America has been struggling with the obesity epidemic for many years. In fact, according to the CDC, more than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese. While the rate of obesity has been stabilizing over the last few years, the average American today is twenty-four pounds heavier than in 1960.
Since the obesity epidemic was brought to the forefront, many Americans are making more conscientious choices when it comes to their health and fitness. Many people have turned to the help of surgical weight loss (Gastric Sleeve, Gastric Bypass, etc.) to make reaching their weight loss goals attainable. Celebrities including Sharon Osbourne from “The Talk”, Al Roker from the “Today Show”, Rosie O’Donnell from “The View”, and even Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, to name a few, have all had surgical weight loss procedures.
But, often what you don’t hear about are the changes to your appearance that occur after dramatic weight loss. The major unwanted side effect of massive weight loss is loose skin. Even though the weight is gone, pounds of excess skin remain on your frame and only serve as a reminder of just how far you had once let yourself go.
The good news? Plastic surgery can help uncover the figure underneath the layers of loose, redundant skin and give you the body you have worked so diligently to regain.
The most common surgery to begin with would be a circumferential body lift which concentrates on contouring the truncal region. Reason being, this area is often the most troublesome area for patients and often inhibits activities such as working out or even playing with their children. This surgery entails both the typical “tummy tuck” which removes skin and fat from the abdomen and diastasis repair (muscle tightening of your “six-pack” muscles), followed by removal of redundant skin and fat of the back. This allows the surgeon to sculpt a new, shapelier silhouette.
Brachioplasty is the surgery of choice to correct and contour the arms. Its sole aim is to remove the loose skin of the arms, tightening and shaping them. The same can be done for the thighs with a medial thigh lift. This requires an incision from the groin to just above the knee on the inner surface of the thighs to allow the scar to be disguised.
Often times these surgeries can be done in combination or separately. It is important to determine your surgical planning with your surgeon as well as have a physical with your primary physician to determine if you are healthy enough for a lengthier combination surgery. It more than likely will require more than one surgery to get you back to your best possible self. With the help of plastic surgery, you can say goodbye to compression garments and Spanx, and hello to sleeveless tops and designer jeans.