Body Contouring After Massive Weight Loss

"I could not stop feeling like an obese person with all of this extra hanging skin reminding me daily about the weight that I carried around for years. Here I lost so many pounds; yet I was tucking my stomach into my pants." — Chris, age 37

20,630 Americans underwent Body Lift or extended tummy tuck after massive weight loss in 2005. This was a 22% increase from the previous year. This number will continue to grow dramatically as more people undergo Bariatric Surgery or Gastric Bypass to treat their Morbid Obesity.

Stretching of the abdominal skin from pregnancy only occurs in the front of the abdomen. To the contrary, the skin of the entire torso stretches with massive weight gain, thus creating excessive skin folds and flab which are circumferential- both in the front and the back. Therefore, a standard tummy tuck or abdominoplasty would not suffice for those who have lost extreme weight. These people are better served with a Body lift, Belt Lipectomy, or circumferential Torsoplasty. Besides removing the excess skin, a body lift also tightens the abdominal wall muscles, contours and shapes the lower back and flanks, lifts and forms the buttocks,

"I lost 160 pounds through diet and exercise. I was thrilled at first, but then ending up with chronic infections and boils from the folds of skin on my stomach. The surgery to remove it was difficult – it took weeks to recover, and the scarring is visible. But I'm so much more comfortable now, and I'm thrilled to wear clothes that I once only dreamed of wearing."

lifts the inner and out thighs, and removes the redundant and hanging Mons pubis. Because of its dramatic effect on tightening the thighs and the buttocks it is also called a Lower Body Lift.

A Body Lift is quite more involved and time consuming than even an extended abdominoplasty, thus the surgeon that performs its must not only be experienced in it, but must also utilize proper surgical facility and staff.

Unlike a body lift a Panniculectomy is more like an abdominoplasty in that it only addresses the hanging pannus of the anterior abdomen. Unlike a tummy tuck, a panniculectomy most often does not include extensive or even any tightening of the abdominal wall. It is designed mostly for patients with extremely large, heavy, and hanging abdominal pannus who are too fragile to undergo a longer abdominoplasty procedure.

Often, obesity results in the over-stretching and the weakening of the abdominal wall, which produces a Ventral Hernia. This and other types of hernias can also be repaired at the time of a tummy tuck or body lift.

Dr. Younai is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon with formal training in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, as well as General Surgery at some of the most prestigious university residencies in the United States. As a cosmetic plastic surgeon he has had ample experience in performing post-bariatric body contouring surgeries including tummy tuck, abdominoplasty, Panniculectomy, belt Lipectomy, repair of ventral hernia, body lift, thigh lift, Brachioplasty, upper body lift, breast reduction, and breast lift.

At the California Center for Plastic Surgery Dr. Younai will review your treatment options for massive weight loss body contouring, including pros and cons of each procedure, potential risks and complications, recovery course, pre and post operative instructions, and aesthetic outcomes. There are also many before-and-after pictures and high resolution images of such procedures available in our photo gallery.

Dr. Younai receives patients from the Northern as well as the Southern California region. Some of these cities include Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Burbank, Pasadena, Glendale, Valencia, Palmdale, Fresno, and Oxnard.

Dr. Younai performs his surgeries at the Regency Surgery Center which is certified by Medicare, Blue Cross, AAAHC, and AAAASF. This state-of-the-art surgical facility is specially equipped and staffed to care for patients with massive weight loss. This outpatient surgery center is located in Encino, and near Sherman Oaks, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, and Northridge.