Body Contouring After Weight Loss

Weight loss has many benefits, but loose, sagging skin is not one of them. In many cases, loose skin can make your body contours appear irregular and disharmonious. Body contouring after major weight loss is a category of plastic surgery procedures that can help you resolve these issues, so you can further enhance your body image and self-confidence.

As a board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Dry is qualified to perform several body contouring procedures for his patients in the Seattle area.

What is body contouring after weight loss?

Being significantly overweight can affect your health in several ways.  If your physical activity has been limited, you may have weak muscle and poor skin tone, and your skin may be severely stretched. After major weight reduction, skin that has been severely stretched now is unsupported, and begins to sag in pockets that most commonly develop around the face and neck, arms, breasts, abdomen, flanks, buttocks, groin and thighs.

Weak and sagging skin can become infected and actually poses a serious threat to your health if left untreated. Surgical body contouring improves the shape and tone of the underlying tissue that supports fat and skin, and removes excess sagging fat and skin.  The result is a more normal body appearance with smoother contours. 

Is Body Contouring right for you?

Before you decide to undergo body-contouring surgery, your weight loss must be stabilized.  If you continue to lose weight, sagging pockets will redevelop.  If you rapidly regain the weight you have lost, you will traumatically stress your already weakened and thin skin, causing further stress to the skin, visible stretch marks and wide scars.

In general, good candidates for body contouring are healthy adults who:

• Have a stable body weight
• Do not have medical conditions that impair healing
• Do not smoke
• Maintain a positive outlook and realistic goals
• Are committed to leading a healthy lifestyle

To determine if you are a good candidate, we encourage you to schedule a personal consultation with Dr. Dry, during which you can discuss the risks, benefits and expected outcome of body contouring surgery.

Body Lift / Belt Lipectomy

A lower body lift treats sagging buttocks, abdomen, waist, hips and outer thighs in one procedure or in staged procedures. Incision patterns vary, and may include a circumferential incision around the body to remove the "belt" of excess skin and fat.

Breast Lift / Mastopexy

A breast lift elevates the breast by tightening or removal of loose skin or tissue. The incisions for your breast lift will be determined based on the amount of excess skin to be removed. Dr. Dry may recommend 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.

Arm Lift / Brachioplasty

Sagging arm skin is treated with an incision from the underarm area extending along the inside or back of the upper arm. Additional incisions on the arms may be necessary anywhere excess skin has formed sagging pockets. The smoother, tighter contours that result from upper arm contouring are apparent almost immediately, although initially obscured by swelling and bruising. In addition, skin quality is dramatically improved in both appearance and texture.

Thigh Lift

Thighplasty can improve thigh contourthrough incisions in the groin that extend downward along the inner thigh. Improving contours of the outer thigh may require an incision extending from the groin around the hip. Through these incisions, Dr. Dry will tighten tissues for a smoother, better toned thigh.

How Will I Look and Feel After Body Contouring Surgery?

Once your procedures are completed, dressing or bandages may be applied to your incisions.  Areas of the body that have been treated may be wrapped in an elastic bandage to minimize swelling and support your new contours as you heal.  Small, thin tubes may be temporarily placed under the skin to drain excess fluid or blood that may collect.  Before you are released, you and your accompanying caregiver will be given specific instructions that may include:

• Care for the incision sites and drains
• Medications to aid healing and reduce infection risk
• Specific concerns to look for at the surgical site or in your general health
• When to follow up with Dr. Dry

Initial healing will include swelling at the incision sites.  Discomfort is common and can be controlled with medication.  You will be instructed to return to light walking as soon as possible to minimize the potential for blood clots and other complications. You may be instructed to avoid bending, straining or lifting for several days to weeks.  Where tightening of the abdomen or thighs is involved, your plastic surgeon may also instruct you to avoid standing fully upright and stressing any internal sutures as they heal, and to sleep with pillows elevating your knees. 

Initial wound healing may take 7 to 14 days, after which time sutures will be removed if necessary.  You will be ready to return to work and normal activity in a few weeks, so long as you do not engage in any heavy lifting or vigorous exercise.

Do you have questions about body contouring? Contact our office in Kirkland (just outside Seattle and convenient to Bellevue and Eastside) to learn more about post weight loss body contouring surgery.