Congratulations! You have achieved your ideal body weight...whether it was through diet and exercise or with bariatric surgery, you feel healthy, you're having fun going out with friends and family again. You feel great… except for all that loose skin hanging around you.
Post-Bariatric Body Contouring (surgery after significant weight loss)
When you come in for your personalized consult visit, we will identify your priority areas and depending on the areas involved, develop a treatment plan. If there are areas that still have significant fat deposits, they may need to be treated in a staged fashion – 'deflating' the area with ultrasonic liposuction, followed later on by skin removal. Frequently, treatment areas are combined so that you could reach that ideal form and shape sooner. Depending on the extent of surgery, this can be done as an outpatient or may require an overnight stay.
"I Would Love to Wear Shorts in the Summer"
Thigh Lift can remove excess skin and fat in the thighs, whether it is circumferential or isolated in the medial area. The incision location is dependent on whether the skin excess is confined to the medial aspect or whether it is more generalized in nature. On occasion, it may be advisable to stage this procedure, starting with VASER® Lipo™ if the thighs need to be 'deflated' or 'debulked' then followed by removal of the excess skin.
"Can I Ever Wear a Sleeveless Dress?"
Arm Lift (also known as brachioplasty) can remove excess skin and fat deposits resulting in arms with a more pleasing and youthful contour, fitting into clothing much better. This is best for patients who complain with excess skin and fat, they often complain that their arms feel and look like "bat wings." The incision extends from the elbow and goes toward the underarm, if there is excess chest wall skin; this can be included in the surgery. For patients with minimal fat excess, and no skin excess, Liposuction alone may be an option. After surgery, we recommend use of compression garments for control of swelling and improved contouring.
"I Lost all the Weight Only to Feel Old and Out of Shape Because of the Hanging Skin"
Posterior Body Lift is designed to remove the excess skin in the flank and lower back area. It can be combined with an anterior abdominoplasty or it can be done in a staged fashion. It is done usually in conjunction with Lipo™ of the outer thighs to allow for a much improved pull on the outer thighs resulting in a smooth, contoured look that you desire. The incision is usually located at or near the belt line area.
To learn more about these procedures view our before and after surgery pictures, or contact us to find out if body contouring surgery after weight loss is appropriate for you.