeon for April.

"I think that the excess skin removal surgery should be available to a select amount of people who fit a certain description (not as certain as it is now!) to help those who are left with the aftermath of extreme weight loss.

"Despite the fact I have lost this 100 per cent naturally through a paleo lifestyle, I do not think it needs to take away from gastric bypass or any other weight loss surgery, but I do believe it is just as important."

Clinical Director of the Christchurch Plastic Surgical Department, Barnaby Nye, discusses health care delivery within a constrained budget. Read his paper here.