Major Weight Loss and Post Bariatric Surgery

Whether it’s the “American diet”, society’s stresses, or other factors, obesity in the USA has had an enormous increase in the last 50 years. With significant weight gain comes many other maladies. Unfortunately, if someone loses large amounts of weight through diet, exercise, better nutrition or through weight loss surgery (Bariatric surgery) the skin doesn’t recoil back to a youthful quality. Necks sag, breasts droop and tummies hang as loose skin like an empty bag. While the weight loss provides the physiologic improvements to our blood sugars, blood pressures, joints and health risks, our self image may still suffer greatly from the extra, hanging skin. Tucson plastic surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Nelson can accomplish amazing work techniques to improve and correct the late effects to the skin following weight loss. Abdominoplasty, extended abdominoplasty or circumferential belt lipectomy are varying degrees of skin and fat removal around the waist and or back to eliminate all the loose skin. Muscle tightening and other affiliated procedures greatly enhance the overall result. Extensive knowledge of the anatomy, as well as newer modifications of techniques, provides many options that can be tailored to an individual patient’s needs.

Breast lifts can often be modified to use the patient’s own lateral chest or back tissues to function as “tissue breast implants” to enhance the lost volume of the breast. Patients may also choose to have formal breast augmentation with removal of the loose breast skin to create an ideal breast shape. Arm lifts or Brachioplasties can greatly enhance the contours of the arms and eliminate the loose swinging skin that may drape off the arm following weight loss. Medial thigh lifts can be performed in several ways to maximize the aesthetic contour of the leg, thighs and knees.

As we lose weight our face and neck may droop significantly and new and varied options in face and neck lifting allow Tucson plastic surgeon Dr. Nelson to add volume to the face while creating a more youthful appearance. Fat injections, various volumizing fillers and surgical use of the patients own anatomy can create beautiful results. Mini face lift and standard face lift techniques permit us to move the patients’ natural facial volume back to a more youthful position. Tightening the neck muscles that have loosened with time (platysmaplasty) greatly enhance the neck contours. Different techniques are utilized depending on an individual’s aesthetic desires.

Tucson plastic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Nelson has 20 years of experience training other doctors and performing body contouring procedures in post Bariatric weight loss patients.