Congrats, You Have Lost a Ton of Weight! Now What?
Individuals who have opted for bariatric surgery in order to lose a lot of weight have made a major life decision to look and feel their best. However, what many patients do not realize is that once major weight loss has been accomplished excess skin will be left behind. For people who have experienced a loss of fifty or hundred pounds or more, this excess skin can take the form of unsightly flaps around the legs, arms, and chest and torso. Getting rid of these excess flaps of stretched skin is the major aim for cosmetic body contouring procedures.
If you have recently lost a lot of weight due to bariatric surgery, talking to an Orange County plastic surgeon may be your next phone call. The success of cosmetic body contouring depends on many factors and includes age of the patient, size and shape of the area to be treated, and skin tone. Many of the most popular contouring procedures leave small, almost undetectable scars while others may result in more noticeable scars especially when surgical removal of fat and skin is necessary in larger volumes. In either case, most patients find these cosmetic surgery scars preferable to the left over skin flaps and report greater self-esteem.
The most common areas targeted for contouring after a massive weight loss event are the arms, breasts, neck, abdominals, hips, and thighs. Occasionally, a patient experiences weight loss to such a degree that multiple procedures must be performed in order to remove all of the sagging skin. It is not uncommon for post-bariatric weight loss patients to have multiple surgeries that must be performed in stages. In these cases, there may be a waiting period between contouring sessions that can range from a couple of weeks up to several months.
Bariatric surgery is a popular way to shed a lot of pounds in a short period of time. It leads to a healthy lifestyle and helps to prevent weight-related health problems. But, patients who have gone with this type of procedure are often left with the leftover, sagging skin. Fortunately, post bariatric body contouring can make patients look as good as they feel after major weight loss.