Is plastic surgery necessary after obesity?

One of the concerns of patients who are operated for obesity is, if they need plastic surgery after losing so much weight, and will have to undergo an ordeal of operations…..

How often is plastic surgery necessary after an obesity operation?

In the end, it is not as frequent as you would expect and only some patients need plastic surgery. Of course, it depends on the level of demand of each person. In addition, patients should be realistic and not expect their bodies to “go back” as if they had never been obese.

Is plastic surgery adequate to resolve or treat obesity?

OH, NO. Plastic surgery operations should never be used to treat obesity, because with time, weight and with it, fat and deformity recover.

With certain frequency, female patients that we are going to submit to an operation of obesity, have been operated some time ago of abdominoplasty.

So, first you must lose more weight, and then you can consider a plastic surgery on the skin.

Can this problem be prevented or partially avoided in any way?

Absolutely yes. We insist to our patients that they should do adequate physical exercise DURING THE PERIOD OF WEIGHT LOSS. If you exercise when your body is already flaccid, the final result will be worse.

In addition, it is crucial to make an adequate diet during weight loss, with special attention to protein intake, and blood checks should be made of nutritional status.

All in all:

• Adequate and progressive exercise, aerobic and muscle toning.
• Adequate nutrition, with special emphasis on protein intake.
• Adequate hydration. Skin care.

Which operations are of most interest?

In women they are the flaccidity of the abdomen (abdominoplasty), of the breasts (mammoplasty), and of the internal face of the arms and thigh.

In men, much less frequent, it is practically limited to abdominoplasty.

When should this type of operation be carried out?

It’s best if you follow the advice of your bariatric surgeon.

These operations should only be performed when all the expected weight has been lost after the obesity operation, the weight has stabilized, and the detailed nutritional controls -through blood analysis and clinical evaluation- are normal.

Are these operations very complicated?

In general they are not very complex operations, although the degree of affectation changes with each patient. As always, these operations are very dependent on the surgeon’s experience.

How long is the patient admitted and how long does he or she need to recover before returning to a normal life?

It is almost always necessary to have 3 to 5 days of income, and as we work on skin that is very sensitive, patients have more discomfort than with our obesity operations. Careful cures are also necessary, as well as avoiding movements and stretching of the operated area.

However, when operations are necessary, the results more than compensate for the inconvenience.

What factors influence whether or not a person decides to undergo plastic surgery?

Your degree of body satisfaction. The existence of physical discomfort from redundant skins. Medical advice. The professional needs of the patient, to maintain a body image…

What is the degree of body satisfaction after an obesity operation?

It’s generally very good. The patients’ organism undergoes such a positive change that the patients exude joy and satisfaction at having made the decision to have the operation. We practically always see happy faces at the Clinic. Of course there are always little things to solve, little worries, “I have to exercise”, “I have to avoid these or those foods… “but globally there is a high degree of bodily and emotional satisfaction.

Our biggest problem is patients with body dissatisfaction due to emotional disturbances. The patient is unjustifiably ill, for as the specialists and the people around him see him: “Everyone tells me that I’m well, but I don’t look well”. “I know that I have lost almost all the weight I had, that I feel much better of health, I don’t get tired at all, I don’t hurt at all…, but I don’t look well”. This problem is defined as bodily dissatisfaction.

How do you work with body dissatisfaction after an obesity operation?

The treatment is fundamentally psychological, by means of different types of therapies, and with the help and participation of the closest environment of the patient. In these therapies have very positive effects physical exercise, balanced nutrition, and the overall emotional state of the patient. They should not be “over-indicated” (recommend if not really necessary) plastic surgery in order to improve the degree of body satisfaction, because after an operation, there arises the need for another possible operation….

When is the patient advised to undergo plastic surgery?

It should be the patient and not the specialist who suggests the possible need. And it should only be recommended, when there is an objective deformity, that it results in physical and/or emotional discomfort for the patient.