Bariatric surgery or surgery for inducing weight loss is now becoming common. Many super obese persons are seeking this surgery. It works! They lose massive amounts of weight, their health improves and they look good in dress. But remove the dress and the folds and loose tissues plus downward migration of just about everything does not make a pretty sight.
Plastic surgeons now have a whole bunch of procedures to address this issue. These are collectively called Body lift operations or more specifically ‘Post-Bariatric Body lifts‘. Several procedures are combined, including but not limited to:
- Arm lift
- Breast lift or correction of male breast
- Tummy tuck or more commonly a 3D circumference lift
- Thigh+ Buttock lift [Often part of the tummy tuck as a 3D lift]
- Inner thighs lift
- Genitals lift
- Corrections on upper / mid-back
Often the face, parts below elbow and below the knee do not suffer much deformity so no procedures may be needed here.
It is common to see that patients undergo weight loss surgery but do not undergo body lifts due to ignorance of the possibilities. Plastic surgery completes the transformation that they start with weight loss operation; further the excess skin and contained fat cells are permanently removed.
The surgeries are combined in twos and threes. With good care and planning, complications can be kept low. These patients need special preparations to ensure optimum nutritional state before the operation as many my be in various states of under nutrition. Results have been satisfactory without major complications.