A Lower Body Lift/Belt Lipectomy helps remove excess skin and fat from the back, love handles, and saddle bag area. This procedure is most performed after massive weight loss.
As with many plastic surgery procedures, the surgical technique used to address this area depends on the severity of the excess skin. In mild cases, certain non-surgical or minimally invasive procedures can be performed to help tighten and lift the excess skin and fatty tissue. In other cases, surgery is required to achieve maximum results. While liposuction can sometimes help with back rolls and excess tissue, belt lipectomy or lower body lift may be required to remove the excess skin that will never go away with just diet and exercise.
A Lower Body Lift/Belt Lipectomy is often referred to as a circumferential body lift or Body lift 360, as it is most performed along with abdominoplasty in massive weight loss patients. The procedure involves an incision that goes completely around or nearly completely around the waistline. This allows a significant amount of skin and fat to be removed creating a smoother, sleeker contour. Extensive measures are taken to conceal these scars as best as possible and use aggressive scar management techniques to keep the scars as light and inconspicuous as possible.
Patients who have undergone massive weight loss or have developed excess back skin or love handles with age are very self-conscious about this area. They complain that clothes don’t fit correctly and are bothered by excess skin rolls. Patients also have problems with excess moisture under the skin which causes hygiene issues, A Lower Body Lift/Belt Lipectomy helps lift and suspend the lower body to recreate curves and get rid of the excess skin and rolls present even after significant weight loss. The lift also improves the sageness in the intimate area.
A Lower Body Lift/Belt Lipectomy procedure is often a careful balance between scarring and contour. While everyone’s goal is to maximize contour and minimize scarring, sometimes a tradeoff must exist. This trade off secures the possibility to have complications and any breakdowns in wounds.
Many patients seeking Lower Body Lift/Belt Lipectomy have undergone massive weight loss and require removal of excess skin from several areas of the body including the arms, abdomen, thighs, breast, and face. Additionally, many of these patients have lost volume in their buttocks and breast area, leaving them saggy and deflated. The most common surgeries performed along with Lower Body Lift/Belt Lipectomy are abdominoplasty, liposuction, breast lift (with or without breast augmentation using a breast implant or fat grafting), brachioplasty (arm lift), thigh lift, upper bra line back lift, and buttocks augmentation.
Your recovery will depend on the type of procedure performed. You will likely have a surgical garment with surgical dressings in place. It is normal to have some drainage on these dressings after surgery. Depending on the type of procedure, you may also have some drain tubes in place. The V.A.C technology may be deployed to enhance healing in the inscion lines. You will be given a scar care kit and detailed instructions regarding scar management.