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Plastic Surgery Procedures (Body Contouring) After Weight Loss

Most patients who undergo gastric bypass, or some form of gastric banding procedure, do lose weight. Many lose a lot of weight. But this massive weight loss brings problems of its own.
Typically patients are left with large folds of excess skin, along with loose muscles and sometimes localized pockets of unsightly fat tissue. In such cases, bariatric plastic surgery procedures, body contouring procedures and lipoplasty (liposuction), can help to reshape the normal structures of the body in order to improve appearance and self-esteem.
Plastic surgery is not an easy option. Mostly, it involves exchanging one cosmetic problem (eg. loose skin) for another (scars).
Plastic Surgery Procedures to Remove Loose Skin and Fat
For patients suffering from morbid or malignant obesity, choosing bariatric surgery to reduce calorie intake may offer them a passport to a healthy life. But even if such surgery causes them to lose substantial amounts of weight, they may face new problems which may necessitate further operations.
Plastic Surgery to Remove Loose Skin
When bariatric surgery (eg. gastric bypass) leads to dramatic weight loss, excessive amounts of skin can accumulate and hang in various areas, including face, neck, breasts, upper and lower abdomen, flanks, armpit, back, buttocks, arms, forearms, thighs, legs, and calves. This surplus skin can cause considerable hygienic problems, skin irritation, skin breakdown, pain and infection.
Plastic Surgery Procedures to Remove Excess Residual Fat
In addition, even though the patient might have experienced massive weight reduction, this weight loss may not be evenly spread around the body. This also depends on the patient’s type of obesity condition (whether gynoid or android). Body Contouring procedures can help to reduce these fat deposits, either by surgical excision or lipoplasty.
Cost of Plastic Surgery Procedures
The price of bariatric-related plastic surgery procedures can vary significantly, depending on several factors.

  • Patient’s condition
  • Complicating factors
  • The plastic surgeon
  • The hospital chosen
  • The type of anesthesia
  • Complications arising

Patient’s Needs
The full cost of your plastic surgery procedure is unlikely to become clear until after you have been examined by your surgeon, and your individual requirements and needs ascertained. Even then, you may need follow-up procedures after your plastic surgery.





Body Contouring Surgery Options

  • Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)
  • Arm Lift (brachioplasty)
  • Body lift (Circumferential Panniculectomy)
  • Breast Lift (Mastopexy)
  • Breast Reduction (Women)
  • Buttock Lift
  • Face Lift
  • Forehead Lift
  • Male Breast Reduction (Gynecomastia)
  • Liposuction (Lipoplasty)
  • Thigh lift (Thighplasty)

Dr. Bishara will discuss these and other treatment options with you during your consultation to determine which procedures are right for you. Our  treatment plan is specifically designed for patients who have recently undergone bariatric surgery and are left with loose, sagging skin as a result of the extreme weight loss. Please call our office at (817) 473-2120 for more information or to schedule a consultation or visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com for more pictures of body contouring patients.

Body contouring surgery to remove excess skin improves long-term weight control in patients after gastric bypass surgery, reports a study in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Patients with body contouring present better long-term weight control after gastric bypass, according to a study at University of Geneva, Switzerland. Since maintaining weight loss to reduce long-term health problems is the key goal of bariatric surgery, the researchers believe that body contouring should be considered reconstructive rather than cosmetic surgery for patients who have achieved massive weight loss.
Better Long-Term Weight Control after Body Contouring
The researchers compared long-term weight outcomes for two groups of patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery. In 98 patients, gastric bypass was followed by body contouring procedures to remove excess fat and skin. A matched group of 102 patients with similar characteristics underwent gastric bypass alone, without body contouring.
Body contouring surgery usually consisted of abdominoplasty (“tummy tuck”), often with other procedures to remove excess skin and tissue from the breasts, legs and upper arms. Within two years after gastric bypass, the patients had lost an average of nearly 100 pounds. In subsequent years, patients who underwent body contouring regained less weight: an average of just over one pound per year, compared to four pounds per year for patients who had gastric bypass only.
Seven years after gastric bypass, patients who underwent body contouring surgery achieved an average weight of 176 pounds, and those with bariatric surgery alone, 200 pounds. Patients who underwent body contouring had regained about four percent of their initial body weight, compared to 11 percent for those who had gastric bypass only. After accounting for the weight of excess skin removed, average weight regain was about 14 pounds in patients who had gastric bypass plus body contouring, compared to nearly 50 pounds with gastric bypass only.
Body Contouring Should Be Considered Essential Part of Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery produces fast, massive weight loss in morbidly obese patients. Unfortunately, many patients regain much of their body weight in the years after gastric bypass, putting them back at increased risk of obesity-related health problems.
A recent study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reported significant improvements in quality of life for patients who underwent body contouring after gastric bypass. The new study shows that patients who have body contouring surgery are also more likely to keep weight off after gastric bypass. Because of this improvement in long-term weight control, bariatric surgery is more likely to be considered an effective procedure – from the standpoint of reducing obesity-related health risks – if followed by body contouring.
Colleagues believe this study adds to the argument that body contouring should be considered an essential part of successful bariatric surgery and, because of its favorable effects on patient health, should be covered by insurance plans. The researchers conclude, since plastic surgery after massive weight loss is mandatory for quality of life improvement and weight loss maintenance in many patients, body contouring must be considered a reconstructive surgery for those who have achieved massive weight loss.
Dr. Mark Bishara provides a wide range of cosmetic procedures, including body contouring, to help patients look and feel their best. These procedures are designed to improve the appearance of the face and body through minimally invasive techniques that provide highly effective results. Many of these procedures can be combined in order to achieve your desired appearance. Please call our office for more information at (817) 473-2120 or click on the button below
 

The obesity epidemic across the United States and the rest of the world has led to many programs centered on lowering Body Mass Index (BMI) for the well-being of the individual. However, significant amounts of weight loss cannot ignore the physics of the real world. Bariatric (weight loss) surgery has caused many individuals to meet their BMI goals and develop healthier lives, but it has also created the need for much of the body contouring necessary from weight loss.  At Dr. Mark Bishara’s office we provide a wide range of cosmetic procedures to help patients look and feel their best.
Following a well-balanced diet to maintain a healthy weight, and exercising consistently to maintain or attain a fit and healthy body are important contributing factors when it comes to an individual’s body image. However, heredity, changes in the body over time such as weight gain or loss, pregnancy, and even aging can result in a change in your body’s proportions and curves that may affect both your body image and self-confidence. Reshaping disproportionate curves or reducing unwanted fat cannot always be achieved through weight loss and exercise alone. Fitness and skin care have little effect on uneven contours or bulges as well as skin that lacks elasticity.
Body contouring surgery can help many people reshape body features that cannot be improved by other measures. Body contouring can dramatically improve the shape and proportion of your body, enhancing your appearance and boosting your self-confidence. The aim of body contouring is to excise the skin for both cosmetic and functional purposes. Daily activity can be bothersome due to frequent chafing between the functional skin and excess skin.
One or more procedures may be recommended to achieve your goals for a more youthful, contoured body. Body contouring goals may be achieved in one surgical session or may be more safely performed in stages depending on your overall health, the type and extent of procedures being considered along with the outcome from discussions and recommendations by your plastic surgeon during the consultation process. Improvements to your body’s shape and overall image may be achieved by reducing excess fat and/or sagging skin and tissue. Dr. Bishara will discuss these and other treatment options with you during your consultation to determine which procedures are right for you.
Lower Body Lift Before and After with Dr. Mark Bishara:

The body contouring procedures are split up into a few of the most common areas operated on:

Abdominoplasty Before and after pictures with Dr. Mark Bishara:

Breast Lift before and after pictures with Dr. Mark Bishara:

Dr. Bishara provides a wide range of cosmetic procedures that are designed to improve the appearance of the body through minimally invasive techniques that provide highly effective results. Many of these procedures can be combined in order to achieve your desired appearance. All of our procedures are performed using the most advanced, state-of-the-art equipment.Please contact us for more information (817) 473-2120.