Although massive weight loss surgery (bariatric surgery) can help an individual meet some of his/her weight goals, excessive amounts of hanging skin may remain. This can create the need for excess skin removal surgery. Dr. Carlos Illich Navarro from Mommy Makeover Tijuana can perform a combination of Body Contouring Procedures to diminish the appearance of excess skin.

At Dr. Navarro’s practice, patients may anticipate a comfortable and rewarding experience. He and his staff will be attentive to your needs, listen to your cosmetic surgery concerns, and individualize a plan that directly meets your desired goals.

Body contouring, is a surgical procedure that aims to reshape an area of the body. It may involve procedures to:

• Get rid of extra skin.
• Eliminate excess fat.
• Reshape or contour the area.

Body Contouring

Body contouring, or body sculpting, can eliminate fat, shape areas of the body and tighten skin.

Body contouring does not usually help you lose weight. Instead, it helps shape the body and address specific areas where weight loss isn’t effective or after significant weight loss results in extra skin.

After achieving major weight loss, bariatric patients are often left with loose, excess skin that embarrasses them and makes their weight loss achievement less obvious.

Depending on the problem areas, there are a variety of body contouring procedures that may be recommended to help further improve the body’s shape after losing a significant amount of weight.

Are you a candidate?

It is important for weight loss patients to achieve weight stability prior to proceeding with any body contouring procedure. Ideally, patients should be weight stable for a minimum of 12 months.

This is important because weight fluctuations, both gain or loss, can affect the aesthetics of body contouring procedures. This can lead to poorer outcomes, and increase the incidence of need for secondary procedures.

Massive weight loss patients often require multiple surgical procedures to address excess skin and fat throughout their entire body. From the healing and safety standpoint it is not feasible to perform all of these procedures in one operation.

Options for surgical body contouring include:

• Lifts and tucks: These surgical procedures remove excess fat and extra skin. Examples include a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), facelift (rhytidectomy), breast lift (mastopexy) and double chin surgery.
• Liposuction: Liposuction (lipo) suctions out fat deposits.

Why is body sculpting used?

Surgical options can also remove extra skin to make the skin look smoother and younger.

Such procedures can help people who have excess skin after significant weight loss. It can also improve loose, saggy or wrinkled skin that occurs with natural aging.

Body contouring can target most areas of the body. Common sites include:

• Arms.
• Back.
• Belly and flanks (love handles).
• Buttocks.
• Neck and chin.
• Thighs.

What are the advantages of body sculpting?

Results from surgery are noticeable and immediate. Many people who have body contouring report:

• More defined, well-shaped body parts.
• Younger, thinner appearance.
• Smoother skin.
• Symptomatic improvement.

Body contouring can help eliminate fat and shape areas of the body when diet and exercise aren’t working. Being at your ideal weight improves quality of the results with lower complications.