Losing weight is an amazing accomplishment. Weight loss, whether it was from gastric bypass surgery or weight loss from diet and exercise, is something that should be celebrated and something that everyone should take pride in. But in a lot of cases, with all that weight loss, it is also accompanied by an excess of skin. This is expected since your skin stretches out to accommodate for the weight gained. Because of this, many patients begin to entertain the idea of plastic surgery. Plastic surgery after weight loss is something that a lot of plastic surgeons see regularly. If you are in the Virginia Beach, Virginia area, Dr. Matthew Galumbeck is a really talented plastic surgeon skilled in surgery after weight loss.
Procedures possibly needed after Weight Loss
Once you have hit your weight loss goal, especially if you have lost an excessive about of weight, many people notice their skin has stretched out. For women especially, having saggy skin or skin with stretch mars makes them feel very self-conscience. This is why many women and men contemplate the idea of plastic surgery. The problem is, usually after excessive weight loss, there is more than one procedure needed to take off all of the excess skin and lift everything back up for a more youthful appearance.
For women, many of them will consider having a breast lift and a breast augmentation to change the fullness of their breasts. Tummy tucks are also another popular procedure after losing weight. This will address the stretch marks and excess skin folds and will tighten up the abdominal muscles. There may also be facial procedures after weight loss as well. Usually, the facial procedures are focused on the neck area to remove excess skin. Other procedures will usually be done on the butt and upper arms as well. Laser liposuction is also a common plastic surgery after weight loss so that uneven fat will be newly distributed.
Good Candidates for Surgery after Weight Loss
Plastic Surgery is not for everyone. Some people have unreal expectations about the surgeon’s ability to give them the perfect body that they’ve always desired. Some people also have other health conditions which make going through plastic surgery impossible. Good candidates for have plastic surgery after losing weight would be a person who is in general good health. A person would also have to have realistic expectations about their results from the surgery as well. People should also be at a stable weight. Usually, after a person has experienced a great about of weight loss, they hit a certain goal weight and stay there at that number. Once you have hit your goal weight and you decide that you will not lose any more weight, that’s when it is safe to get the surgery. This just helps the person out because if they have the surgery too early and they lose more weight, then they’ll have to go in again in order to fix the problem. The more times that there are surgeries, the more times there is a greater risk for infections.
The Surgical Procedures
There are many different procedures that take place after someone loses an excessive amount of weight. Some of the more popular ones are breast augmentations and liposuction. During a breast augmentation, the patient has two different choices. They are responsible for choosing their incision placement and the type of implant that they receive. There are several different types of incisions for breast augmentations. They are Axillary (the armpit), Periareolar (around the nipple), Inframammary (through the breast crease), Transumbilical (through the belly button). The incision is not the most important part to focus on, however. The most important part of the breast augmentation is the location of the implant itself. There are only two choices, you can either put the implant above or below the muscle. The implant will always be placed behind the breast tissue, this way that all of the milk ducts, blood vessels, and the nerves from the tissue to the nipple are all available to stay intact. Once all decisions have been made, the procedure will begin at your scheduled appointment.
First, the surgeon will place preoperative markings on the breasts. Next, the surgeon will place you under anesthesia and the surgery will begin. The surgeon will place an incision on the markings and begin to create the breast pocket. Once the breast pocket is created, the surgeon will put the breast implant and create the new shape of the breast. After several checks if whether or not the breasts are symmetrical, the surgeon will then close the incision and the surgery will be completed.
With liposuction, the procedure can be done with a laser. The procedure will permanently remove the excess fat for good. The surgeon will create a small incision, about one-fourth of an inch. After this, the liquid fat will be permanently drained. Patients are usually able to come home about after about an hour and can return to work and daily activities and can begin exercising after about a full week of recovery. With the laser surgery, the patient must wear a compression garment for four days.
Frequently Asked Questions about Surgery after Weight Loss
What procedures will I need to take off the excess skin?
Usually, patients need several surgeries to remove the excess skin that comes with losing a substantial amount of weight. Sometimes doctors recommend pairing surgeries together so that you will not be under the knife so many different times. For example, if a woman lost weight and wanted plastic surgery, surgeons would probably recommend having a breast augmentation and an upper arm lift. They recommend surgeries that are not on the same part of the body.
How long is the Recovery Time?
Depending on which surgeries that you have done will depend on the recovery time. However, if you combine the surgeries that are completed on different sections of your body, the recovery time can potentially be cut in half. If the surgeries are performed at different times, the recovery time for the breast augmentation is about a week or so. For the liposuction, depending on if you had traditional liposuction or the new technique, laser liposuction, the recovery time will differ. Traditional liposuction requires the patient to have more downtime and the patient must wear a compression garment for six to eight weeks, whereas, with laser liposuction, the garment is worn for four days and the patient does not have to have a lot of downtime. They can return to normal, daily activities as soon as possible.
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