facelift after weight loss

For many of us, the new year is an opportunity to set our sights on a successful year ahead with meaningful goals. One of the most common New Year’s Resolutions is to lose weight. As long as you focus and set reasonable goals, weight loss is absolutely doable, but sometimes there’s more to the process. As a double board-certified plastic surgeon, I often work with patients who have reached their goal weight but now have excess sagging skin or a stubborn bulge or two of fat. I may not be able to help you with weight loss, but if you reach your goals and find that your new physique needs some polishing, there are plenty of options available.

Tummy Tuck or Band Aid Tummy Tuck

Many people who lose significant amounts of weight will have looser skin remaining on their abdomen. While our skin is rather “elastic,” it can’t also constrict enough to remain firm while the fat underneath shrinks. In this case, a tummy tuck can remove excess skin and give you a more taut, toned look. Some patients, especially women who have had children, also have some laxity in their abdominal muscles, and this can be improved with a tummy tuck as well. Other than a traditional tummy tuck, you may be a candidate for a minimally invasive Band Aid Tummy Tuck, an extended tummy tuck (which reaches the “love handles”), or a circumferential tummy tuck (which treats the back as well as the sides and the front of the abdomen).

Arm Lift or Band Aid Arm Lift

Another common “problem area” after weight loss is the upper arm. Aging alone can cause the thin skin on the underside of the upper arm to sag, and weight fluctuations make this more dramatic. An arm lift (or a Band Aid Arm Lift for patients who have less excess skin and don’t need as much improvement) removes excess skin and gives the arms a more firm and youthful shape.

Liposuction or Band Aid Liposuction

As much work as you put into losing weight, all you can do is cause your body to lose fat – you can’t choose where that fat comes from. This is why many patients find that even after all their hard work, they still have a stubborn bulge or two that bothers them. Liposuction (or Band Aid Liposuction for smaller areas) is designed to polish off these areas and produce a more desirable contour for patients who are already at or near their goal weight.

Breast Lift

Women who lose weight often lose fat from their breast as well, and unfortunately, this can cause the breasts to droop more than they normally would. For these women, a breast lift can restore the breasts to a more youthful shape without changing their size. Or, for women who do want to change their breast size, a lift can be paired with a breast augmentation or a breast reduction.

Neck Lift

Another area this is often left with sagging skin after weight loss is the area under the chin and the neck. This can make you look older or heavier than you truly are. If this is the case, a neck lift can remove the excess skin, tighten the underlying neck muscles, and give you a more slender and rejuvenated neck and chin.

Facelift or Band Aid Mini Facelift

Fat can make the face look fuller and more youthful, but when you lose weight, it can appear to make your face age quickly. Signs of aging you may have had before can be more noticeable now thanks to a slimmer profile. Fortunately, you don’t need to exchange one cosmetic issue for another. A facelift (or in many cases my minimally invasive Band Aid Mini Facelift) can restore firmness to your skin and reposition the supporting muscle and other facial tissue to give you a more naturally vibrant look.

Mommy Makeover or Other Combinations

Just like you rarely gain weight in one area alone, many patients find themselves with sagging skin in multiple areas after successful weight loss. For this reason, it’s very common to combine multiple procedures at the same time, giving you a more comprehensive result and less recovery time overall.

When you’re first getting started on your weight loss journey, it can feel like you have a long road ahead. But if you keep yourself on the right path and take it one day at a time, you can reach your goal weight. When you do, I’ll be here to help you enjoy your results even more. To find out more about post-weight loss plastic surgery, schedule a consultation with me, Dr. John LeRoy. For more health tips to keep you going throughout the year, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+.