Body Contouring (Post-Weight-Loss)

Surgical body contouring for patients who have achieved significant weight loss through bariatric surgery or lifestyle change and have excess skin affecting the abdomen, thighs, arms, and buttocks. Northwestern plastic surgeons offer lower body lift (belt lipectomy), thigh lift, arm lift (brachioplasty), and back lift procedures, planned individually or combined across staged operative sessions.

Post-weight-loss body contouring at Northwestern Plastic Surgery addresses the excess redundant skin that remains after significant weight reduction — whether from bariatric surgery (gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy) or sustained dietary and exercise-driven weight loss. After massive weight loss, the skin envelope that previously accommodated a much larger body volume loses its ability to retract due to the permanent changes to the dermis's elastic fibre network that occur during prolonged distension. The resulting excess skin causes functional and quality-of-life concerns: skin folds that harbour moisture and are prone to intertrigo (skin fold irritation and infection), difficulty fitting clothing, limitation of physical activity, and significant psychological impact on body image following what has often been a transformative weight loss journey. Northwestern's plastic surgery team plans post-weight-loss body contouring in a staged approach, typically completing at least twelve to eighteen months of weight stability before proceeding to surgery to ensure the patient's weight has plateaued and the skin excess is stable. Common procedures in the post-bariatric body contouring sequence include: lower body lift (belt lipectomy) — a circumferential procedure removing skin and fat in a belt-like pattern around the trunk to address the abdomen, flanks, buttocks, and outer thighs simultaneously; thigh lift (thighplasty) — removing excess inner thigh skin with a scar placed in the groin crease, extending posteriorly as required; arm lift (brachioplasty) — excising excess upper arm skin with a scar along the medial arm from axilla toward the elbow; and back lift. Each procedure is planned and sequenced based on the individual patient's anatomy, priorities, and tolerance for multiple surgical stages. Full circumferential body contouring typically requires two to three separate operative sessions.