Plastic Surgery After Massive Weight Loss

Weight loss surgeries like gastric bypass surgery and bariatric surgery has helped millions of Americans shed hundreds of pounds, dramatically increasing their health and wellness level as well as dramatically improving their self-confidence and their appearance.

Rapid massive weight loss does, however, often come with some unpleasant side effects. The biggest of these is usually lots of loose, sagging skin around the upper arms, the stomach, the legs and buttocks. Because of this many weight loss surgery patients have turned to plastic surgery to correct these lingering reminders of their former fat days.

In fact, in 2004, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, of the more than 106,000 patients to undergo body contouring procedures (plastic surgeries that get rid of excess skin and tighten up the surrounding areas) more than half – 56,000- were massive weight loss patients.

Some of the most popular contouring procedures for these people are upper arm lifts, lower body lifts, and full body lifts. An upper arm lift is designed to remove all the extra sagging skin around the biceps and triceps. The surgeon makes a long incision along the back of the upper arm. She then loosens the skin from the underlying muscles and tissues and excises the excess skin.

If liposuction is desired, it can also be performed on the arms at this time. Then the tissues are repositioned and the arm skin is pulled tightly together and sewn back in place. While there will be a long scar always visible on the arms afterwards, upper arm lift patients benefit greatly from having trim, tight arms like they have never had before.

Lower body lifts are a relatively similar process but they deal with excess skin and fat on the hips, thighs and buttocks. The incisions are usually made from the pubic bones to the hip bones, and depending on what is needed, the incisions may extend around under the buttock crease. After being lifted off the tissues, the skin is pulled tight and the unwanted skin is cut off and the underlying muscles and tissues are tightened and repositioned. The remaining skin is then sutured back into place.

Full body lifts usually include upper arm lifts, lower body lifts, and tummy tucks which get rid of the extra flabby skin on the stomach. Another popular body contouring procedure for women is the breast lift and breast implant surgery.
As massive weight loss patients turn to plastic surgery in rising numbers, plenty of other people are also seeing the benefits of body contouring. Make sure you consult a qualified and board-certified surgeon for your body lift procedure.

“There has been an explosion in the demand for body contouring surgery, and I think this can be explained by the rapidly increasing numbers of patients who have dramatic weight loss,” said Scott Spear, MD, American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) president. “At the same time, this new group of patients has served as a catalyst for surgeons to create surgical techniques that can now be transferred to other patients where there are only average needs from mild weight loss, pregnancy, or aging.”