Post-Bariatric Body Contouring May Be A Necessity

March 15, 2006
With the number of weight loss surgeries performed in the United States rapidly growing, body-contouring procedures are also on the rise. Doctors are now advising that body contouring following bariatric surgery may not be just a luxury, but instead a necessity for some. Body contouring procedures are intended to restore the body back to shape following major weight loss surgery, by alleviating the signs of excess sagging skin.

Teresa Gretencord decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery at age 45, weighing 350 pounds prior to the surgery. The procedure resulted in gradual weight loss amounting to over 165 pounds within the year. However, Gretencord's new size left her with pounds of unwanted sagging skin that she was unable to lose as she lost the weight.

“With most patients you're talking two, three, four stages of surgery, depending on what they need,” commented plastic surgeon Jeff Kenkel, the chairman of the post-bariatric task force of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “You're probably talking about a four-to five-year process from having the bariatric surgery, losing the weight over one or two years, and then completing the body contouring, which can be another couple of years,” the surgeon added.

And for Gretencord it was not a one-step process. The patient decided to undergo a lower-body lift, a common body contouring procedure, to remedy her unrelenting excess skin problem. “Mine was a seven-hour procedure. He actually took about 10 pounds of skin. Then he did extensive liposuction down in my legs and back and stomach and thighs. I went from a size 14 to a size 8 or 10 just from the body contouring ,” Gretencord said.

The results following a body contouring procedure may be dramatic and necessary to complete the process of weight-loss surgery. Available procedures include major contouring such as the lower body and whole-body lifts, as well as face, thighs, neck, upper arms, buttocks, stomach and breast lifts .

According to Dr. Stan Hoehn, a bariatric surgeon, it is important to be very upfront about this fact with weight loss surgery patients. “It is a matter of fact: If you lose 150 pounds from an elastic organ such as skin, you're going to have saggy skin.”

In many cases, pounds of excess skin may result in ulcers, infections and rashes , making it medically necessary to undergo a body contouring procedure.

However, this procedure is not without risks. Doctors advise that body-contouring procedures should be considered as major of a surgical process as the initial bariatric procedure. “ It's very involved. One operation can take six to eight hours ,” according to Dr. Jeffrey Dillow, a plastic surgeon in Overland Park, Kansas. And as with any major surgical procedure, there are significant risks such as blood clots and infection .

The recovery time for a body contouring procedure may be extensive . Patients are often required to take a disability vacation and may need drainage tubes or elastic garmenting while the body adjusts to its new form.

Between the years of 2000 and 2004, the number of body contouring procedures in the United States increased by 77 percent and is estimated to be still on the rise, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

“If you look long-term, 10 years out, we won't have enough plastic surgeons to treat all of these patients,” Kenkel commented on the rapid growth in body contouring procedures.

To learn more about body contouring, you may wish to speak with a qualified board certified plastic surgeon regarding your questions and concerns.

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