Losing a significant amount of weight is an accomplishment, but you may experience some minor disappointment if your body does not look as good as you may have pictured in your head. This can occur if loose skin appears as your weight comes off. In this blog, board-certified plastic surgeons Dr. Garrett Harper and Dr. Robert Graper discuss what you can do about loose skin to see the body you worked so hard to achieve.
The Source of Loose Skin
When your body gains weight — perhaps from consuming excess calories or becoming pregnant — your skin expands so that it can fit over the new, larger size of your body. While skin is meant to be elastic enough to contract when that weight comes off, your skin may not respond in this way, particularly if you are older. Skin elasticity is largely due to proteins like elastin and collagen; production of these proteins decreases over time due to factors like sun damage and aging.
Moreover, the longer your skin has expanded, the less likely it is for the skin to easily retract when you later lose weight. You may assume that if you diet and exercise more that it will get rid of the loose skin, but a healthy lifestyle can only burn fat. Since fat exists beneath the skin, this does nothing to address the skin, unfortunately.
How Plastic Surgery Is Beneficial?
If you would like to improve your body contours after weight loss, a “lift” procedure can probably do the trick. Plastic surgery is the most effective solution for removing excess skin that hangs from the body. Some of the procedures we offer to deal with loose skin include:
Tummy Tuck
Abdominoplasty addresses the muffin top of skin that can form around your midsection. Because your stomach is one of the first areas to accumulate fat, it is a popular place to remove loose skin.
Arm Lift
Skin may dangle from the upper arms after you lose weight. Brachioplasty excises extra skin to give the arms a younger and sleeker look.
Thigh Lift
Thigh fat can be stubborn, and even if you do manage to lose weight in this area, extra skin can keep your legs looking thicker than you wish. Thigh lift helps your midsection look more proportionate to the rest of your body.
Facelift/Neck Lift
Dramatic weight loss can lead to a loss of volume in the face, leaving sagging skin that prematurely ages your appearance. Facelift can help to rejuvenate the face by recontouring to your new size.
Breast Lift
Weight loss can also accelerate the rate at which your breasts droop due to loose skin. Mastopexy removes this excess skin so the breasts sit at an elevated, youthful position on the chest.
Note: If you have stubborn fat deposits that you would like to remove to further improve the appearance of your contours, all the aforementioned procedures can be combined with liposuction.
Schedule a Consultation
After putting in the work to lose your excess weight, you have earned the right to attain the contours you’ve dreamed of with cosmetic surgery. At Graper Harper Cosmetic Surgery, meet with one of our outstanding surgeons to determine if a lift procedure makes sense for you. Call (704) 375-7111 to make an appointment at our Charlotte, NC office.