Surgery after Significant Weight Loss

After significant weight loss, the skin often fails to shrink back to it normal. Procedures that remove skin or fat, tighten and lift can be used as a complement to help your clothes fit better and allow you to participate more comfortably in your favorite activities.

The areas of the body that are most often treated through body contouring after significant weight loss include:

Abdomen

Also known as a “tummy tuck,” abdominoplasty involves removing excess skin and tightening of the underlying abdominal muscles.

A panniculectomy removes any overhanging “apron” of skin and tissue from below the belly button. Having the abdominal muscles tightened or extending the incision to the back is most often considered cosmetic and is not usually covered by insurance.

Buttocks/upper thighs

A body lift, or belt lipectomy, is a procedure to remove skin and lift the thighs and buttocks. This is usually performed as a continuation of an abdominal procedure. The incision is made in the belt area in the upper hips and excess skin is removed below the incision.

Thighs

A medial thigh lift, designed to remove excess skin from the upper leg, involves an incision along the inner thigh starting at the groin and extending as far as the knee.

Breasts

A number of breast procedures are available, including breast lift with or without augmentation (enlargement with implants) and breast reduction. To remove excess skin, incisions can be made vertically down the center of the breast. Sometimes incisions are made underneath the breast in the form of an upside-down “T.”

Arms

During surgery to remove excess skin from the arms (brachioplasty), an incision is made starting at the armpit and extending to the elbow.

Face and neck

Removing excess skin around the face or neck after weight loss is similar to a traditional facelift, except that more skin is removed. As a result, incision location may need to be altered.

A “lower body lift” may include combination surgeries to the hips, thighs, abdomen, and buttocks. The exact procedures to be performed at one time will be individualized to your needs through a thorough consultation