Timing Body Contouring after Major Weight Loss

Losing a significant amount of excess weight with diet and exercise or bariatric surgery requires tremendous dedication. Unfortunately, many people who lost a lot of weight are left with folds of loose, hanging skin on their breasts, abdomen, lower back, thighs, buttocks, arms, neck and lower face. Excess skin can conceal a person’s body shape that they worked so hard to achieve.

If you find yourself in this position, you might feel as though you cannot fully benefit from the rewards of your weight loss. Post-bariatric body contouring is designed to eliminate excess skin to accentuate your body’s new shape.

Timing post-bariatric body contouring properly is extremely important. Dr. Abhay Gupta explains the certain criteria that must be met before proceeding with elective cosmetic surgery.

Your Weight Should Be Stable

First and foremost, you should delay body contouring until you have reached your goal weight and maintained it for at least six months (although the exact timeline is up to the discretion of your medical team). According to Dr. Gupta, undergoing body contouring while your weight is fluctuating could compromise your aesthetic results. It is best to wait until your weight has stabilized so that your plastic surgeon can accurately plan your treatment.

You Are In Good Health

The right time to consider post-bariatric body contouring is when you are physically and mentally healthy. You should not have any health concerns or risk factors (like smoking, diabetes or heart disease) that could increase the chances of a complication during or after surgery. You will need to get a clean bill of health from your primary doctor before undergoing elective surgery.

You Have Reasonable Expectations

It is best not to have surgery unless you understand the possible risks of surgery and have reasonable expectations. For example, you will see marked improvements, but you will not look “perfect.” Also, you will have some scarring from cosmetic surgery (although it will fade over time). This is the trade-off to getting rid of excess skin and fully enjoying the benefits of your weight loss.

To learn more about post-bariatric body contouring, please request an appointment with Dr. Gupta at his San Diego practice today.

Fun Fact of the Month: One of the more unusual “diets” of the 19th century involved chewing a mouthful of food at least 100 times per minute before swallowing. The creator of the technique, a nutritionist named Horace Fletcher, believed that “Fletcherizing” would reduce the amount of food a person consumed.