Plastic Surgery after Weight-Loss

You did it! You made the decision to undergo bariatric surgery and have lost most if not all of your excess body weight. But while the weight disappears, if you're like many other weight loss patients, the excess skin and fat that seems to lag behind can leave you feeling frustrated. For many weight loss patients, plastic surgery is the final step in their weight loss journey.

There are several options available to reduce the amount of excess tissue that remains after weight loss.

• One of the most popular is the lower body lift, which is a circumferential procedure which combines the elements of an abdominoplasty with removal of excess skin/fat from the lateral thighs and buttocks. Liposuction is also used to help sculpt/refine the remaining tissue.
• A belt lipectomy is similar to a lower body lift, and is done for those patients that don’t have a lot of residual leg sagginess/fat.
• Other commonly performed procedures include abdominoplasty, brachioplasty, medial thigh lift, breast lift/augmentation, and procedures of the face.

The lower body lifts and belt lipectomies are usually performed in the hospital setting. Prior to the procedure, an extensive and detailed “body marking” procedure is done to prepare you for surgery. This enables the surgeon to plan the incisions to ensure optimal results for you and well concealed scars. The surgery itself is performed under general anesthesia by a board certified anesthesiologist.

These surgeries are carried out in two stages. The first stage occurs with the patient lying on their back. During this stage a “tummy tuck” is performed to remove lax tissues of the abdomen and elevate the mons. The second stage is performed with the patient lying on their stomach and includes removing skin and fat from the buttocks, hips and back. The net effect is tightening of the tissues of the lower back, buttocks, hips, thighs and abdomen in one procedure.

Plastic Surgeons