What is a Body Lift Surgery?

Body lift or Circumferential lipectomy is a surgical procedure that removes excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen,flanks, hips and back and to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall.The best candidates for body lift would be women or men who have large fat deposits or loose, sagging skin secondary to massive weight loss as a result of diet, exercise or bariatric surgery such as gastric bypass or Lap-Band procedures.

This procedure has also been used for moderate to severely obese patients who do not want to undergo weight loss prior to surgery.This procedure will also result in back, lateral thigh and buttocks lift with dramatic result. See before Body lift are performed on an outpatient basis or inpatient in a hospital and general anaesthesia is used. Body Lift usually takes two to four hours.We place a pain-pump into the wounds to continually deliver numbing medicine such as lidocaine for the first 3-4 days.

This will result in relatively pain-free postoperative period. Patient continue to supplement this with oral pain medicine.There are often two to three drains which are usually removed after the total drainage has reached 25 cc in 24 hours. In a majority of centers throughout the U.S.A., these procedures are done in a hospital with several days of inpatient stay.

The Outpatient Setting

We have performed these procedures, whether they are single or combined, as an outpatient procedure with excellent results. We believe, in the out patient setting, the patient is NOT in contact with hospital-born infection, they are walking on the night of surgery and being with family and friends, faster and less complicated recovery is achieved. Because any surgical procedure carries certain risks and possible complications, you should discuss the procedure in detail with Dr. Tavoussi. After surgery, most people return to their jobs in three weeks. The results of body lift are usually long lasting if you keep your weight under control and exercise.

The resulting scar is situated very low and can be covered with underwear or  swimsuit. See before & after pictures. Body lift can be performed with breast lift and augmentation.The total time for the combined procedures are approximately 3-5 hours. We place all patients who are having abdominoplasty, extended abdominoplasty, body lift ( Circumferential lipectomy ) and breast lift on multivitamins, vitamin c, zinc supplement and Arnica MontanaX30 at least 2-3 weeks before and after surgery to enhance the healing process.

What is Bariatric Surgery?

Bariatric surgery, or weight loss surgery, is a type of procedure performed on people who are dangerously obese, for the purpose of losing weight. Long-term studies show the procedures cause significant long-term loss of weight, recovery from diabetes, improvement in cardiovascular risk factors, and a reduction in mortality of 23% to 40%. This weight loss is usually achieved by reducing the size of the stomach with an implanted medical device (gastric banding) or through removal of a portion of the stomach (sleeve gastrectomy or biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch) or by resecting and re-routing the small intestines to a small stomach pouch (gastric bypass surgery). With massive weight loss in a short time skin often does not shrink well.

What Happens Following Weight Loss Surgery?

Following the significant amount of weight loss after a Gastric Bypass Surgery, a person can be left with a tremendous amount of excess, hanging skin throughout many areas of the body. The lack of elasticity of the remaining skin often causes excessive amounts of skin to accumulate and hang in various areas, including the face, neck, breasts, upper and lower abdomen, arm and/or armpit (axilla), back, buttocks, thighs, legs, and calves. This excess skin also can cause skin irritation, skin breakdown and infection. Dr. Tavoussi performs all cosmetic procedures required to achieve the patient’s desired goal after massive weight loss. Such procedures include facelift, Tummy Tuck, Breast Augmentation, Breast Lift, Arm Lift, Liposuction and more.