Post Bariatric Surgery

Post Bariatric Surgery

Jefferson K. Kilpatrick, MD | Russell B. Stokes, MD | Hannah Parbst, Esthetician

Bariatric Surgery alters the digestive system of obese patients by using techniques such as gastic bypass or gastic banding. Bariatric patients may lose up to 80 percent of their pre-operative excess weight. While this weight loss is exciting, it usually results in the appearance of a large amount of loose skin. Also, since weight loss may not occur evenly throughout the body, there are often pockets of excess fat.

The only solution for loose skin after bariatric surgery is plastic surgery. Dr. Stokes, a member of The American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons, is extremely experienced in the unique care of post-bariatric patients and performs many surgeries including: abdominoplasty (surgery of the abdomen), brachioplasty (surgery of the upper arm), thigh lift, breast lift, breast reduction, rhytidectomy (surgery of the neck and/or face) and central body lift (belt lipectomy). To remove excess fat, Dr. Stokes utilizes various liposculpture techniques.

Most of these surgeries are covered in more detailed in the Body Contouring (Abdominoplasty, Brachioplasty, Thigh-lift, Liposculpture), Breast Surgery (Breast lifts and reductions) or Facial Surgery (Rhytidectomy) sections of this website. Please refer to them for additional information.

Many patients require a combination of procedures following Bariatric Surgery. A common combination is breast surgery, abdominoplasty and sometimes liposculpture. Another combination of procedures, called a Central Body Lift (also called a belt lipectomy), is like a facelift for the trunk. The procedure combines the traditional abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), lateral thigh lift, and buttock lift. The result is body contouring of the entire trunk.

Procedure

Depending on the extent of your surgery, your procedure can take from 30 minutes to several hours. It can be performed under local anesthesia, which numbs the area, combined with a sedative to make you drowsy, or your surgeon may use an epidural block instead. For more extensive liposuction and/or excisional surgery, a general anesthesia may be used. 

Your Surgeon

Prior to undergoing any bariatric procedure it is important to consult with your surgeon. Together you can plan to deal with removing the final mark of your obesity … the excess skin left behind after your body loses weight. 

Depending on the amount of correction needed and the number of areas that need correction, your surgeon may advise you to undergo multiple procedures to keep the procedures manageable and safe. 

Jefferson K. Kilpatrick, MD ∙ Russell B. Stokes ∙ Hannah Parbst, Esthetician