Body Lift

Every patient’s body lift surgery is an extremely personlised experience, based on the individuals unique requirements and desired outcome. Some patients may even have a treatment plan that will occur in stages, including several different procedures over a period of time. However, there are several commonalities in the procedure experience.

Before the procedure, all the planned incisions will be meticulously marked on your body and confirmed with you. The procedure will be performed under general anaesthesia, so you’ll be able to go to sleep and wake up with a completely transformed body. While you’re under anaesthesia, all of the planned incisions marks will be checked again to confirm that we remove the pre-determined amount of skin and tissue.

Often, a body lift procedure will first include liposuction in order to break up fat and help ensure the preservation of important nerves and lymphatic channels. The planned incisions will then be made and the excess fat and loose skin will be removed. The tissue removed is typically weighed to quantify the amount of tissue removed and to optimize symmetry. Small drains will be placed and the incisions will be sewn up in multiple layers using dissolving sutures. Sterilised dressings will be applied to all suture locations as well as a surgical garment designed to apply light compression.

Post-surgery, Dr Reddy will come to check on you and ensure you’re comfortable and primed for your recovery.

In general, patients remain in the hospital for several days post-surgery in order to monitor the healing of the wounds and ensure that their recovery is on track. Before you are discharged from the hospital, Dr Reddy needs to confirm that you are comfortable, have enough mobility to function at home, and effectively oversee your aftercare.

Before you leave the hospital, you will be provided with a detailed instruction plan for your recovery, including 24-hour contact details to ensure that you’re relaxed and supported throughout your recovery period.

About 5-10 days after being discharged from the hospital you will see Dr Reddy at our clinic, and again at regular intervals throughout your recovery period. During your first post-operative check-up, we will remove your dressings and advise you on how to tape the incision line. We will also advise the best practice to help minimise scarring. We do recommend that you continue to wear compression garments for an additional 6 weeks.

Further post-operative visits will continue until both Dr Reddy and yourself are fully satisfied with your results and level of recovery.

Routine follow-up visits will not incur a fee as they are included in the surgical fee.

We recommend that you avoid strenuous physical activity for the first 4 weeks after surgery and avoid operating a vehicle for 3-4 weeks following your body lift surgery. In order for you to drive, we advise that you need to feel unrestricted in your capacity to safely turn the steering well and comfortably wear a seat belt. Ensuring an adequate period of rest and recovery will help to ensure you don’t exacerbate bleeding, swelling, or bruising. Concurrently, we also recommend 3-4 weeks before returning back to work post-surgery. If your work is sedentary or you work from home, it is often feasible to return to work at the 1-2 week post-operative mark.

Discomfort is common during this period and can range from minor to moderate, depending on the specific individual and the extent of the surgery undertaken. Discomfort will be strongest during the 1 week post-surgery, but can persist for several weeks after that. Dr Reddy will prescribe medicine to help alleviate any discomfort.

Immediately following surgery, you will be able to see your new body shape, and the contour will be most evident once your dressings are removed. However, swelling and bruising will persist for several weeks. At 3-4 months after your operation, all swelling will have typically  subsided and you will be able to see the final results of your operation.

A body lift is a moderate-risk procedure. Although serious illness due to surgery is rare, all surgical procedures carry risks. These will be covered in detail with you during your consultation process. Some of the risks of surgery include:

• Bruising, Bleeding: Brusing is very common after surgery. This typically resolves within a two-week timeframe. Significant bleeding after surgery is extremely uncommon. When it does occur, you may need further surgery to address this.
• Wound healing difficulties: The internal dissolving sutures can cause skin irritation and small eruptions in some cases. More significant delayed wound healing issues are not common but tend to affect certain sites, such as the axilla (armpit) and groin areas when body lift procedures are combined with arm or thigh lifts. Good nutrition with a balanced diet and favorable BMI typically serve to minimise post-operative wound healing issues.
• Infection: Infection can happen but is uncommon after body lift surgery
• Seroma: Seroma refers to a collection of fluid under the skin. In our experience, this is more common after arm lift and thigh lift surgery than with body lift surgery. Seromas are not harmful. They are a reflection of the fluid that the body produces after surgery. The body typically reabsorbs this fluid, but in some cases, these fluid pockets persist. They are treated by aspirating the fluid under ultrasound guidance or at the bedside. The procedure is typically not painful.
• “Dog ears”: This refers to the residual pleat of skin that may become evident at the end of your incision line. They can typically be avoided by good surgical planning.
• DVT: This refers to deep vein thrombosis and equates to a blood clot in your leg vein(s). This is extremely uncommon after surgery as various measures are instituted during and after your surgery to reduce the risk of this. If it does occur, the treatment involves commencing blood thinning medication for a 3-6 month period. It is important to maintain mobility around the house during the initial recovery period at home to reduce the risk of clots. We also do not recommend extended car trips or flying within the first month after surgery in order to minimise the risk.

As a general principle, It is important to minimize your risks by ensuring that your health is optimal prior to surgery. Avoidance of Nicotine (at least 6 weeks) pre and post-surgery is mandated. If you have Diabetes, you should ensure that your sugar monitoring and control and is favourable. An optimal Body Mass Index is also recommended. Dr Reddy will discuss all the above risks and advise you on how best to prepare for surgery.

There is a possibility that the incisions will be visible. Whether the incisions are visible or not will depend not only on where they are made, but the various factors that influence scar appearance. If you have excess skin removed on your arms, there will be a slightly visible scar on the underside of the arm. If you get excess skin removed around the abdomen, these can be concealed below the pant line. In your consultation, Dr Reddy will discuss where the incisions will be placed with you.

The contoured and tightened results will last for as long as you do not put on or lose a large amount of weight after the surgery.