Who Is a Good Candidate for a Body Lift?

Losing weight can be a struggle, and often, even when you’re down to your ideal weight, the results are not what you’d hoped for. Areas where fat loss has left behind loose skin can spoil your look and leave you disheartened. At Tarola Plastic Surgery in Murfreesboro, TN, Dr. Nicholas Tarola offers the body lift to smooth out the contours of your body and leave you looking and feeling your best.

The body lift is not only an option for those left with excess skin after weight loss. Others may be suitable for this kind of treatment, including those with areas of excess fat and loose skin, and those whose skin elasticity has been affected by sun damage, pregnancy, age, or other factors. There are a number of areas that can be treated with a body lift and bring a tightened, more toned appearance to the thighs, abdomen, buttocks, groin, and upper arms.

Candidates should generally be in good health, are ideally non-smokers, and should be willing to commit to the healing process and a healthy lifestyle thereafter.

When you come for your initial consultation with us, we will discuss your aesthetic goals as well as taking a full medical history and evaluating your overall general health. This is of prime importance to ensure your suitability for treatment. It may be that a body lift is not the best way to help you achieve your goals, or we may find that your health is not robust enough to undergo this procedure.

Conditions that may disqualify you from this procedure include those which would have either an effect on your ability to undergo surgery with a general anesthetic, or which would inhibit the healing process. You may also not be a suitable candidate if you have unrealistic expectations of what this procedure is able to do for you, or if the doctor believes that you either will not or are not able to commit to the healing process after surgery.

If you are currently pregnant or nursing, or planning to become pregnant in the future, we would also not recommend this surgery. It is much better to wait until after you are finished having children so that you can avoid the risk of your skin stretching out again.

There are a number of things you should do to prepare for surgery that will help your recovery afterward. We would recommend that you do your best to create a clean and restful space to come back to after you have been discharged from our clinic. You may also need to arrange for someone to come and help out at home so that you can commit to resting, especially if you have pets that need exercising or children needing care.

If you live alone, you will want to make sure that you have food prepared ahead of time for you to eat when you come back. It is very important to eat well after surgery to help the healing process, so make sure to choose options that give you lots of protein and vitamins.

After you wake up from the anesthesia, you will be in the recovery room at our clinic. All your incisions will be covered with dressings, and you may also be bandaged in various places to help support the correct healing of your newly contoured body. We will monitor your condition until you are suitable to be discharged to finish your recovery at home.

When you are discharged after surgery, you will need someone to come and pick you up from the clinic or to arrange a taxi. You will not be able to drive yourself home. You are likely to be very tired and will probably sleep a lot during the first few days after your procedure. It is very important that you eat well and healthily, that you stay hydrated, that you do not attempt any significant exercise or lift heavy things, and that you do not smoke or drink any alcohol for at least two weeks after surgery.

All body lift surgeries are unique to the client, and we will give you specific instructions relating to your recovery. However, in general, you can expect to be able to return to light levels of activity.

It can be as little as seven days after surgery when you see the first results of this procedure. After surgery your body will experience some swelling at the treated sites, so it is not until after the first part of the healing process that results can be seen. Happily, this phase of healing is usually done in seven to fourteen days. Your final results will take a little longer; it can be several months before your body finally settles into its new contours.

If you’re dissatisfied with the shape of your body or with excess loose skin, don’t delay. Get in touch with us today at Tarola Plastic Surgery in Murfreesboro, TN to find out whether a body lift could be the right treatment for you.