Post-Weight-Loss Body Contouring

Post-weight-loss body contouring is a way for those who have lost a massive amount of weight to remove excess skin and soft tissue, improving their overall body contour and silhouette. After significant weight loss, lax skin can linger around the abdomen, lower body, legs, and arms. This skin cannot be tightened through diet and exercise, leading to the need for body contouring procedures. Contouring procedures like the tummy tuck, arm lift, thigh lift and lower body lift can completely reshape the areas of the body most affected by weight loss.

Here at Metamorphosis Plastic Surgery, Dr. Daniel Markmann, and his talented team are dedicated to providing personalized and safe cosmetic procedures for patients near Baltimore or Washington, DC. Our practice specializes in all aspects of body contouring including liposuction, body and breast lifts, and non-surgical skin tightening. 

Schedule a private consultation with Dr. Markmann today by calling our Maryland office at (410) 465-3600, or by filling out our online appointment form to take the first steps.

Before and After Photos

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What is Post Weight-Loss Body Contouring?

Whether achieved through diet and exercise, bariatric surgery, or medications like semaglutide, significant weight loss is a tremendous accomplishment. However, after working hard to reach a healthier weight, some people experience unwanted hollowing and sagging skin in unexpected areas. It can accumulate around the abdomen, legs, and arms, often making clothing uncomfortable or unflattering. Post-weight-loss body contouring procedures aim to smooth out these areas by safely removing loose skin and extra fat. 

Common post-weight-loss body contouring procedures include:

Any combination of these procedures can provide comprehensive body contouring to enhance your figure.

What Happens To The Body After Weight Loss?

Large amounts of excess skin on the body can lead to functional issues for weight-loss patients. Movement is often impaired by skin folds, impacting the ability to move the body or exercise comfortably. This can greatly affect a person’s quality of life, often manifesting psychological as well as physical symptoms. 

Weight-loss patients may also experience hygienic concerns from constant skin-to-skin friction that leads to irritation or infection. Moisture can build up in between skin folds, causing discomfort and skin breakdown. Body contouring procedures can improve a patient’s body image and state of mind while also making their daily life more comfortable. ⁽¹⁾ 

Tummy Tuck

A tummy tuck is commonly performed for patients with loose skin and fat around their abdomen. This can accumulate after weight loss or pregnancy or is simply genetic or age-related. During this procedure, Dr. Markmann places an incision from hip to hip to safely remove excess abdominal skin. He sutures the abdominal muscles back to their original position to restore a patient’s core strength and redrapes and sutures the abdominal skin along the waistline.

This procedure recontours the front of the midsection and can be extended to account for excess skin along the flanks. Tummy tucks are often combined with other body contouring procedures like liposuction to provide optimal results.

Body Lifts

Upper Body Lift

Post-weight-loss patients can greatly benefit from an upper body lift. Dr. Markmann combines a series of procedures that address excess skin and fat to contour the upper trunk. An upper body lift can include an arm lift, breast lift, back skin lift along the bra strap line and liposuction in combination to address the body above the waistline. Though these procedures can certainly be performed on their own, an upper body lift tackles them all at once for convenience. 

Lower Body Lift

Much like a tummy tuck, a lower body lift utilizes an incision along the waist. In this case the incision is circumferential, spanning the entire midsection. Dr. Markmann performs this procedure to remove and lift the skin around the lower body to smooth the abdomen and enhance the contour of the back, buttocks and upper outer thighs. For weight-loss patients with a significant amount of loose skin, a lower body lift can greatly improve their overall body contour in one surgery.

Arm Lift

For patients with large amounts of extra skin in the upper arms, an arm lift tightens the contour and removes stubborn fat to improve arm functionality and appearance. Dr. Markmann places an incision either on the crease of the armpit or along the back of the arm toward the elbow. He removes excess skin and often implements liposuction to remove fat before suturing the arm to achieve tighter, more toned upper arms. An arm lift eliminates the bulk of so-called “bat wings”, and greatly improves a patient’s upper body contour.

Thigh Lift

During a thigh lift, or thighplasty, the upper thighs are recontoured and smoothed into a more optimal shape. Dr. Markmann removes large amounts of excess skin from the thighs before tightening the remaining tissue to enhance the area. For many post-weight-loss patients, a thigh lift can be life-changing, allowing them to find comfort in clothing with reduced chafing. 

Buttock Lift

At Metamorphosis, Dr. Markmann performs buttock enhancement procedures including Brazilian Butt Lifts. This procedure utilizes a patient’s own fat harvested during liposuction to improve the buttocks by adding volume and shape. Post-weight-loss patients can undergo a buttock lift wherein Dr. Markmann removes excess skin from above the buttocks before performing a BBL to contour the area even more. 

Breast Lift

As a patient loses weight, a common area where sagging occurs is the breasts. A breast lift, or mastopexy, is a procedure that removes lax skin from the lower pole of the breasts. Dr. Markmann also reshapes and repositions the nipples to restore a more youthful and elevated chest contour. If the patient wants more volume in the area, breast augmentation using implants, fat transfer, or both can be added to the procedure plan. 

Benefits of Post-Weight-Loss Body Contouring

Studies have shown that post-weight-loss body contouring not only improves a patient’s self-image, it often improves their entire body experience by greatly affecting their psychological and sociological health. ⁽²⁾

Ideal Candidates

Post weight-loss body contouring is intended for those with large amounts of excess skin and subcutaneous fat remaining after weight loss. If you have done all of the work to lose weight, but cannot successfully tackle the skin that is left over, body contouring can greatly improve your health and well-being.

It is imperative that body contouring candidates are in good health before surgery. If you are still in the process of losing weight, it is best to be at your goal weight or at least be at a stable  before your body contouring procedure. Large weight fluctuations after surgery can negatively affect your results. Dr. Markmann insists that smokers refrain from using tobacco and nicotine products for at least one month before and after their procedure date to avoid healing complications. 

Personal Consultation at Metamorphosis Plastic Surgery

You will meet with Dr. Markmann privately to discuss your medical history, weight loss, and to assess your candidacy for body contouring. During this consultation, he will perform a physical examination of the treatment area(s) to help create your procedure plan. You will have time to ask questions about the process, which procedures will benefit you the most, and what recovery will be like. With decades of surgical experience, Dr. Markmann will be happy to address your concerns and explain every step in great detail. When your consultation is finished, you will have the opportunity to schedule your body contouring surgery with a member of the Metamorphosis team.

Recovery & Results

Post weight-loss body contouring is typically performed using general anesthesia to keep you comfortable throughout your procedure. Please ask a trusted loved one to transport you to and from our surgical center as you will not be able to drive yourself. 

Your recovery period will vary depending on your specific procedure plan. Properly healing from a tummy tuck, for instance, takes longer than recovering from an arm lift. Dr. Markmann provides recovery instructions before your surgery date.

After post-weight-loss body contouring, your results will be noticeable right away. After swelling and bruising dissipate, your contours will be smoother and your waistline is improved, leading to increased body confidence.

Cost of Post-Weight-Loss Body Contouring in Baltimore

Due to such diverse and intricate procedure plans, post-weight-loss body contouring costs vary according to the proposed treatment plan. Dr. Markmann and his team will explain your overall cost during your private consultation. 

To schedule yours today, call Metamorphosis Plastic Surgery at (410) 465-3600. We hope to hear from you soon.

FAQ

References

1. Boswell CB. Body Contouring Following Massive Weight Loss. Missouri Medicine. 2010;107(3):189-194. Accessed February 22, 2024. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6188338/
2. Alzahrani Khalid J, Kattan Abdullah E, Ezzat Loui A, Alsaleh Saud A, Murad Khalid A, Alghamdi Bader A. A Psychosocial Analysis of the Effect of Body-Contouring Surgery on Patients After Weight Loss. Eplasty. 2017;17:e12. Accessed February 22, 2024. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5372753/