Written By: Emma Squillace
Many patients lose a substantial amount of weight when they have a surgical procedure like the gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or Lap Band – or a non-surgical procedure like the weight loss balloons we offer. Of course this weight loss, which can be 30, 50, 100 pounds or more, is cause for celebration. Our patients are finding renewed energy, renewed confidence, and lower risk of serious diseases. However, after losing a substantial amount of weight, some patients also find themselves interested in plastic surgery for various reasons.
Body Contouring
For some people, losing a lot of weight rapidly can result in loose, excess skin. This makes sense because as you gain weight in the first place, your skin stretches to accommodate the extra fat. If you lose weight very slowly, the skin sometimes can adjust slowly and shrink over time. However, when you lose weight quickly there is a higher chance that you’ll end up with excess skin that has not shrunk with your body. We are able to remove that excess skin in many cases. Often patients see us for extra skin on their abdomen, arms, buttocks, or thighs. The procedure we offer in this case is called Body Contouring. Having excess skin removed not only helps people look and feel better, but it can also help by making exercise more comfortable. For more information about body contouring, click here.
Breast lift
Losing a substantial amount of weight can affect the breasts by leaving them with a more saggy and flat appearance. This is something that we can correct at West Medical. There are other factors that can negatively affect the appearance of breasts, which include pregnancy, breastfeeding, and aging (which reduces skin’s elasticity). Our expert surgeons use a variety of techniques for breast lift, which is also called mastopexy. You can learn more about breast lifts here.
Facelift
Although the desire for a facelift isn’t necessarily linked with losing weight, some of our patients who have lost a lot of weight ask about this procedure. When we lose weight, we lose fat in our faces as well. While this generally gives us a more chiseled appearance that we want, we can also have some more sagging in our facial skin because of the reduction in fat. You may also find that since weight loss tends to bring more energy, you’re looking for a more youthful look to match how you feel. If you are interested in learning about how a facelift works, click here to learn more.
Liposuction
Liposuction is not a procedure that is used for overall weight loss. Instead, liposuction targets small areas of stubborn fat. If you are considering bariatric surgery, liposuction would not be an appropriate alternative. However, we have patients who have lost a lot of weight, stabilized their lower weight, and find that they have a stubborn area or two that they can’t seem to slim down like they want. In these cases, liposuction may be a good option. Learn more here.
The physical and health improvements that come with losing a substantial amount of weight are life changing for many people. In some cases, people have excess skin they want removed, or the desire to take a few more steps to improve appearance. At West Medical, we are happy to be able to not only offer our patients the weight loss procedures that can lead to a large amount of weight loss, but our plastic surgery experts are able to work with those same patients to provide cosmetic procedures after weight loss is achieved. If you’re interested in talking to our team about plastic surgery options after weight loss, please call our offices at (855) 690-0565.