After losing the weight — What next?
As many of you must be aware, obesity is a global epidemic with significant personal and societal impacts. The causes for the modern obesity epidemic are many and include dietary choices; genetic predisposition, industrialized food supplies; and social engineering.
Achieving and maintaining proper weight is one of the healthiest goals one can accomplish. While there are many commercial weight loss programs, surgical procedures designed to restrict capacity or cause malabsorption remain the most effective treatments for weight loss. In fact the National Health Trust in 2010 deemed surgical weight reduction the single most cost effective health care intervention in it’s entire system.
When patients are considering weight loss treatments, they want to know what happens to the excess skin after weight loss. Some patients are reluctant to proceed with weight loss, despite the uncontroversial benefits, simply because they do not want to be left with excess unattractive skin.
I have observed that in younger patients experiencing profound weight loss, there is a strong possibility that the skin will retract and redrape without the need of any further intervention. In those cases where excess skin remains, specialized body contouring techniques may be required.
When considering Post-Bariatric Body Contouring Surgery — the first step is to undergo a proper medical examination with special attention to nutrition. Many patients who elect to undergo surgical weight loss are chronically deficient in some nutrients and require supplements over their lifetime. Furthermore, patients undergoing surgical body contouring after massive weight loss have special considerations for undergoing surgery.
There are several techniques to restore the patient to an attractive physique. Many of these techniques are necessarily associated with long incisions that are strategically hidden. I frequently make the analogy that tailoring an oversized jacket requires the tailor to open more seams and this is the case when removing excess skin.
The most popular techniques for body contouring after weight loss are abdominoplasty; arm lifts; medial thigh lifts; breast lifting; and circumferential lower body lifts.
I find the circumferential lower body lift, or simply the lower body lift, to be one of the most effective techniques in cases of massive weight loss. This technique addresses excess skin of the trunk (the abdomen, hips, and flanks) as well as laxity of the outer thigh and the gluteal areas.
The incision is a single continuous line that can be camouflaged by undergarments or swimwear.
When properly planned and executed, body contouring after massive weight loss is one of the most transformational procedures I offer. I am always amazed at the improved confidence, self esteem, and functionality of the patient after successful body contouring. In my practice, I have noted many patients report suffering anxiety and depression due to their poor body image. However, once their excess weight and skin are addressed, they return to normal mental health.
The benefits of body contouring in the massive weight loss patient are many. In my experience, it is a procedure that returns a patient to ability and productivity from disability. It is for this reason that I encourage the massive weight loss patient to explore the benefits of body contouring surgery.
Dr. Reddy is a Board Certified Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon practicing in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Reddy has performed hundreds of body contouring procedures in patients who have undergone successful weight loss after Bariatric Surgery.