Before and after abdominoplasty with liposuction in a 27-year-old woman. After losing a significant amount of weight, her belly still had excess fat that made wearing fitted shirts uncomfortable and made her feel like she had not achieved any fat loss at all. She was a candidate for an abdominoplasty with liposuction to remove excess lower abdominal skin and fat, repair her abdominal muscles back together and remove unwanted fat from the surrounding areas.
The weight of the tissue removed was over eight pounds! Nine liters of fat was removed at the same time via liposuction of the abdomen, circumferential flanks, pubis, upper inner thighs and arms. She required an overnight’s stay in the hospital due to the extensive nature of this surgery.
Her three abdominal drains remained in place for over two weeks. Post-weight loss patients are known to be “drainers” – their bodies produce extra wound fluid that should be drained after surgery to avoid the risk of fluid accumulation under the skin (known as a postoperative “seroma”).
After surgery, she wore compression for several weeks under her clothes and waited until all her wounds were closed before resuming full exercise (10 weeks). It is common for patients to have delayed healing after weight loss surgery since their absorption of nutrients might be compromised.
Follow up photos are shown 6 months after surgery. Despite pinkish brown (normal immature) scars for this stage after surgery, she is already ecstatic with her results!
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
