The Right Candidates For A Body Lift Are You One

You are to be commended on your huge weight loss. Now you are healthier and at much lower risks for many ailments such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Of course, you are left with a problem now aren’t you? You have all this excess fat and skin that is likely dripping off you around your buttocks, thighs and stomach area. Only a body lift can help you with this problem.

Also known as a belt lipectomy, this type of body lift focuses on improving the appearance of the lower body. Aging can also cause excess skin and fat to hang off you as well as the results of having several children. A body lift is also the answer to improving on the effects of other cosmetic surgeries such as liposuction and gastric bypass.

Are you a good candidate?

You are a good candidate for a body lift if you can prove you have had a steady weight for at least three months, although six months is more desirable. You should be showing signs of seriousness about sticking to a diet and exercise program. If you have had lap-band surgery or gastric bypass, most cosmetic surgeons will not even contemplate a body lift for at least one year after your surgery. This gives your body enough time to adjust to the weight loss surgery’s effects and settle into steady weight loss.

For women, a body lift is not recommended until all childbearing is complete. Pregnancy often causes excess skin and fat and this could actually reverse any progress you have had from a body lift. Of course, men do not have to contend with this problem.

The procedure itself :

A body lift is a bit more involved than other cosmetic procedures and therefore is most always performed in a hospital. Your body mass index at the time of the surgery may dictate a hospital stay or whether an outpatient clinic could handle the cosmetic surgery. The body lift could take as little as four hours but the high end of the scale is eight hours and requires general anesthesia.

Each person is different but most surgeons like to begin with the abdominal area first, removing the extra skin from the pubic area all the way up to the navel. Next is the tightening of the abdominal muscle wall, an area that is the most elastic due to massive weight loss. After the excessive skin is removed, the edges of the skin above the navel are then pulled down to the pubic area and sutured. This hides most of the scarring.

A similar process occurs with the buttocks as well as the hips and thighs too. The surgeon tries to hide the sutures within natural creases of the body so scarring is inconspicuous as possible. In some cases, a bit of liposuction is also performed when there is stubborn fat that you could not remove from exercise and diet.

Significant time is needed for the recovery period as a body lift can be quite invasive. You would be required to stay several nights in the hospital to check for drainage and infection. During the recovery period, a light diet is recommended as well as a rule that no heavy lifting occur. It will likely take about two months for most of the swelling and pain to dissipate. Exercising usually must wait until three months after to ensure on injury will occur.