Surgery after major weight loss: is it right for you?

If after losing a significant amount of weight—either through diet and exercise or surgical procedures—your body still doesn’t look the way you hoped it would, you may be wondering about your surgical options. After working so hard to achieve the goals you set for yourself, it’s normal to feel frustrated by the sagging or stretched skin and uneven body contours left behind. If these changes are affecting your overall confidence and self-esteem, we’re here to help you decide whether surgery after massive weight loss is right for you.

What is the goal of surgery after major weight loss?

The goal of surgery after major weight loss is to improve the appearance of sagging or stretched skin and uneven body contours that often remain after the body undergoes a significant change in size.

What is unique about surgery after major weight loss?

At FORM Face + Body, this is some of the most exciting and rewarding surgery that we perform. We truly feel like partners with our patients who have made this incredible effort to lose weight and be healthy. We feel that, by this point, the patient has already taken the biggest and most difficult step, and it’s our job now to help restore shape, confidence and comfort.

What areas does surgery after major weight loss address?

Based on your individual goals, your plastic surgeon will determine the best surgical plan for you, which may include the following procedures:

• Lower body lift: to correct sagging buttocks, abdomen, waist, lower back, hips and outer thighs with varying incisions.
• Breast lift: to correct flat and sagging breasts with incision sites determined by the amount of excess skin to be removed.
• Arm lift: to correct sagging skin on the upper arms.
• Thigh lift: to correct sagging inner, outer, or posterior thigh skin, as well as the groin.

Who is a good candidate for surgery after major weight loss?

In addition to having lost a significant amount of weight, you would be a good candidate for surgery if you have extra skin that must be removed by excision, relatively thin layers of fat below the skin of these areas, and overhanging skin on the body that may restrict mobility and/or cause painful chafing, rashes, or infection. Our surgeons can assess whether these factors apply to you during a consultation.

These surgical procedures are generally lengthy and result in large areas that need to heal. For this reason, your general health is also extremely important. Our team will always go through a very detailed health and nutrition history to ensure that any modifiable risk factors such as smoking, additional weight loss, nutrition imbalances, and other medical conditions are optimized prior to surgery.