Dallas Plastic Surgery

Cosmetic Surgery After Weight Loss

If you have lost a significant amount of weight, you may notice that even as you look slimmer and feel better, your skin does not necessarily bounce back. Many patients who have lost a great deal of weight – either naturally or through surgery – find that they have puckered skin or folds of skin. This occurs because the skin stretches out when a patient is a larger size and since skin is not as elastic as we age it often does not readjust to the shape of the body after weight loss.

Excessive or redundant skin after weight loss can make patients feel self-conscious. This skin tends to be left all over the body, but especially at the stomach, buttocks, thighs, chin, and underarms. It can leave patients feeling unhappy with their appearance and can make clothes fit incorrectly. Redundant skin can even cause some more serious problems. Sweat can gather under larger folds of skin, causing rashes or even bacterial infections. Even under smaller folds of redundant skin, chafing can occur. Removing the skin becomes important to make a patient comfortable and in order to make a patient feel their best.

There are many options for patients who have undergone weight loss and need a little extra help to look their best. Abdominoplasty can remove extra skin at the lower torso. Breast re-suspension surgeries or breast reduction can help re-contour or reshape the breast. Facelifts can remove excess skin on the face while surgery of the arm and legs can reduce extra skin and tissue from the limbs. It is advisable to plan ahead for these surgeries and to discuss these options with your surgeon before you have weight loss surgery, bariatric surgery, or lose large amounts of weight. You will want to factor in the additional recovery time for these procedures and you will want to budget for these procedures as well to get the look you really want.