Body Sculpting - Post Weight Loss

Introduction

After losing a large amount of weight, most people expect to be happy with their bodies and eager to show off their results. However, you may discover that the excess weight has left your skin stretched. In some cases, you may have many pounds of excess skin, making it difficult to find clothes that fit well, and preventing you from feeling good about your new shape.

Body sculpting procedures include thigh and buttock lifts, full body lifts, and brachioplasty (removal of under-arm skin). These are procedures designed both to contour the body, and to remove excess skin after the body has undergone major change. While patients may experience some weight loss due to skin removal, these procedures are not meant as a weight-loss tool, but a post-weight-loss solution.

Unfortunately, there is no natural method of minimizing or shrinking this excess skin. The only way to remove it is through surgery. Even patients with minimal excess skin often have stretched-out abdominal muscles and may be candidates for abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).

Ideal Candidates

Prior to surgery, you should be in overall good health. Smoking and poor health can delay the healing process, making surgery a much more strenuous option. Ideally, you have lost all the weight you wish to lose prior to your procedure.

How It's Done

These procedures are performed under general anesthesia, and normally require that you stay overnight in our recovery suite. Some procedures may be combined so that healing time is minimized, but some, such as a full body lift, are not combined with any other procedures.

A thigh lift is performed to remove excess skin around your upper leg and buttocks. An incision is made along the inner fold of the hip, to minimize visible scarring. Excess skin is pulled tight and removed, creating a smooth skin surface. The procedure requires around three hours in the OR, depending on the amount of skin removed.

A full body lift can correct folds and loose, wrinkled skin around the hips and abdomen. An incision is made from hipbone to hipbone around the entire body, allowing for removal of excess skin. Skin is removed and the incision is carefully stitched, leaving a clean, taut skin surface. Surgery generally takes around six hours as this is also combined with abdominal muscle tightening and buttock repositioning.

Brachioplasty involves the removal of extra skin under the arm. This surgery is not always performed post-weight-loss, as some patients just naturally have too much loose skin on their arms, either due to genetics or aging. The incision is made under the armpit, where any scarring will not be noticeable. The skin is then re-draped along the arm for a natural, sculpted look. The surgery takes approximately two and a half hours.

Recovery

Body sculpting procedures, particularly body lifts, can take quite a while to heal fully. We recommend that you take three weeks off work, and full recovery may take four to six weeks.

After the surgery, you will be asked to wear a compression garment around the lifted area to help sculpt the site while it heals. You will want to rest for the first 10-12 days, avoiding any unnecessary activity. For the first month, you should avoid strenuous activities, as this may prolong the healing process.

After three months, you will see the final results of your surgery. While surgery cannot create perfection, the before and after pictures are quite wonderful. Finally, you can truly enjoy the new shape of your smaller, sculpted body.