Body Lift

A belt lipectomy, also known as a body lift, is a procedure performed to remove excessive skin and fatty tissue from the body. This can be caused by excessive weight loss or due to aging. A more extensive procedure than a tummy tuck, the body lift is performed on not just the stomach but on the lower torso, upper legs as well as the hips, back, buttocks and outer thighs.

Why Get a Body Lift?

It is not always possible to achieve the perfect body just through diet and exercise, especially for people who have loose and saggy skin. Aging, sun exposure, cellulite and genetics can cause a decrease in the elasticity in the skin and case sagging of the stomach, buttocks and thighs. A body lift can help tighten all these areas up.

Candidates for Body Lift

This procedure is best suited for people who have lost a lot of weight – either through gastric bypass, intestinal by pass, or due to a change in nutrition and exercise plans – and have a lot of excess skin on their body that they want to remove. It can also be suitable for people who want to lose 30-40 pounds but cannot do so through diet and exercise. It is also an option for women who have gone through pregnancy and are unable to reduce their weight with just diet and exercise.

The Body Lift Procedure

The order in which the surgeon performs the body lift procedure on the body will vary for each patient. Usually, the surgeon will first operate on the stomach – removing extra skin from the belly button to the pubic area and tightening the abdominal muscles – since this is the area that has the most sagging skin and excess fat after weight loss or pregnancy. The fat and skin from above the navel is also pulled down and stitched into place with the belly button being pulled to its normal position.

After the stomach has been operated on, the surgeon will move on to the buttocks and thighs where the incisions will be as inconspicuous as possible. Sometimes, to remove fat, the surgeon will also use liposuction. This entire procedure can take from three to seven hours and is done under general anesthesia.

Recovery

Since a body lift is a major surgery it can require quite a bit of recovery time. Most patients stay in the hospital from one to three nights and usually return to work after four to six weeks. Patients are encouraged to walk after the surgery, but told to refrain from heavy exercise until their body has had a chance to heal, which can take from six to eight weeks. About 75% of the swelling will go down after seix weeks and 90% after three months.

If you wish to get more information about Body Lift, please call our office today.