The Plastic Surgery Channel

Plastic Surgery After Weight Loss

Peter Rubin, MD

Plastic Surgery after weight loss is a fairly common procedure especially if you are one of the many people who have lost a considerable amount of weight.

By Carolynn Grimes
ThePlasticSurgeryChannel.com

Plastic Surgery is often needed after massive weight loss

If you’ve been left with sagging skin and tissue due to weight loss, aging, child birth and pregnancy, a lower body lift procedure may be for you. The lower body lift is an operation that combines a tummy tuck with a lifting of the outer thighs and the buttocks.

Dr. Peter Rubin, a board certified plastic surgeon and leader in the the field of body contouring after weight loss says, “This operation is very effective for patients who have lost a lot of weight either after weight loss surgery or just their natural dieting and exercise.” Rubin says, patients can expect a very dramatic change with the lifting of the outer thighs and the buttock combined with a shaping of the tummy or the abdomen. “This combination procedure works very well to shape the whole lower body in one stage. Of course, it’s a bigger operation, the recovery is longer, and there’s always a bit more risk associated,” he says.

Dr. Rubin states because of the higher risks, you want to get properly evaluated by a board certified plastic plastic surgeon who has experience performing lower body lift procedures. He says, “At our center in Pittsburgh, we focus very much on safety as we evaluate our patients to make sure we’re matching the right operation to the right patient.”

Before a lower body lift, patients should be close to their ideal body weight

When is the best time to have the surgery? According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), “The lower body lift should be performed when the patient is as close to their desired or ideal body weight as possible. If, for example, the patient has tightening of their lower body and then loses weight, the tightened skin will loosen and become saggy.  Conversely, post operative weight gain will either stretch the skin which has been tightened or undo the improvements of the body lift.”

Patients who might be a good candidate for a lower body lift:

  1. Patients who have had massive weight loss
  2. Loose skin in their buttocks and back of thighs
  3. Loose skin in their hips and side of thighs
  4. Loose skin in the front of their thighs
  5. Loose abdominal skin or in their inner thighs
  6. Acceptance of scars around the waist