Similar to a tummy tuck, a lipectomy is surgery to remove fat and loose skin around your “belt line” or waist. The procedure can also remove excess skin from your lower back, arms, and thighs so you get a more contoured look following a major weight loss.
Jan Garcia, Jr., MD of Plastic Surgery Arts expertly performs this surgery on people who have lost a great deal of weight but still have excess skin that makes them feel self-conscious and unattractive.
If you live in the area of Webster, Texas, and are bothered by your body’s appearance, despite being of relatively normal weight, read on to learn if this procedure can help you.
Lipectomy is a solution for stretched-out skin that remains after dramatic weight loss. When you gain weight – and a lot of it – your skin stretches out to accommodate the extra fat. When you lose this weight, your skin doesn’t automatically shrink back. As a result, you’ve achieved a more normal weight but still look overweight with extra folds of skin and tissue around your belly, thighs, or arms.
A lipectomy is a relatively simple procedure. Dr. Garcia makes an incision around your lower abdomen and love handles, removes the excess tissue, and stitches the remaining skin back together. He performs similar steps if you opt for a lipectomy in other areas, such as your arms or thighs.
You’re placed under general anesthesia for this procedure. Recovery may involve some discomfort, but the doctor provides antibiotics to prevent infection and pain medications to help you stay as comfortable as possible. Depending on the extent of your surgery, you may spend one night in the hospital.
You may go home with tubes underneath your skin to drain any fluid that builds up around the incision sites. The staff at Plastic Surgery Arts Center provides you with a complete after-care plan that includes movement modifications until you’ve fully healed.
People who’ve lost a lot of weight, often with bariatric surgery, are the best candidates for lipectomy. Oftentimes, they find that excess skin keeps them from looking the way they’d hoped, because the extra folds of skin are anything but slimming.
In addition to being unattractive, the excess skin can cause discomfort and problems such as:
Your self-esteem and confidence may suffer, too, as a result of excess skin.
Lipectomy resolves much of the discomfort, hassle, and embarrassment associated with excess skin. The best candidates have a fairly stable weight and are nonsmokers. The surgery is generally safe and well-tolerated by most people.
Dr. Garcia and our team at Plastic Surgery Arts Center want you to feel good about your appearance. If you’ve worked hard to lose weight but still have excess skin, achieve the slimmer, fitter looking body you deserve with a lipectomy. Call our office in Webster, Texas, or schedule an appointment online to learn more and find out if the procedure is right for you.
