Body Contouring after Weight Loss

While some people are able to lose weight on their own, others choose Bariatric and Gastric Banding surgeries which often result in rapid weight loss over a short period of time. However, there can be a downside to this kind of rapid loss; the skin left does not always shrink well and unsightly folds can result. More and more people facing this problem are turning to cosmetic surgery for help.

The Choices

Although certain motivated people can lose a large amount of weight with dieting and exercise, quite a few are left with sagging skin running from the front to the back, right around the abdominal part of the body. Rashes have even been known to develop under the folds of skin if they are left untreated.

There is a wide variety of cosmetic surgery procedures that compliment the weight loss and leave the patient with results closer to what they originally intended.

Tummy Tuck

The technical term is abdominoplasty, but the procedure is commonly referred to as a tummy tuck. An abdominoplasty deals quite effectively with the loose skin around the abdomen. Typically performed under general anesthesia, the muscles are often tightened from the length spanning from the chest to the pubic region with the removal of a very large section of loose skin. Less extensive correction can be performed as well, in what is known as a partial tummy tuck.

Other Problem Areas

Unfortunately, sagging skin associated with massive weight loss isn't confined to the front of the body or the abdominal area. Extra skin can hang around the back, arms and thighs as well as other parts of the body. The option to solve this problem entails the skin being tightened in more than one place. This surgical procedure is known as a body lift.

A body lift is more extensive than a tummy tuck, and would require a longer recovery period. Although it has been traditionally women who undergo most cosmetic procedures, there are certain contouring operations that are geared toward men.

Fat can collect around the male chest region giving the appearance of breasts, and while weight reduction can help with the fat, extra skin remaining can be a problem. The solution here is called Internal Lift Male Mastopexy, and the cosmetic procedure usually contours the male chest area back to a more traditional and desirable shape.

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