Plastic Surgery After Major Weight Loss

Are you considering plastic surgery after weight loss in New York?  For those who have undertaken a major weight loss program (whether through surgery, or diet and exercise), body contouring is the logical final step.  After spending time, effort, and money to loose 100 pounds or more, patients are rightfully proud of their weight loss results, but self-conscious about the sagging skin that often mars their healthy new look.

Moreover, the excess skin can get in the way of exercising; make it challenging to find clothes that fit; and pose health and safety risks.  No amount of diet or exercise will remove this extra loose skin, but body contouring can drastically improve tone and shape for weight loss patients.

Body contouring options after weight loss

Body contouring may involve the following procedures:

• “Tummy tuck” (abdominoplasty):  those who have lost significant amounts of weight often have excess skin in the stomach area, or flaps that overhang the waistline.  Abdominoplasty removes extra skin and fat to create a smoother, flatter profile.
• Breast lift surgery:  following weight loss, women often find that their breasts sag, that the aureole of the breasts are enlarged, and that the nipples point downward.  Breast lift surgery can lift sagging breasts, reduce the size of the aureole, and reposition the nipples.
• Thigh lift: a thigh lift removes extra skin from the thigh and lower body area, providing a firmer, smoother contour.
• Arm lift: an arm lift removes flaps of extra skin left over after significant weight loss, creating an optimal aesthetic appearance.

The tummy tuck, breast, thigh lift, and arm surgeries must be done in two or three stages, typically with three to six months between.

Patients can, of course, have only one of the surgeries performed. For instance, those needing only a tummy tuck in NYC are certainly not obligated or even encouraged to have the other surgeries. However, most patients who have lost a significant amount of weight find that they need a more comprehensive program of body contouring to achieve their overall goals.

Plastic surgery after weight loss in New York

As with any major surgery, body contouring involves some risks, including risks of  infection, numbness, discoloration or swelling, cardiac or pulmonary complications, and adverse reactions to anesthesia.  In some cases there may be need for revision surgery.  There will be some scarring after surgery, though the procedures are performed so as to minimize the appearance of scars.

Prior to any surgery, a plastic surgeon will do an overall assessment to determine a patient’s candidacy for surgery.  Surgeons generally recommend that a patient’s weight has been stable for about a year and that they do not smoke, as smoking can greatly complicate recovery from surgery.

If you’d like to learn more about body contouring following weight loss, please call Dr. Loeb’s Fifth Avenue office at 212-327-3700.  During a private consultation, the doctor will discuss which body contouring procedures would be most suitable to attain your aesthetic goals.