Congratulations on your great weight loss success. As a result, you may now be faced with a new concern, loose skin and residual fat deposits in multiple areas of your body. Dr. Michaels is one of a few plastic surgeons to have completed a fellowship specifically dedicated to body contouring after significant weight loss. During your consultation, Dr. Michaels will carefully listen to your concerns and goals and a specific treatment plan will be tailored to your exact needs.
A circumferential body lift is a combination of an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), lateral thigh lift, and buttock lift (with or without auto-augmentation) and requires a 360 degree incision. It involves the removal of skin from your abdomen, lateral thighs and buttocks. It is the single biggest procedure that Dr. Michaels offers to recontour your body. Maryland plastic surgeon Dr. Michaels tries to position these incisions so that they will be hidden by your undergarments or a bathing suit.
In Dr. Michaels’ practice, plastic surgery after weight loss is not simply the removal of excess skin. His goal is to remove excess skin and tissue where needed and to preserve tissue in other areas to provide you with optimal skin tightening and the best contour. One common complaint of patients after weight loss is that they have lost their buttock shape and fullness. Although a circumferential body lift will remove excess skin from your buttock, it can often leave you with a flattened buttock appearance. To prevent this from happening, Dr. Michaels will preserve tissue in your buttock region that is often discarded by other plastic surgeons. This tissue will then be rotated and shaped into an “internal buttock implant” made out of your own tissue. This procedure will optimize your buttock projection and provide you with the buttock fullness that you desire. This procedure is called gluteal or buttock autoaugmentation. Depending on your specific goals, Dr. Michaels will discuss with you whether buttock autoaugmentation will be a necessary part of your procedure during your consultation.
Before and After Photos
A circumferential body lift can also be performed in stages. During the first stage, you would undergo an extended tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) to improve your abdominal contour. After waiting a minimum of three months, a lateral thigh lift and buttock lift (with or without autoaugmentation) would be performed. This incision would then connect with your tummy tuck incision completing the 360 degree incision.
Quick Facts
Length
5-8 hours (depending on extent of procedure)
Anesthesia
General
In/outpatient
Inpatient with 1-2 night stay
Side effects
Temporary swelling, bruising, tightness and some pain
Risks
Pain, bleeding, infection, rare damage to nerves, asymmetry, incomplete improvement, recurrent laxity
Recovery
10-14 days back at work. 2-3 weeks light exercise. 3-4 weeks more strenuous activity. 8-12 weeks for swelling to resolve.
Duration of results
Can be permanent if diet and exercise are maintained
If you would like to learn more about a circumferential body lift, click here or call 301.468.5991 to schedule a consultation.
