Body Lift in Miami, Fl
In today’s image-conscious society, looking one’s best is a top priority for many. Losing a large amount of weight is an amazing accomplishment with a long list of health and lifestyle benefits. Unfortunately, the excess skin and tissue can sometimes leave a person feeling less confident about their new body. Dr. Karlinsky-Bellini has seen how a body lift can help give her patients their bodies back after losing a large amount of weight — providing them with the toned and well-shaped contours they deserve.
What Is a Body Lift?
After massive weight loss, the body is unfortunately often left with large amounts of excess skin and tissue. These areas of loose skin can droop or hang off the body around the abdomen, buttocks, back, and thighs. Once skin reaches this point of laxity (or a loss of elasticity), it becomes impossible to reshape and firm the body’s contours with diet and exercise alone.
A body lift helps by addressing the excess skin and tissue to create a slimmer, natural-looking figure to complement your weight loss results. Depending on your specific condition, Dr. Karlinsky-Bellini will methodically make a series of incisions targeting your particular problem areas. From there, she can reshape the underlying tissue and repair damaged or stretched muscles to create a stronger, firmer foundation. The excess skin is removed, and incisions are closed to create a flatter, smoother contour.
Am I a Good Candidate for Body Lift Surgery?
Body lift surgery is a great and sometimes needed option for women and men who are struggling with large amounts of loose skin and tissue after massive weight loss – whether by diet and exercise or bariatric surgery.
A body lift can reduce loose skin and tissue throughout the body, including the following:
- Abdomen
- Buttocks
- Back
- Upper thighs
Dr. Karlinsky-Bellini recommends that you are at a stable weight before considering a body lift and that you are currently living a healthy lifestyle.
Schedule Your Consultation to find out if you’re a body lift candidate.
What Techniques Are Used for a Body Lift?
During your body lift procedure, sedation or general anesthesia will be used to ensure your comfort. Dr. Karlinsky-Bellini will create incisions around the chosen treatment areas (abdomen, buttocks, back, thighs), allowing her to remove excess skin and fat. Liposuction may be necessary for some patients to remove more fat than a body lift alone could address. When paired with a body lift, liposuction can address stubborn areas of fat and complement the body lift’s new contours, reducing excess skin, tissue, and fat left after massive weight loss.
After the excess skin and fat have been removed, the incisions will be closed, tightening the remaining skin into smooth, sculpted body contours.
What Is the Recovery from Body Lift Surgery Like?
In most cases, given the extent of this surgery, a body lift will require a more extended recovery period. Your specific procedure will be completely personalized based on your condition and health, and healing times will vary based on your unique case.
During a body lift, Dr. Karlinsky-Bellini skillfully addresses the multiple problem areas of loose skin while making as few incisions as possible. This helps to reduce the overall recovery time and will minimize post-surgical scarring.
Following your surgery, Dr. Karlinsky-Bellini will wrap the surgical site in gauze and a compression garment to help properly heal the skin and tissue. She will provide you with detailed care instructions at this time and will also provide you with her personal cell number in case any questions or concerns arise as you recover. The total amount of recovery time will vary based on several factors. If your surgery with Dr. Karlinsky-Bellini is performed as a staged approach (with individual surgeries performed separately instead of at once), recovery will be about 1-2 weeks following each stage. A complete body lift will require a longer recovery period after the surgery but may be an appropriate option for certain patients.
What Results Can I Expect After a Body Lift?
Your body lift results will be visible soon after your procedure, as removing the excess skin makes a noticeable difference. However, your body will still need to heal after surgery, so your full results will take time to develop completely. The compression garment you’ll wear after surgery will help reduce swelling and ensure the quality of your results. Sometimes, it may take one to two years for your body lift results to be fully realized, but if you maintain a stable weight, you should be able to enjoy your results for a long time.
Body Lift FAQ
How painful is body lift surgery?
Since anesthesia is typically used for body lift surgery, you won’t feel any pain during the procedure. After surgery, you may experience some soreness and swelling in the treatment areas, but this should subside throughout your recovery.
Is a body lift better than a tummy tuck?
Whether a body lift or tummy tuck is better for a particular patient depends on your body and goals. A body lift is best for patients who have lost significant weight and want to address excess skin in the abdomen, back, buttocks, and thighs—while a tummy tuck, on the other hand, is best for patients wanting to get rid of excess skin and fat just on the stomach.
Are my body lift results permanent?
A body lift cannot prevent natural signs of aging, so your skin will sag over time. However, body lift results are considered to be long-lasting if you maintain a stable weight.
