About body contouring after weight loss from Dr. Schulman

alex · 03-18-2008, 11:31 PM

Congratulations on your weight loss! For many, the weight loss is only the beginning of the journey. While weight loss will leave you healthier and feeling better, there is often an unanticipated consequence – the excess skin!

The weight loss you experience after gastric banding is often massive (upwards of 100 pounds) and occurs very rapidly (1-2 years). The skin has difficulty keeping up with this rapid and massive weight loss and is unable to “shrink” to fit your new body. This is due to disruption of the skin’s support structure, or elastin. The result is loose, excess skin that can often be as problematic to you as your original weight.

“Body contouring after weight loss” refers to all those procedures that remove the excess skin and help your skin fit your new, slimmer body. These procedures are performed by plastic surgeons, and can remove excess skin from anywhere on your body. These include abdominoplasty, lower body lift, thigh lift, upper body lift, breast lift, breast reduction, breast augmentation, male chest reduction, upper arm reduction, facelift, and necklift.

All these procedures involve the removal of skin and will result in scarring. All attempts are made to keep this scarring to a minimum and place them in an area that will be as hidden as possible beneath clothes. While plastic surgeons are specifically trained to make “nice” scars, it is impossible to make them “invisible.”

When choosing a plastic surgeon, it is important to keep several things in mind:

1. Only chose a Plastic Surgeon who is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. This will ensure that your surgeon has completed an accredited plastic surgery training program, passed extensive written examinations, and was subjected to rigorous oral examinations which test basic knowledge, surgical skills, and ethical and moral aptitude. It also demonstrates that your surgeon actively participates in continuing education through educational conferences and lectures. Your plastic surgeon should also be a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, which requires board certification and other criteria as membership requirements.

Check American Society of Plastic Surgery status

2. Chose a plastic surgeon that specializes in body contouring after weight loss. Bariatric surgery is a relatively new field, and the plastic surgery that is performed on weight loss patients is even newer. It is important that you chose a plastic surgeon who understands bariatric procedures and the effect these procedures have had on your body. Your plastic surgeon should understand how skin reacts to massive weight loss, and the nutritional implications of this weight loss on your ability to heal after surgery. This will allow your plastic surgeon to perform body contouring in a way that maximizes results, and minimizes your potential complications.

3. Chose a plastic surgeon that has operating and admitting privileges at a nearby, reputable hospital. While complications are rare, it is important that should one arise, your surgeon can provide you the care that you deserve.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the plastic surgeon’s experience with these types of procedures. Your surgeon should be able to show you pictures of his or her results – and not only the really good results!

5. Trust your instinct! There should be an immediate connection with your surgeon – for whatever reason. You and your surgeon should just “click,” and this may be completely unrelated to the surgeon’s experience, qualifications, etc. You are placing a great deal of trust in your surgeon and you cannot underestimate that power of your “gut instinct.”

Congratulations again on your commitment to better health – You deserve to look as good as you feel!

Matthew Schulman, M.D.
Specializing in body contouring after weight loss
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Attending Plastic Surgeon – The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Clinical Instructor of Plastic Surgery – The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
212-722-1977