You’ve Lost the Weight! What’s Next?

Congratulations! You’ve done the hard part – losing the weight. Losing significant weight either through surgical (gastric bypass) or non-surgical (exercise and nutrition) means is a great accomplishment, but unfortunately, it can also leave extensive amounts of extra skin that no longer moves with you. If the skin rolls onto itself or pinches, it can cause discomfort. Fortunately, body contouring surgery can offer a solution to remove the excess skin.

Almost any area of the body can be contoured, including the face, neck, arms, breast, tummy, back, hip, buttocks, thighs, and calves. Marking is done the day before surgery, which eliminates the rush and additional nervousness just before the procedure.

The cornerstone of body contouring for a massive weight loss (MWL) patient is the abdominoplasty. Removing the excess skin and repairing muscle weakness leaves the tummy not only in great shape, but also improves the flank, upper thighs, and mons.

Patient safety is key in preventing complications. Extensive time is spent positioning and padding the patient, as well as keeping them warm before, during, and after surgery. Special stockings and compression boots are worn to minimize the risk of blood clots.

Two of the main post-operative fears with any cosmetic procedure are pain and nausea. Dr. Poulter utilizes a successful multimodal therapy to help prevent and relieve those symptoms. This pain regimen includes Exparel – a local anesthetic injected at the time of surgery that lasts three days, and coordinated medications that affect different pain centers. Less narcotic intraoperatively and use of a patch to treat motion sickness help prevent postoperative nausea. Limiting a patient’s pain and nausea reduces healing time and results in a better experience and outcome.

Losing a lot of weight is a great achievement and a step towards a more active, healthier life. If you’ve reached your goal weight and your weight has remained stable for at least 6 months, you may be a candidate for skin removal surgery.

Schedule a consultation with Dr. Poulter today or call our office at (309) 663-1222 or Toll Free at (888) 841-4108 and get on the road to looking and feeling your best.