Body Contouring After Major Weight Loss

Body Contouring Candidates

In general, good body contouring candidates are:

• People who are left with excess, sagging fat and skin following weight loss.
• People whose weight loss has stabilized.
• Nonsmokers who are healthy and without medical conditions that impair healing or increase risk of surgery.
• People who are committed to leading a healthy lifestyle with proper nutrition and fitness.
• People with a positive outlook and realistic goals.

Your Body Contouring Consultation

During your consultation for body contouring after weight loss, be prepared to discuss:

• Your surgical goals.
• Medical conditions, drug allergies and previous medical treatments.
• Current medications, vitamins, herbal supplements, alcohol, tobacco and drug use.
• Previous surgeries.

Your body contouring surgeon will:

• Evaluate your general health and any preexisting health conditions or risk factors.
• Examine your body and take detailed measurements.
• Take photographs for your medical record.
• Discuss your options and recommend a course of treatment.
• Discuss likely outcomes of body contouring and any risks or potential complications.
• Answer any questions you have about body contouring.

Body Contouring Risks and Safety

Each patient must decide if the benefits of body contouring surgery will achieve their goals, and if the risks and potential complications are acceptable. The risks of body contouring include:

• Anesthesia risks.
• Bleeding.
• Blood clots, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism.
• Excessive or widened scars.
• Fluid accumulation.
• Infection.
• Numbness or other changes in skin sensation.
• Poor wound healing.
• Residual skin laxity or contour irregularity.
• Skin loss.
• Unfavorable scarring.

Body contouring risks will be fully discussed prior to your consent. It's important that you address all of your concerns about risks with your plastic surgeon. You will be asked to sign consent forms to ensure that you fully understand the procedure and any risks and potential complications.

Preparing for Body Contouring Surgery

In preparing for body contouring surgery, you may be asked to:

• Get cleared for surgery by your bariatric surgeon or primary care doctor.
• Get a lab test.
• Take certain medications or adjust your current medications.
• Stop smoking well in advance of surgery.
• Avoid taking aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal supplements, which can increase bleeding.

Body contouring surgery is performed at our accredited Outpatient Surgery Facility in Birmingham, Alabama. Be sure to arrange for someone to drive you to and from surgery and stay with you for at least the first night after surgery.

Body Contouring Procedure

All body contouring procedures require large incisions to remove excess skin. In many cases, these incisions may be extensive. Incision length and pattern depend on the amount and location of excess skin to be removed, as well as personal preference and your doctor's surgical judgment. Advanced techniques usually allow incisions to be placed in strategic locations where they can be hidden by most types of clothing.

Body contouring surgery is performed using intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. Your surgeon will recommend the best choice for you.

The procedures necessary to achieve your goals will be defined along with a plan for the timing of these procedures. Body contouring is often performed in stages. Your particular condition and goals, as well as your plastic surgeon's best judgment, will all influence how your doctor defines a surgical plan.

Body contouring procedures, customized based on your needs, may include a lower body lift, thigh lift, tummy tuck, arm lift, breast lift, male breast reduction and facelift.

Lower Body Lift

A complete lower body lift treats sagging buttocks, abdomen, waist, hips and outer thighs in one procedure. Incision patterns vary and may include a circumferential incision around the body to remove the "belt" of excess skin and fat. Body lift patients can see a dramatic transformation and more youthful shape of the lower body.

Lower Body Lift Procedure Information

Thigh Lift

Thigh lifts reduce excess skin and fat for smoother skin and better proportions of the thighs and lower body. Inner thigh reshaping is achieved through incisions in the groin that can extend downward to the knee along the inseam of the thigh. Improving the contours of the outer thigh may require an incision extending from the groin around the hip.

Thigh Lift Procedure Information

Tummy Tuck

A tummy tuck removes excess fat and skin from the abdomen area. In most cases, weakened or separated abdominal muscles are restored. A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, can streamline your figure with a smoother, firmer abdominal profile in better proportion to your weight and body type if a flat, well-toned abdomen through exercise and weight control proves to be elusive.

Tummy Tuck Procedure Information

Arm Lift

An arm lift reduces excess sagging skin, tightens the underlying tissue and reduces localized pockets of fat. Sagging skin of the upper arms is treated with an arm lift incision from the underarm area extending along the inside or back of the upper arm. Additional incisions on the arms may be necessary if there are other areas of excess skin.

Arm Lift Procedure Information

Breast Lift

The breast lift incision patterns for lifting a woman's sagging breasts will be determined based on the amount of excess skin to be removed. These may include one or a combination of incisions in a circular pattern around the areola, in a line extending from the areola to the breast crease, and horizontally along the breast crease. A breast implant also may be recommended to enhance breast shape and size.

Breast Lift Procedure Information

Male Breast Reduction

Male breast reduction using surgical excision, liposuction or both is used to treat gynecomastia, a condition of enlarged breasts in men. The incision patterns for lifting a man's sagging breasts are determined based on the amount of excess skin to be removed. One or a combination of incisions may be used to reduce male breast size, flatten the chest and enhance the chest contours.

Male Breast Reduction Procedure Information

Facelift

A facelift corrects sagging of the mid-face, jowls and neck to restore a more youthful and rested appearance. A traditional facelift incision often begins in the hairline at the temples, continues around the ear and ends in the lower scalp. Facelifts can also be performed using a limited incision technique ("mini-facelift") or a neck lift to address the lower face.

Facelift Procedure Information

Body Contouring Recovery

Dressings or bandages will be applied to your incisions following the procedure.

Small, thin tubes may be temporarily placed under the skin to drain any excess blood or fluid that may collect.

Your plastic surgeon will give you specific instructions on how to care for yourself. Carefully following all instructions is essential to the successful outcome of your surgery and recovery. These instructions may include:

• How to care for the surgical site(s).
• Medications to apply or take orally to aid healing and reduce the potential for infection.
• Specific concerns to look for at the surgical site or in your general health.
• When to follow-up with your plastic surgeon.

Body Contouring Results

The results of body contouring following significant weight loss with Dr. William Hedden, Dr. Stephen Gunn or Dr. Joshua Halka are visible almost immediately. However, it can take 2 years or more to see the final results.

The results of body contouring are generally long-lasting provided you maintain a stable weight and general fitness. It is natural to lose some firmness as your body ages. However, most of your initial improvement should be relatively permanent.

You must accept visible scars in your goals to achieving a body contour that matches your new weight and proportions.

Although good results are expected from your body contouring surgery, there is no guarantee. In some situations it may not be possible to achieve optimal results with a single procedure and another surgery may be necessary.

Body Contouring Words to Know

• Areola: Pigmented skin surrounding the nipple.
• Arm lift: A surgical procedure, also known as brachioplasty, to correct sagging of the upper arms.
• Breast implants: Medical device placed in your body to enhance an existing breast size or to reconstruct your breast. Breast implants can be filled with either salt water (saline) or silicone (gel).
• Breast lift: A surgical procedure also known as mastopexy, to lift the breasts.
• Breast contouring: A surgical procedure following massive weight loss to improve shape and tone and remove excess skin and fat.
• Circumferential incision: A surgical incision around the body to remove a "belt" of excess skin and fat and additional incisions that may resemble a bikini bottom pattern.
• General anesthesia: Medications that are inhaled and/or given by inspection into a vein used during an operation to relieve pain and alter consciousness.
• Gynecomastia: A condition of over-developed or enlarged breasts in men that can occur at any age and may be the result of hormonal changes, heredity, obesity or the use of certain drugs.
• Hematoma: Blood pooling beneath the skin.
• Intravenous sedation: Sedatives administered by injection into a vein to help you relax.
• Local anesthesia: A drug injected directly to the site of an incision during an operation to relieve pain.
• Lower body lift: A surgical procedure to correct sagging of the abdomen, buttocks, groin and outer thighs.
• Medial thigh lift: A surgical procedure to correct sagging of the inner thigh.
• Outer thigh lift: A surgical procedure to correct sagging of the outer and mid-thigh.
• Sutures: Stitches used by surgeons to hold skin and tissue together.