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In Houston, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Scott Reis offers body contouring surgery for weight loss patients who need to treat excess skin and areas with stubborn fat deposits in order to fully realize their weight loss transformation. Dr. Reis is known for his compassionate and thorough approach to post-weight loss plastic surgery.
What is Body Contouring?
Body contouring is a term used to describe a wide range of surgical procedures used anywhere on the body with excess bothersome skin or volume. Plastic surgery procedures that are often sought after by Dr. Reis’ patients who have lost weight include:
- Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)
- Lower Body Lift
- Mastopexy (breast lift)
- Brachioplasty (arm lift)
- Medial Thigh Lift
- Gluteal Lift and BBL
- Breast Augmentation
- Mommy Makeover
- Facelift & Necklift
- Vaser Liposuction
- Renuvion and Profound RF Skin Tightening
These procedures can routinely and safely be combined to target multiple areas in a single operation. Dr. Reis creates custom-tailored treatment plans for each patient with the goal of toning, tightening, and sculpting the skin and tissue on the body with natural-looking results.
Am I A Candidate?
The best candidates for body contouring are nonsmokers whose weight has stabilized
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Body Contouring
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
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for a full year
. If you have a medical condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, or anemia, those must be controlled before you can safely undergo surgery. Dr. Reis will review your complete medical history in detail during your initial consultation.
How is Body Contouring Performed?
The variety of procedures that make up this category are performed by Dr. Reis in one of his private cosmetic operating rooms, certified by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF). Often, many post-weight loss surgery patients have multiple areas on the body that they would like to focus on during body contouring surgery. Since there is a limit on how long combined procedures can safely last, it is often necessary to perform multiple staged procedures to provide the safest and most reliable long-term outcomes while addressing all areas and providing beautiful, natural-looking results.
Body Contouring procedures are often performed as same-day outpatient surgery, meaning you can go home almost immediately after the procedure is complete. Patients will receive general or IV anesthesia. Absorbable sutures will be used to close the incisions, so no stitches need to be removed.
The duration of the surgery depends upon your surgical plan but typically will not exceed 8 hours in a single combined surgery day. If an overnight stay is required or if you would simply like to stay after surgery, we would be happy to book one of Dr. Reis’ in-house luxury medical suites for you.
Preparing for Body Contouring Surgery
During your consultation, Dr. Reis will review pre-surgical guidelines with you. We typically recommend that you stop taking all herbal supplements, fish oil, and any other non-prescription medications at least two weeks before your procedure. Additionally, Dr. Reis will prescribe an easy pre-operative skincare regimen to prepare and optimize the tissues to minimize bruising and swelling, speed healing and recovery, and minimize any visible scarring. This regimen will also be continued after surgery. Once both of you have determined the ideal procedure(s) and developed a surgical plan,
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surgery will be scheduled
. We encourage you to ask as many questions as possible leading up to your surgery as we want to ensure all of our patients feel as comfortable and confident as possible.
Recovery and Results After Body Contouring
After surgery, you will be required to wear a compression garment to aid healing. When a body contouring procedure is combined with liposuction, the garment is worn for 6-8 weeks, along with a memory foam insert for the first 4-6 weeks. If liposuction was not performed, the garment is usually worn for 3-4 weeks, depending on your specific procedure and recovery progress. Dr. Reis always uses dissolving sutures, so there is no need to have any removed. A small drainage tube may also be inserted to reduce fluid buildup. This will typically stay in place for 1-2 weeks, depending on the amount of daily fluid output and Dr. Reis’ evaluation.
The preoperative skincare regimen will be continued after surgery to optimize results and speed recovery. Additionally, as part of recovery after body contouring procedures, Dr. Reis has patients schedule a series of post-operative manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) massages. MLD sessions also help patients to have a quicker recovery and the best results.
Immediately following surgery, bruising and swelling will be present, which can cause some mild discomfort and pain. Pain can be managed with a combination of oral medications prescribed by Dr. Reis while the swelling and inflammation subside over time as well as from the compression garment, topical skincare and incision regimen, and MLD massages. Most patients stop taking the pain medications within the first week after surgery and move on to taking only Tylenol and Motrin. Most bruising should subside within a few weeks, but the swelling can take up to 3 months to fully subside.
Preventing & Treating Scars After Body Contouring Procedures
Scarring is a natural effect of the body’s healing process. However, due to genetic factors, some patients form suboptimal surgical scars. Fortunately, Dr. Reis provides several highly effective skincare options for pre-surgical preventative and post-operative scar regimens that optimize Body Contouring outcomes and significantly reduce the visible appearance of surgical scars. Additionally, Dr. Reis is proud to offer CO2 Laser Resurfacing treatments to patients who would like to further optimize any visible scarring, as this can also dramatically improve their appearance. Learn more about preventing and treating surgical scars after Body Contouring procedures here.
FAQ About Plastic Surgery After Weight Loss
What are the risks of post-weight loss body contouring?
As with any surgery, it is important to understand the possible complications and risks associated with these types of procedures. Post-weight loss surgery results are highly dependent on each patient’s skin quality, thickness, elasticity, and overall BMI, even more so than with other types of cosmetic procedures. Dr. Reis prioritizes patient safety and will discuss potential risks during your consultation.
How soon after bariatric surgery do I need to wait to have plastic surgery?
Each patient is different, but in general, you will need to be one year post-op from procedures such as gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or lap band and at a stable weight that you can maintain long-term for at least 3 months.
How do I choose a surgeon for post-weight loss body contouring?
It is very important to seek out a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon with significant experience in post-weight loss surgery, such as Dr. Reis. When you schedule a consultation, Dr. Reis will answer any questions you have, review your options to address all areas of concern and work with you to come up with the ideal personalized plan to ensure you feel comfortable with your body contouring plan.
Contact Dr. Scott Reis for Body Contouring in Houston
Dr. Scott Reis and his entire team are committed to providing the best possible patient care and giving clear and accurate information to all patients. To schedule a consultation or learn more about body contouring procedures, please contact us.
Patient Testimonials
Dr. Reis and his staff have given exceptional care throughout my experience. They took extra time to answer questions, talk through my...
Everyone in Dr. Reis's office is so friendly and helpful. My procedure went smoothly because they kept me informed every step of the way...
Dr. Reis and the whole staff is wonderful. They are compassionate and caring and deliver excellent and competent care. I am very pleased...
I had a great experience with Dr. Reis. He explained everything to me in depth so I felt at ease prior to my procedure. I appreciated...
Sources
1 American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Body Contouring. Available: https://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/body-contouring. Accessed June 25, 2020.
2 American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Body Contouring. Available: https://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/body-contouring/consultation. Accessed: June 25, 2020.
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