Post weight loss
Plastic surgery after weight loss or massive weight loss is an increasingly important topic for which many patients seek advice.
People lose weight to improve their health and to improve their body image and self-esteem. When large amounts of weight are lost, or patients have had bariatric surgery resulting in massive weight loss, many remain unhappy about how they feel and look (even though they can appreciate the undoubted improvement and often complete resolution of their medical problems).
Please see specific procedure pages:
Please see specific procedure pages:
Post weight loss
Dissatisfaction with appearance after weight loss is usually due to excess skin which does not shrink well. This can result in considerable amounts of loose skin in undesired areas. These folds are common around the abdomen, waist, legs, arms, breast, neck and face. Also, a loss of fat volume in areas where it is needed (such as the breasts) occurs as well.
It is not uncommon for patients who have had massive weight loss to require several procedures. Combined surgery requires careful consultation and planning. Commonly asked for operations include abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), augmentation mastopexy (breast lift with the insertion of implants to restore volume), thigh lifts, buttock lifts and arm lifts and facelift/neck lift
What to expect
You can expect a significant improvement in your appearance following cosmetic procedures after weight loss.
The cosmetic outcomes following weight loss are often not as good as they are when significant weight loss has not taken place previously. This is partly due to the loss of skin elasticity that occurs with weight gain and subsequent weight loss.
Please view our specific procedure pages to learn more about expected outcomes for the different procedures.
What are the risks?
Post weight loss procedures are often performed as combination surgery. This means that surgery can last up to 5 hours, and this carries a slightly increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolus (clots to the lungs). We take several precautions to minimise these risks, including compression stocking, pneumatic boots to pump the calves and improve circulation and blood thinning injections when required.
If you are still overweight, you may have increased risks of infection and delayed wound healing.
Please see specific procedure pages for risks related to those procedures.
Further reading
