Body Contouring Surgery Surges in Popularity Along with Weight Loss Surgery

Earlier this month, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons released its annual report that highlights the latest trends in plastic surgery and breaks down the numbers by each procedure. One of the biggest revelations of this report was that number of body contouring surgeries, such as arm lifts, tummy tucks, or breast lifts, had grown at their fastest pace compared to the past few years. This growth also happens to coincide with an uptick in the number of weight loss surgeries performed in the past year. These two types of surgery, while different in goals and method, are closely related in helping patients achieve their body image goals.

What Makes Body Contouring Surgery Different From Weight Loss Surgery?

Most patients who seek out body contouring surgery do so after they have already lost a significant amount of weight, either through diet and exercise or weight loss surgery. There are four types of weight loss surgery most commonly used by surgeons to help patients who suffer from obesity; they are gastric bypass, gastric band, gastric sleeve, and duodenal switch. Each of these is designed to limit the amount of food a person can intake so that they can burn more calories than they ingest. Over a period of one to two years, a patient can lose as much as 70% of their body fat from having weight loss surgery.

Once the weight is lost, patients can celebrate being a smaller size and having a healthier body. However, extreme weight loss can leave a person with lots of excess skin that hangs off the frame. The extra skin tissue can be very uncomfortable for patients and make them self-conscious about how their body looks, even after losing all that weight. This is where body contouring surgery comes in. About 25% of all weight loss surgery patients follow up with body contouring.

Body contouring surgery tightens and tones your body to give it some definition. This involves removing fat deposits, trimming away extra skin, and then lifting the remaining tissue back into place. You can get body contouring on several different areas of your body; most patients have the surgery on their arms, legs, and/or around the middle. Body contouring can be done in one or multiple sessions.

How Should You Go About Getting Body Contouring?

If you haven’t had weight loss surgery yet and are planning to do so in the future, you should talk to a plastic surgeon about your plans and how body contouring can help. For many patients, weight loss surgery is only one step in the process to becoming a healthier, fitter person; including a plastic surgeon in your weight loss plans can help you stay on top of your body goals and give you a better idea of what will help you achieve those goals once the weight is lost. The plastic surgeon can also help you by staying informed on your progress and will be able to advise you much better when they are part of the entire process.

If you have already had weight loss surgery and are looking into body contouring surgery, congratulations on taking this first step! Once your weight has stabilized over several months and you can set up an appointment with a plastic surgeon to discuss any problem areas you’re having and allow them to assess your body to determine whether body contouring surgery will be the most beneficial.

To schedule a body contouring consultation with Dr. Frederick G. Weniger, M.D., F.A.C.S. , call (843) 757-0123 or send us an email at our Contact page.