I am commonly asked about plastic surgery after weight loss. The post-bariatric surgery patients are a very common group of patients for us. There are several things that someone should know before considering doing this. I always recommend that patients have their weight stable for preferably 6 months following their weight loss prior to considering plastic surgery. During the rapid weight loss, particularly, the patient is nutritionally compromised in terms of needing to heal after surgery. We also want to give the skin time to contract as much as it will. It has not been my experience that the skin disappears after weight loss.
People who lose weight with diet and exercise run into similar problems. Due to the fact that the weight loss is typically a little slower we don’t run into the same nutritional problems. The most common things that people want to address are their abdomen, breasts, and arms. We also commonly do facelifts as well as inner/outer thigh lifts for weight loss patients.
These patients are some of my most gratifying patients to work with. It really does allow them to close a chapter of their life. A lot of people tell me that the extra skin is a reminder of where they used to be and they would really like to move on. The surgery is a lot of fun because it does help the patients achieve this.