Body Lift

A body lift is a comprehensive surgical procedure to eliminate excess skin and sculpt away troublesome fat after a weight-loss journey. Depending on a patient’s age and how much weight they’ve lost, skin might be unable to retract to fit the new, more slender contours. Once patients reach their goal weight, they often are unprepared for how much excess skin and lingering fat they have. Though diet and exercise helped them lose weight, these two changes don’t address the loose skin that can hang from many areas of the body. With a body lift, Dr. Gordon Andan combines popular cosmetic procedures and tailors them to meet the patient’s desired results. Once they have fully healed, patients finally see the aesthetic results they have been working towards.

The first step on this journey is to schedule a personal consultation at our offices in New York City. Here, Dr. Andan will examine your skin’s condition and begin constructing a personalized treatment plan. To reach our offices directly, call us at (516) 746-0155.

After A Weight-Loss Journey

When we’re young, our skin works overtime to keep up with our growing bodies. Our skin’s internal structures bend and stretch to keep its surface smooth, tight, and blemish-free. But it doesn’t stop after our last growth spurt. All through our lives, our skin continually expands to keep up with weight changes. But problems arise when skin is stretched past its limits for years. When this happens, skin becomes inelastic and is unable to retract to its former appearance.^[1] Patients who go through massive weight loss journeys (typically over 100 pounds) have excess skin around their:

• Arms
• Abdomen
• Thighs
• Chest
• Back
• Buttocks

Stubborn, Hard-to-Lose Fat

When we improve our diet and exercise more often, our body responds by burning stored fat cells. But our body doesn’t burn all types of fat equally. The type of fat that is readily burned with diet and exercise is visceral fat.^[3] Deeper in the body, visceral fat forms around organs. When we lose weight, it’s visceral fat that sheds off our bodies first. On the other hand, subcutaneous fat takes is stored beneath the skin. Having large amounts of excess skin also means that a layer of subcutaneous fat will remain, adding weight and bulk to a patient’s frame. This is the stubborn, hard-to-lose type of fat. After a weight loss journey and months in the gym, subcutaneous fat can still mask hard-earned definition around the abdomen, legs, arms, and back. 

Upper Body Procedures

When crafting your body lift procedure, Dr. Andan will explain the upper body procedures. These procedures focus on the abdomen, the arms, and pockets of unwanted fat in various places around the torso. 

Tummy Tuck

A loose flap of abdominal skin is perhaps the most common occurrence after a weight loss journey. For men and women alike, loose abdominal skin can make wearing certain clothes unflattering or impossible. Pregnancy or obesity can also have caused the abdominal muscles to split from each other. Known as diastasis recti, this condition occurs when the muscles break away from the linea alba – the connective fibrous midline.^[4] This causes an unstable core and weak pelvic floor disorders like incontinence. Dr. Andan uses a tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, to remove excess skin from the abdomen and repair damaged muscles. There are a variety of incision techniques for this procedure, and Dr. Andan will choose the best approach for the amount of skin that needs to be removed, and the areas that need lifting and tightening. This may entail a circumferential abdominoplasty, in which an incision that encircles the waist is made to remove skin and lift the outer thighs and buttocks, as well as eliminated hanging skin on the abdomen.

Arm Lift

Also known as a Brachioplasty, an arm lift addresses the loose skin that hangs under the triceps. Excess skin hanging from the arms can be uncomfortable, embarrassing, and prevent shirts with sleeves from fitting correctly. To perform an arm lift, Dr. Andan starts with an incision along the arm’s underside. Then, he removes excess skin and closes the incisions with sutures. Patients enjoy a smaller circumference to the upper arm and firmer skin. This procedure has extremely high satisfaction rates, so much so that one study found that 94% of patients would choose to undergo the surgery again.^[5]

Liposuction

To address unwanted fat, Dr. Andan uses liposuction. Liposuction involves the use of an aspirating tube called a cannula that Dr. Andan passes along the subcutaneous tissue. The cannula suctions away fat cells, sculpting slimmer contours. This part of the body lift can be enhanced with the inclusion of either 360° liposuction or VASER liposuction. Both advanced technologies increase the amount of fat that can be safely removed and lessen the amount of tissue trauma. Liposuction can be used on both upper and lower body areas for optimal results. 

Lower Body Procedures

Excess skin around the legs and buttocks often interferes with mobility and can lead to painful irritation. When evaluating a patient for a body lift, Dr. Andan will also pay careful attention to a patient’s lower half. With operations centered around your legs and buttocks, Dr. Andan can eliminate cumbersome, hanging skin, and create smoother contours. Lower body procedures include:

Thigh Lift

During a thigh lift, Dr. Andan can address sagging tissue on the inner thighs, outer thighs, or both. Incisions can be discreetly made along the creases of the groin, and extend along the back of the thigh, if necessary. From here, he can excise excess skin and fat, and pull the skin tighter, allowing it to contour naturally to the underlying structures. Once he removes the desired amount of tissue, Dr. Andan sutures the incisions closed and wraps the legs in a compression garment. A thigh lift can greatly improve mobility, allowing patients to continue their healthy lifestyle more easily.

Candidates

If you are interested in scheduling a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Andan at our New York City offices, please fill out this convenient online form. Patients who are eligible for a body lift have:

Personal Consultation

If this is your first time with us, we will begin with a brief new patient intake interview and a physical examination. We will ask about your weight loss journey and recent medical history. Then, Dr. Andan will examine your excess skin and deposits of unwanted fat. Based on your desired results and skin laxity, Dr. Andan will configure a comprehensive treatment plan. Not all body lift procedures can be performed in the same surgical session, so you’ll have the opportunity to discuss your priorities, and a timeline for your transformation. 

Preparation

To prepare for a body lift, follow these basic instructions.

• Avoid blood-thinning medications such as aspirin and Advil. These cause excessive bleeding during surgery. If you are prescribed a blood thinner, consult with your doctor before discontinuing.
• Stop smoking and using all nicotine products a couple of weeks before. Nicotine disrupts the body’s natural healing response.
• Plan a ride home.
• Ready your home for rest and recovery. 
• Pre-fill all prescribed medications beforehand.

Procedure

Depending on what procedures your body lift includes, your procedure can range from 3 to 6 hours. Body lift procedures are performed under general anesthesia. Once Dr. Andan has addressed each area of concern and completed the last procedure, he will wrap every area in a compression wrap or garment. Then, you will be able to leave our care, go home, and focus on rest and recovery. 

Recovery

Dr. Andan and the team at New York Surgical Arts offer ongoing support to patients as they recover. We’ll call to check in once you’ve returned home, and you’ll return for follow-up appointments throughout your recovery. You will be required to wear a compression garment for a few weeks following your surgery. The compression garment encourages optimal blood flow and helps minimize swelling in the treatment areas for a quicker and more comfortable recovery.

Plan on taking at least a week off from work and other daily activities. However, it’s important to keep moving. Patients are encouraged to take short, regular walks once they return home and are fully awake from the anesthesia. As the days pass, they should increase the length of these walks to encourage healthy blood flow and avoid the risk of blood clots. Depending on the extent of your procedure, you may begin to gradually ease back into light exercise and your normal routine after the first couple of weeks. More vigorous activities should be avoided for several weeks.

You may notice a change in your body contours immediately following your body contouring procedure, but your final results will be obscured by swelling at first. As your body heals, and the swelling diminishes, you should be able to gradually see your more contoured figure. Depending on your procedure, it may take up to 3 to 6 months to see your final results.

How Much Does A Body Lift Cost in New York?

References

1. Boswell C. B. (2010). Body contouring following massive weight loss. Missouri medicine, 107(3), 189–194.
2. Mittal B. (2019). Subcutaneous adipose tissue & visceral adipose tissue. The Indian journal of medical research, 149(5), 571–573. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1910_18
3. Nahabedian M. Y. (2018). Management Strategies for Diastasis Recti. Seminars in plastic surgery, 32(3), 147–154. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1661380
4. Giordano, Salvatore. “Removal of Excess Skin after Massive Weight Loss: Challenges and Solutions.” Open Access Surgery, June 2015, p. 51, www.dovepress.com/removal-of-excess-skin-after-massive-weight-loss-challenges-and-soluti-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OAS, 10.2147/oas.s62235
5. Symbas, John D. MD; Losken, Albert MD An Outcome Analysis of Brachioplasty Techniques Following Massive Weight Loss, Annals of Plastic Surgery: May 2010 – Volume 64 – Issue 5 – p 588-591 doi:10.1097/SAP.0b013e3181c6cde8