Body Contouring
Many people find that despite being at an ideal weight and leading a healthy lifestyle, they have stubborn pockets of fat. These stubborn fat deposits usually accumulate in problem areas like the arms, abdomen, flanks, buttocks, and thighs. Plastic surgery procedures for body contouring or body sculpting can help eliminate this stubborn fat. This type of aesthetic plastic surgery can help to shape specific parts of the body, achieve fat reduction, and tighten loose skin.
There are primarily two ways to achieve this - surgical procedures and non surgical body contouring. Non surgical treatments involve using cold temperatures, heat, radio frequency, lasers and other methods to perform lipolysis (destroy fat cells) in the treatment area. Plastic surgeons can also perform surgical body contouring procedures like tucks, lifts, and liposuction to tighten skin and get rid of stubborn fat. While surgery has more risks and is associated with a longer recovery time, it usually provides more dramatic and more immediate results that are longer lasting. Keep reading to learn more about body contouring.
What is body contouring?
Body contouring, also called body sculpting, is a surgical procedure that is performed to contour or reshape a part of the body. This is accomplished by removing excess skin and eliminating stubborn fat deposits. Exactly what type of surgery is performed depends on what a patient wishes body contouring address. Options include lifts and tucks such as a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), breast lift to make the breast shape more youthful, a facelift, or a double chin surgery with liposuction.
It is worth noting that body contouring is not a method for major weight loss. Rather, it is intended to provide people who are at a stable weight with a body shape that is more appealing. If you would like to achieve dramatic weight loss, bariatric surgical procedures like gastric stapling or gastric band surgery are more appropriate options, provided you qualify for these surgeries.
What issues does body sculpting address?
Body contouring can be performed in most parts of the body. The most common areas are the arms (bat wings), back (bra fat), belly (muffin top), flanks (love handles), hips (saddle bags), buttocks, outer and inner thighs, neck and chin.
The body contouring plastic surgery can be customized to address a patient's specific concerns. For example, someone with sagging of the upper arms might have an arm lift for skin tightening. A patient with flattened or sagging breasts may be best treated with a mastopexy or breast lift. Jowls and double chin or turkey neck can be corrected with a facelift. A tummy tuck can get rid of the extra apron of skin that often develops in the belly. A medial thigh lift can address fat deposits and loose skin in the inner thighs.
Does body contouring actually work? Does it remove excess skin?
Many people choose to have body sculpting to attain a body shape that looks and feels thinner and younger. This is often in specific areas of the body that are resistant to change despite a healthy diet and regular exercise. By removing excess skin and fat, body contouring procedures can effectively make you look thinner and younger with smoother, tighter skin. Body contouring may also be effective in removing extra skin and achieving skin tightening after significant weight loss.
Who is a good candidate for body contouring?
In general, adults who are in good general health without any major medical problems and are nonsmokers are considered good candidates for body contouring. This type of cosmetic surgery is recommended to people who are at a stable body weight. A patient's body mass index should be 30 or under to qualify for this treatment.
As with any aesthetic plastic surgery, it is important to have realistic expectations and a positive outlook. Also, a commitment to living healthy with diet and exercise is required to help maintain body contouring results.
How to prepare for fat reduction?
Many plastic surgeons offer a complimentary consultation to help you decide if body contouring is right for you. At this appointment, the plastic surgeon will discuss your aesthetic goals, obtain a complete medical history including health conditions, previous surgeries, medications, and allergies. They will also perform a physical examination of the areas you want to change.
Your doctor may take pictures for your medical record or draw with a marker on your skin to show you how the surgery will be done. The surgeon will discuss various options depending on the treatment areas. They will also advise you about the risks and complications of the surgery you are considering. You will be told what you'll need to do to maintain results of your body contouring.
If you are deemed an appropriate candidate, your doctor may order laboratory tests and imaging. You will be asked to stop smoking and stop taking certain medications that can increase the risk of bleeding.
What happens during a body contouring procedure?
Cosmetic surgeries are usually done in a surgical center or hospital. The procedures can take several hours to complete, depending on what you're having treated. The type of anesthesia - local or general anesthesia also depends on the type of body contouring procedure. Your plastic surgeon will make cuts in your skin and reshape and reposition tissues, remove extra skin and fat, and give your body the shape you desire. Excess fat may be removed by liposuction. At the completion of the surgery, the incisions will be closed with sutures and bandages applied.
How long is the recovery after body contouring?
The recovery time after surgical body contouring depends on how much work is done. It can range from several weeks to months. Notably, nonsurgical body contouring treatments are associated with much faster recovery.
Most patients can go home the same day as their surgical procedure. If the surgery is done using general anesthesia, you will need someone to drive you home and stay with you overnight. The surgical team will give you instructions on how to care for the drains (small tubes) and when to change the bandages. You will also be advised to keep moving to avoid blood clots but avoid strenuous activities. Your doctor will tell you tell tale signs of complications and when to contact your medical team.
How quickly will I see results?
You will see the results of your body contouring once the post-surgical swelling and bruising resolves. The results will continue to improve over the next few weeks to months as your tissues settle into their new positions. You should be aware that there may be some visible scars from body contouring.
How long do the results of body contouring procedures last?
The results of surgical body contouring are long-lasting as long as you maintain a stable body weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. With age, your body will lose some of its youthful firmness and your results may change. However, most of the improvement you achieve will be maintained.
Please keep in mind that while body contouring procedure can usually achieve excellent results, there are no guarantees. In some patients, the surgery may not result in optimal results and revision surgery may be needed.
You can ensure good results and an uneventful recovery from body contouring procedures by following your surgeon's instructions.
What are the risks and complications of surgical body contouring?
Body contouring procedures are surgeries and therefore carry certain risks, such as bleeding, blood clots, infection, anesthesia complications, hematoma (blood collection), poor wound healing, nerve injury, damage to blood vessels, hair loss around the incisions, asymmetry (lopsided results), and undesirable results.
During the recovery period, you should contact your doctor immediately if you experience bleeding, increasing redness or swelling at the surgical site, dizziness, chest pain, fever over 100.5 F, nausea, vomiting, or severe pain that does not get better with pain medicine.
Are there non-invasive or nonsurgical body contouring options?
There are several nonsurgical methods of getting rid of excess fat and extra skin. These types of body contouring procedures are called nonsurgical fat reduction. They eliminate stubborn pockets of fat and help to contour different parts of the body without surgery.
Some of the most popular nonsurgical body contouring treatments are based on the principles of cryolipolysis (fat freezing with controlled cooling), laser lipolysis (using heat to destroy fat), radiofrequency lipolysis (using heat and ultrasound on fat cells), and injection lipolysis (using injectable substances like deoxycholic acid (Kybella) for fat reduction. The treatment can be combined with cellulite treatments for cellulite reduction.
While nonsurgical body contouring procedures target fat cells, they are not intended as major weight loss solutions. The ideal candidates for these treatments are at or near their ideal weight. They want to get rid of stubborn pockets of fat that have not gone away with diet and exercise.
The key advantage of nonsurgical body contouring procedures is that they are non invasive or minimally invasive. Consequently, they carry very little risk of complications. Also, the recovery is fast and there is minimal downtime from the treatment. You can leave the clinic immediately after the treatment and return to your normal activities right away.
How long is a body contouring session? How many sessions will I need?
The duration of a nonsurgical body contouring session depends on the type of fat reduction procedure. The results can take a few weeks to be fully visible because it takes the body's lymphatic system some time to clear away the destroyed fat cells. Some improvement is usually visible after the first treatment. Most patients, however, need several treatment sessions to get the optimal results.
Finding a provider for body contouring procedures
If you want a sculpted, more defined body shape with a thinner and younger appearance and smoother skin, body contouring plastic surgery could be the solution you've been looking for. The MeTime app makes it easy to find top-rated plastic and cosmetic surgeons in your area who perform body contouring procedures. You can chat with experts, send photos, do a video consultation, and get quotes. Download the MeTime app today and say hello to the best version of yourself!
