After Weight Loss Surgery
After significant weight loss, the skin and soft tissues often fail to shrink back to their former size and shape.
It can be frustrating – you’ve worked hard to get rid of the weight and keep it off, exercised hard to regain your body after babies or spent a lot of money and time on bariatric surgery – and while the weight is off the shape is hidden by tissue sagging in the wrong places.
If you’ve experienced significant weight loss after dieting, pregnancy or bariatric surgery you may well identify. If so you may benefit from post weight loss makeover surgery.
There are a number of surgery options available that involve various skin reduction, tissue tightening and tissue lifting techniques
• Breast – mastopexy reshapes and lifts the breast tissue
• Tummy – an abdominoplasty removes hanging tissue and tightens underlying stretched muscles to restore shape
• Body Lifts – lift, tighten and fill sagging buttocks and upper thighs
• Arm Lifts remove the hanging ‘bat wings’ & Inner Thigh Lifts the loose, drooping or rubbing inner thigh tissue
• Liposuction can recontour stubborn fat deposits that have resisted your best efforts
These procedures can be done separately or are often combined. These are good procedures to restore contour.
Things To Consider:
As most women will know it generally takes a couple of years for tissues to readapt to big changes like childbirth. While there are exceptions then, it is generally unwise to undertake this type of surgery until you are at least 12months (and preferably 24mths) out from any big change and have had a stable weight for at least 6months. The more stable the tissue the more stable and enduring the outcome and the less ‘bulk’ that needs to be removed – then the more the operation can concentrate on restoring the contour and hence generally the more aesthetic the outcome.
There is always a ‘trade-off’ however. That is the scars. The more skin that is removed – the bigger the scars will be. Scars never go away – and while they improve with time and often settle well – they can sometimes be problematic. Scars can often be improved but once you have them, they cannot be fully removed.
