Have you lost significant weight but are now dealing with loose skin? There is a solution. A series of plastic procedures called “body contouring” can help you trim excess skin from various parts of your body.
Sometimes, people think that removing extra skin after bariatric surgery or significant weight loss is a purely cosmetic procedure, but it has a practical health purpose.
“The medical reason to remove the skin is to prevent rashes and discomfort from the extra rubbing of the skin,” says the plastic surgeon J. Vicente Poblete, MD. “So we usually recommend removing the extra skin as long as it’s safe, reasonable and the patient is fit for surgery.”
“It is also best to delay any body contouring surgery until the patient is as close to their goal weight as possible and the weight is stable. usually, at least 18 months after bariatric surgery.’
Dr. Poblete shares five places where body contouring can help.
Where does body contouring help?
1. Belly
The template body outline Your tummy tuck procedure is a tummy tuck. The plastic surgeon removes your extra skin and tightens your muscles to make your entire stomach area look better and tighter.
“In some of the patients who have had significant weight loss, we actually go over their entire body in a procedure we call a circumferential lipectomy or band,” says Dr. Poblete.
Also known as a lower body lift, the procedure reshapes your tummy, hips, thighs and buttocks.
2. Chest area
Both men and women may need breast surgery to remove the extra skin that hangs from their breasts.
For women, the procedure is similar to a breast lift. To better shape your breast, an implant can be used. For men, your plastic surgeon performs a gynecomastia procedure, which is also used for men who develop breasts due to hormonal imbalance.
3. Upper arms
People often complain of puffy armpits or what’s known as a “batwing” deformity – because there’s so much extra skin that hangs down that it looks like a batwing. This is a safe, specialized operation, but it is I will leave a scar, according to Dr. Poblete.
“All these operations trade scars for shape,” he says. “But they usually heal very well over time, and these patients don’t mind the exchange.”
4. Thighs
Your plastic surgeon can remove extra skin on your thighs, but this can be a more difficult procedure. It depends on how heavy your thigh still is and the anatomical position of your skin. If your excess skin is on the upper inner thigh, a medial thigh lift can help. With most people losing weight, the deflated appearance is peripheral (curved) and a standard thigh lift may be the optimal treatment, resulting in a transverse (horizontal) and vertical scar.
5. Face
Removing excess skin from your face is usually the final phase of the body contouring process. It also usually requires quite a bit of work, Dr. Poblete says.
Setting body contouring functions
According to Dr. Poblete, your plastic surgeon can do some of these procedures at the same time, but this option actually works best with people with a lower body mass index (BMI) who are very healthy.
Usually, however, your surgeon performs the procedures in multiple stages. Each requires several months of rest and recovery. People should be on their weight loss plateau for at least three months before starting procedures.
“Before any surgery, you need to be mentally prepared for a surgical recovery, motivated, and have realistic expectations,” warns Dr. Poblete. “I also have many patients supplement their protein intake before surgery.”
What do I need for body contouring?
People need to take enough time off work for procedures and recovery. Covering the cost of procedures is another concern for many. And as Dr. Poblete mentioned, people also need to be mentally prepared.
“People think insurance companies will cover all of this, and they don’t,” says Dr. Poblete. “Therefore, some people simply cannot afford to do them.”
While most people choose the surgery they want or need most, the best thing to do first is to talk to your doctor.
“Each patient needs a thorough medical consultation to assess their risk, what they need, what they can do, how many procedures they are capable of doing at once, and what they can afford,” says Dr. Poblete.
Is body contouring different from CoolSculpting®?
Body contouring procedures and CoolSculpting®, or cryolipolysis, are very different. CoolSculpting is a brand name for a non-surgical method that targets fat cells under the skin with controlled cooling. It only works on people with good skin quality and will not be useful when excessive skin laxity (sagging) is a concern.
People who have undergone bariatric surgery and experienced significant weight loss are generally not candidates.
“Post-bariatric body contouring is a more extensive surgical procedure for our patients who require large amounts of surgically excised skin,” advises Dr. Poblete.
