Post-obesity body lift surgery

The following text was used for the official brochure of the French Society of Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (SOFCEP)

Body lift surgery is an operation that helps remove excess skin and fat from the middle third of the body in a single procedure and with a single waistline scar as the only reminder.

This procedure can be described the removal of a 15 to 40 cm high band of skin from around the body, similar to taking up a pair of trousers.

The body lift therefore works:

1. At the front on:
   • The abdomen which is flat and pulled down
   • The pubis which is reduced, flattened and lifted
   • The frontal side of the thighs, which are lifted to mid-height
   • The upper half of the inner thigh which is also somewhat lifted
2. On the sides on:
   • Lateral skin folds that spill over the waist band
   • The waistline, which becomes more pronounced
3. At the back on:
   • The "saddle bag" area which is flattened and pulled down
   • The hips which are fully flattened
   • The buttocks which are lifted and reshaped by enhancement or reduction
   • The small of the back which is re-contoured

This operation applies to many cases with excess skin, with in order of frequency:

• The after-effects of significant weight loss after dieting, gastric ring surgery or a by-pass
• The after-effects of liposuction whereby the skin does not tighten after fat removal
• Patients over 50 with slackening skin often due to excess sun exposure
• Younger patients with slack skin from birth
• Patients with sagging buttocks (the body lift is the modern method for lifting the buttocks without leaving visible scarring outside of the string)

The scar may appear major but experience proves that its is well accepted by patients if properly positioned.
The location of the scar can be chosen before the surgery in order to adapt as well as possible to the type of clothing worn by the patient.
Currently, a low-lying scar is usually preferred in order to allow wearing of low-rising jeans. However, it is also possible to choose a higher placement for the scar in order to better adapt to low-cut “Brazilian” style swimsuits.

Modern techniques are sufficiently sophisticated in order to allow patients to easily opt for this choice.

The scar must also be symmetrical.
There is nothing more unsightly than an asymmetrical scar, especially when the difference exceeds a few inches. This will make it difficult to hide it with a swimsuit.

The body lift is still a little-practiced procedure in spite of a very high patient satisfaction rate.
The results are always spectacular since a large amount of skin and/or fat is simply removed.
The effectiveness of a body lift is all the more striking in that it applies to areas difficult to slim down by dieting and hence more problematic for choosing clothing.
The extent of changes occurring more specifically in formerly obese individuals are so surprising that it is necessary to prepare them psychologically.

In France, Social Security may agree to reimburse a low percentage of the expenses of a gastroplasty.

To conclude, thanks to new techniques, the body lift has now become a much more reliable and effective surgical procedure whilst avoiding all complicated postoperative effects.

Afterwards bodylift and face-lift of the internal faces of thighs.

Rare case of Bodylift with external lateral scar allowing a very important reduction of volume. 22 kg excision.