Body Surgery – Dr Bill Lyon

Making a commitment to lose massive amounts of weight to improve your overall health and quality of life is one of the greatest ways that you can take care of yourself.  Unfortunately, you may not have expected to be left with loose skin and stubborn pockets of fat that keeps you from having a toned and healthy appearance.  Body contouring after weight loss involves a combination of body sculpting procedures to address your unique problem areas and help you feel more confident about showing off the results of your hard work and dedication to lose weight.

After pregnancy, weight loss or just plain aging, many people find themselves with excess skin and fat around the belly and decreased strength and tone of the muscles beneath. Abdominoplasty or “tummy tuck” addresses these problems for both women and men. The result is improved body contour and a smoother shape to the abdomen. During the tummy tuck surgery an incision is made within the “bikini” or “boxer” line under the abdomen; this helps to hide the scar under clothes following the procedure.

Liposuction is the most common plastic surgery procedure. The area to be treated is accessed with cannulas via small skin incisions.  The isolated area of excess fat is then artfully removed to leave behind a pleasing contour.  This is why some plastic surgeons refer to liposuction as “liposculpture.”  Additional modalities such as ultrasound, VASER® or SAFELipo® may be added to help rupture the fat cells and tighten the overlying skin.  If there are areas of volume deficiency, fat transfer can be done to add volume to those areas of deficiency.

Through an incision on the inside (medial) thigh, excess skin and fat are removed.  Because the thigh is a cylinder, tightening the skin in the medial side of the thigh will tighten the skin all the way around the thigh.  A medial thigh lift is usually combined with liposuction to remove more fat and further improve the contour of the thighs.

Through an incision in the armpit and down along the inside of the arm, excess skin and fat are removed.  Because the arm is a cylinder, tightening the skin on the medial side of the arm will tighten the skin all the way around the arm. A brachioplasty is usually combined with arm liposuction to remove more fat and further improve the contour of the arm.

A mummy makeover refers to a combination of procedures designed to rejuvenate the abdomen and breasts after pregnancy. For most women, this means an abdominoplasty (Tummy tuck) and augmentation-mastopexy (breast lift).

The procedure can sometimes be done during one surgery. Other times it is best to break the procedure up over more than one day. The patient’s body type and overall health helps us determine the best approach.