Before and after post-weight loss abdominoplasty and liposuction in a 37-year-old woman who had lost over eighty pounds following gastric sleeve surgery. We recommend patients maintain a stable weight for at least two years before planning post-weight loss body contouring surgery to allow for the most stable and reliable results. Her weight had been stable for three years and she had started exercising for the first time in her life.
Along with a medial thigh lift and a brachioplasty, she wanted to improve the contour of her abdomen and flanks. While we usually recommend focusing on two major procedures at once, surgical planning involves shared decision-making between patient and surgeon and consideration of a patient’s available downtime, realistic budget and available postoperative care. A combined procedure lasting eight hours was performed where several major surgeries were performed at once.
After surgery, she took six weeks off work and exercise. Her abdominal drains remained in place for three weeks. It is very common for massive weight loss patients to produce postoperative wound fluid for many weeks after surgery – keeping drains in as long as possible helps to prevent complications such as postoperative seroma formation.
Like many post-weight loss patients, it took over three months for all her wounds to completed close. She wore compression garments under her clothes for three months and continued scar therapy for over a year. Follow up photos are shown a year and a half after surgery, with mature scars and her final results.
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
