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Morbid obesity is a new epidemic afflicting nearly one third of all those in Southern California, including Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. One of the most effective ways for permanent weight loss has been through “bariatric” surgery, including gastric bypass and gastric banding.
Having successfully battled obesity, these people are now faced with a new challenge – excessive and hanging skin folds of the abdomen, arms, thighs, breasts, and face. Thinking that once they lose their massive weight they will be attractive again, men and women are disappointed and frustrated with unsightly folds of skin that now cover their groin like an apron, hang off their arms like “bat wings,” and wiggle from their legs when trying to jog. It also creates a problem for personal hygiene and in finding clothes that fit.
This challenge has led to the development of new ways of body contouring; specially designed for individuals after massive weight loss surgery. An experienced Beverly Hills plastic surgeon can help to determine if this procedure is right for you.
The most common post-bariatric body contouring plastic surgery in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills is a tummy tuck, or “abdominoplasty.” These are not standard tummy tucks, but rather extensive or “high tension” tummy tucks designed to also lift the sagging hips and thighs, while tightening the loose abdominal wall muscles. A more extensive form of this tummy tuck is called a body lift or belt lipectomy, which removes the excess skin of the abdominal fold as well as that from the back; resulting in a greater lift of the sagging buttocks and the thighs. Panniculectomy is a more specific form of a tummy tuck selected for those with extremely large, heavy, and hanging abdominal pannus. Often, obesity results in the over-stretching and weakening of the abdominal wall, which produces a ventral hernia. This and other types of hernias can also be repaired at the time of a tummy tuck or body lift. The cost of a body lift in Los Angeles is approximately $16,000 to $28,000. The second most common body contouring procedure in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills after massive weight loss is breast lift surgery and breast reduction surgery. These procedures are not limited to women, because men also develop hanging breast/chest folds after weight loss. In women, an inverted-T or anchor mastopexy is used. (Only a skilled Los Angeles breast augmentation specialist should perform this surgery)
Often breast implants are added to replenish the lost breast volume. This procedure is, at times, combined with an upper body lift which removes the excess skin folds of the upper torso that extends to the upper back. Breast reduction surgery for post-weight loss male patients has a different aim and design. Its goal is to create a flat and masculine chest. Breast reduction for men typically causes a scar that falls in the under-breast fold as well as around the areola. It can also be combined with an upper body lift or a brachioplasty. The cost of breast lift surgery in Beverly Hills or Los Angeles is approximately $ 8,500 to $16,000.
The third most common body contouring surgery in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills following massive weight loss is brachioplasty. Brachioplasty, or an “arm tuck,” removes excess hanging skin of the upper arms. In its extended form, it also removes the redundant skin folds of the outer chest and the axilla or the armpit. The cost of brachioplasty in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills is approximately $6,500 to $12,000.
The fourth most prevalent post-bariatric plastic surgery procedure in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills is a thigh lift. Thigh lifts address the excess skin folds of the inner or medial thighs, that of the outer or lateral thighs, or that of the entire thigh. It can be rather extensive, reaching along the entire length of the thighs and legs. The cost of thigh lift in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills is approximately $12,000 to $20,000.
Finally, the least common plastic surgery procedure performed as a result of massive weight loss is a facelift. This is due to the fact that people gain relatively far less weight in their face that their body. Therefore, after massive weight loss there is relatively less loose skin of the face, as there would be on the other areas of the body. Nevertheless, patients have less loose facial skin, hanging neck folds, jowls, and cheeks after weight loss. A variety of facial cosmetic surgeries including neck lift, facelift, mid-face lift, or a forehead lift can address problems associated with sagging facial skin, accordingly.
In planning for body contouring procedures after massive weight loss, special attention has to be given for optimizing safety and minimizing potential complications. These types of procedures that are rather lengthy, complicated, and are performed on patients that might have other associated risk factors such as sleep apnea, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, venous insufficiency, malnutrition, etc. These patients need to be medically optimized and cleared by an internist, pulmonologist, or a cardiologist prior to surgery. Furthermore, the surgical facility must be equipped and staffed to provide specialized care for such surgeries, as well as to provide extended post-surgical monitored care.
Dr. Sean Younai is a board certified Los Angeles plastic surgery specialist with formal training in plastic & reconstructive surgery, as well as general surgery at some of the most prestigious university residencies in the United States. As a cosmetic plastic surgeon, he has had ample experience in performing post-bariatric body contouring surgeries including tummy tuck surgery (abdominoplasty), panniculectomy, belt lipectomy, repair of ventral hernia, body lift, thigh lift, brachioplasty, upper body lift, breast reduction, and breast lift surgery.