Our last support group meeting featured guest speaker Dr Amira Sanki who is a Sydney based plastic surgeon at Southern Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The reason we had Dr Sanki speak at our support group is because when a person loses a significant amount of weight following bariatric surgery, they are often left with loose skin around the face, neck, breast, arms, abdomen and thighs. This is often the next step for our patients, or at least something they consider following significant weight loss.
Today we will provide you with some insight on what was discussed during this support group meeting, which is helpful information for anybody considering plastic surgery following weight loss.
What is body contouring surgery?
Body contouring surgery is a form of plastic surgery that involves removing loose skin after weight loss or fat that is resistant to diet and exercise. It has to be noted that body contouring is only performed if you have reached your stable goal body weight, and you have to be nutritionally fit to tolerate the considerable duration of this surgery and recovery period. For example when multiple body areas need to be addressed, the treatment will be split into different operations in order to limit the duration of the surgery as well as make recovery from surgery more manageable.
Different types of body contouring surgery for weight loss patients
Body Lift/Belt Lipectomy – two separate operations. A belt lipectomy is similar to an abdominoplasty in that the loose skin of the lower abdomen is trimmed into an incision at the bikini line. With a body lift the incision line is continued around the back and above the buttocks, to gather the skin collecting at the ‘muffin top’ or ‘love handle’ areas, pulling the supportive tissues of the hips/buttocks down on the supportive tissues of the abdomen and back, creating a firm and more desirable body contour.
Brachioplasty – this is essentially an ‘arm lift’. This involves gathering the loose skin that hangs down from the upper arms, a patients ‘wings’ of skin. Although this surgery may seem desirable, the scars are long and can be obvious (extending from the armpit to the elbow at the inner aspect of the arm), so this surgery should be carefully considered.
Thigh lift – this in fact falls into two procedures, one that addresses the inner thigh loose skin (a medial thigh lift) and the outer thigh loose skin is addressed with a body lift procedure. A medial lift removes excess skin and fat from the inner thigh area, and the body lift helps reduce the amount of skin on the outer thigh.
Breast lift – or also known as mastopexy, reshapes and lifts the breast tissue, which can often be ‘droopy’ after weight loss. This is a procedure that both women and men benefit from, although they are different operations depending on your gender, but both equally satisfying.
How can I pay for body contouring surgery following weight loss?
You can often use your private health insurance for body contouring surgery if you have experienced a significant weight loss and consequently your loose skin has become debilitating. This can often cover hospital and operating costs including the post-operative stay. Medicare and your private health insurance can also contribute to your doctors’ bills, check with your insurance provider to see if you would be eligible. This surgery is also available to private patients wishing to fund the surgery themselves.
Bariatric surgery is one of the tools to help you lose your excess weight and allowing you to start living a healthier lifestyle, but some patients are disappointed with the appearance of their body afterwards, despite the hard work it takes to achieve such as weight loss. This is why many consider plastic surgery following weight loss and we felt it was important to address with our support group.
For more information on the body contouring services that Dr Amira Sanki and the team at Southern Aesthetic Plastic Surgery offer you can visit their website. For more information on bariatric surgery please contact us on 02 9553 1120 or submit an enquiry to us online.
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