During the last decade, several operations have been designed that are rather simple in design and straightforward in execution. The current body lift surgeries are an extension of the thinking that South American plastic surgeons had started but are even simpler and hide the scars even better.These procedures remove redundant, loose and hanging skin from the body, after extreme weight loss and/or gastric bypass surgery. Liposuction is always used as an ancillary procedure.

The operations include the side extensions to abdominoplasty ( tummy tuck) which are the lateral thigh lift, brachioplasties (arm lift), inner thigh lifts, outer thigh lifts. The outer thigh lift operation helps lift the buttocks and the saddlebag areas just as if lifting loose pants. The scars are under the underwear line. An extension of the lateral thigh lifts with the joining of the two side incisions would result in a circumferential lift, including the removal of some skin from the lower back. In those cases, the procedure is called a belt lift. Just imagine a wide swath of skin being removed where one might wear a wide belt.

The operations are time consuming simply because of the length of the incisions and the number of sutures required. Recovery is relatively fast for healthy individuals.It takes about 3 weeks to recover, 6 weeks to go back to work and 8 weeks to start exercising. The long term side effects include long scars but they remain relatively thin. They could take up to two years to fade completely. The scars of these operations can be seen in some of the pictures on our website. Results are permanent,assuming the patient does not have weight fluctuations.