Plastic Surgery after Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Surgery (especially the Gastric Bypass Surgery) are surging in popularity. With massive weight loss in a short time, skin often does not shrink well. Body contouring plastic (or cosmetic) surgery can help deal with this extra skin and give such individuals a new image after losing massive weight. Whether a person loses weight through diet and exercise or through bariatric surgery, there are a few problems that arise as a result of the weight loss. One that will be most noticeable is the loose skin that remains after the weight is gone. When someone is overweight, the skin stretches to accommodate the increased volume of weight. After weight loss, the skin often fails to tighten, and so it sags. In many cases, it hangs (especially in the arms, stomach, thighs, breasts, and buttocks). It acts as a constant reminder of the weight you once carried around. Exercise WILL NOT tighten skin (exercise never tightens skin - only muscles). The only way to tighten loose skin is through plastic or cosmetic surgery. Though tummy tucks, lower body lifts, and liposuction are not new to the cosmetic surgery world, performing these (and other) procedures on post-bariatric patients often requires a different approach. What makes body contouring, or body reshaping, more difficult after bariatric surgery is that the skin has usually been permanently damaged by being so extremely stretched. The result is that the patient's skin will loosen with age faster than a normal patient's. Bariatric patients desiring such reshaping after surgery should use a specialist with experience dealing with this type of situation. | |
|