Body Lift / Contouring Procedures, Surgery After Massive Weight Loss
For severe weight problems, many people are turning to surgery as means of weight loss. With the growing popularity of gastric bypass surgery to treat morbid obesity, we are witnessing an influx of patients seeking body lift procedures after massive weight loss. The most commonly performed plastic surgical procedures following weight fluctuations of 50 to 150 pounds are upper arm lifts lower body lifts, thigh lifts as well as tummy tucks, breast lifts and breast reductions.
Body lifts are ideal for patients who have been left with unsightly loose pouches of excess skin after weight loss, lack of exercise, aging and pregnancies. It is the most effective technique to restore firm, youthful contours to the body. If you look in the mirror naked, and pull up the saggy skin of your hips to stretch out your upper thighs and abdominal area, you can transform the way your body looks. Lower body lifts can address the thighs, buttocks, abdomen, waist, and hips all in one stage. The added benefits are an overall improvement in dimpling and cellulite. If there is skin excess after fat removal via liposuction, a thigh or body lift may be performed to reduce the amount of loose tissue. Body lift techniques can also be combined with liposuction where necessary.
Body lift surgery is performed under general anesthesia. We require our patients to remain in the hospital overnight to aid in their recovery. Our office can arrange private duty nursing care at home for longer as needed. For thigh lifts, excess skin is lifted and removed through incisions made in the inner thigh and/or high upper outer thigh. Simultaneous lifting of the thighs and buttocks is done using incisions that follow a high-cut bathing suit line only a bit higher up on the hip. We can lift and remove the excess skin down to the muscle and removes the thick layer of fat beneath the skin. Drainage tubes may be placed at the incision to draw out fluids. The scars can usually be hidden in the natural skin crease of the groin so they are less visible.
Recovery from body lift surgery is longer than most other cosmetic surgical procedures due to the amount of scarring, approximately three to four weeks. In many cases, depending on the extent of the weight loss and the overall skin quality and age of the patient, multiple stages may be needed to reshape the upper and lower body and the breasts, as well as the face and neck.
New York plastic surgeon Eric Sadeh offers body lift surgery, liposuction, tummy tucks and other body contouring plastic surgery procedures. Located in New York City serving Manhattan, Queens and Forest Hills.