At Dr. Fedele’s practice, we consider a variety of procedures — liposuction, a thigh/buttock lift, a tummy tuck, and an arm lift — to all be “body contouring” procedures. But in cases where the patient has lost a great deal of weight, we think of “body contouring” to be one overarching procedure that involves each of the four procedures listed above or some combination of them.
Whether you lost the weight through serious lifestyle change or bariatric surgery doesn’t matter. What matters is that you did the hard part and lost the weight. But skin that has been over-stretched for too long often cannot tighten back down to its former contour. So now you’re a markedly smaller person, but you’re surrounded with sagging, loose skin that looks to be many sizes too large.
This can be really depressing. You lost the weight, but now what you see is anything but attractive. Fortunately, body contouring with Dr. Fedele can tighten your skin and tissue down to your new contours, effectively finishing the weight loss procedure.
Body contouring with Dr. Fedele reduces the excess fat and skin that remains in multiple body areas. The end result is a firmer, more contoured overall appearance, a look that you’ll love!
The problem areas
The problem is your now-sagging skin. When your skin has been severely stretched and is now unsupported by the expanded tissues and fat you had while you were heavy, it will sag in pockets. These are the most common areas:
- Breasts, causing the nipples to point downward and the breasts to flatten
- Face, neck, and jowls giving a droopy, sad appearance
- Upper arms creating “bat wings”
- Abdominal area giving you an apron-like overhang
- Buttocks, groin, and thighs leaving hanging pockets of skin
Four surgeries
No two situations are the same and Dr. Fedele knows this. During your consultation, the two of you will discuss your goals and areas you want to address. Then, you will decide on which of the procedures you feel you want to include in your body contouring.
- Lower body lift to correct sagging of the abdomen, buttocks, groin, and outer thighs
- Breast lift to correct sagging, flattened breasts
- Arm lift to correct sagging of the upper arms
- Thigh lift to correct sagging of the inner, outer, and mid-thigh
Recovery
As you would assume with various surgeries combined into one session, body contouring is not an easy recovery. There will be swelling and scarring. You won’t be able to strain or lift anything for several weeks. If your abdomen and thighs have been addressed you may have to avoid standing fully upright to avoid stressing the internal sutures.
This surely sounds extreme, but the end result is what you have to remember while you are recovering. The prospect of having a firmer, contoured body that matches your new smaller size is the goal, and there will be discomfort but you need to keep the end goal in mind. It will also help to remember that you’re going through a single recovery period, rather than three or four recoveries if the procedures were done independently.
If you’ve lost dramatic amounts of weight and aren’t happy with the sagging that remains, call Dr. Fedele at 216-464-1616 and schedule a consultation for body contouring.