Body lift vs extended tummy tuck and butt lift/BBL after weight loss

It is very difficult to give advice without any photos or in person evaluation. In general, your options are as you stated. One option that I would consider is belt lipectomy ( circumferential lower body lift with abdominoplasty) including buttock lift with augmentation with your own tissue in form of supergluteal skin/fat flaps. Breast lift can be done separately. Good luck.

Dear Loving155455,

it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. If you are considering surgery, I would suggest you consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination, you will get more information and recommendations.

Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Congratulations on your weight loss. If you were a healthy person, there should be no reason why you cannot have your lower body lift and your breast lift done on the same day so you have a single operation, a single recovery and your costs will be less. Most surgeons like to keep the total operating time for a single patient under approximately 6 hours so if you’re surgeon feels it might take slightly longer you may inquire about him using an additional plastic surgeon to minimize your procedure time. Best wishes.

Hello, and thank you for your question about whether it’s better to get a lower body lift versus an extended tummy tuck, butt lift, and BBL after a 100-pound weight loss.
Thank you for your history. Pictures and the physical examination are important for accurate diagnosis and for developing a further treatment plan. However, in general, after a 100-pound weight loss, if you want your abdomen, hips, and buttocks addressed, most plastic surgeons would certainly suggest a 360 circumferential lower body lift. If your breasts bother you, you can also undergo a breast lift. If you have excess skin and fat above your belly button, you may need the vertical abdominoplasty component of the 360 body lift. Some people called this a Fleur-de-Lis. You could combine the 360 circumferential lower body lift with the mastopexy or breast lift. Most plastic surgeons would not suggest undergoing an extended tummy tuck with a breast lift and then, later, undergo a posterior butt lift. The “tissue issue” occurs over the lateral hip or the lateral extent of the extended tummy tuck. With significant weight loss, most patients need an abdominoplasty, hip lift, hip reduction, and butt lift. With the extended tummy tuck, the abdominoplasty or tummy portion of the lower body lift incision is carried from the mons or pubic region over the hip. When you return for the posterior body lift, the incision would extend from the top of the buttock cleft forward over the hip region. Usually, what happens is that the hip region is lifted and reduced twice. During the abdominoplasty, the hip region is tapered or feathered to avoid a dog-ear. That means over the hip, not as much tissue is removed to avoid a significant dog-ear. During the posterior body lift, the hips can be lifted and reduced more. However, to minimize the dog-ear from the posterior body lift, the incision is tapered into the abdominoplasty scar. Usually, during a posterior body lift after an extended tummy tuck, the incision is carried down to the iliac spine. The posterior body lift usually winds up as not a 360° circumferential lower body lift but a 270° or a 300° circumferential lower body lift. That means there is a segment over the hip that ranges by about 8 to 10 inches, which is lifted and reduced twice. Revising this area twice is just extra time under anesthesia, extra surgery, extra expense, and a higher risk of wound complications. If planned accordingly, it would not need to be done twice. A 360 circumferential lower body lift would avoid this and only address the hips once.

Therefore, most experienced board-certified plastic surgeons who specialize in reconstructive plastic surgery after massive weight loss would suggest undergoing a 360 circumferential lower body lift and mastopexy. Most plastic surgeons would not suggest a two-stage procedure, including an extended tummy tuck and mastopexy to be followed by a posterior buttock lift. Good luck. If you have any more questions regarding the lower body lift, 360 circumferential lower body lift, belt lipectomy, belt abdominoplasty, or belt dermolipectomy, please get in touch with an experienced plastic surgeon. Since the body lift is a big procedure, please seek an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon with significant experience performing the lower body lift. Do your research. Make sure they have performed at least 100 circumferential lower body lift surgeries and have the before and after pictures to prove it. Carefully examine their before and after pictures and check their reviews on RealSelf. If you cannot find an experienced, lower-body lift surgeon in your neighborhood, consider traveling out of state if you must. Sincerely, Dr. Katzen, MD, MBA. (President of the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons, Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Fellow of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American College of Surgery, International College of Surgery, and American Board of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, RealSelf Hall of Fame, and RealSelf Doctor Advisory Board for Medical Review and Consumer Panel.)

Congratulations on your weight loss! Without posted photos and the benefit of in person exam- it's difficult to comment accurately as every patient is different . Generally speaking it's common to have circumferencial tummy tuck/ buttock lift ( with or without implant ) and breast in first stage, and second stage-do arms and legs . But again - consultation is essential

Dear Loving155455, Thanks for sharing your concerns, it is impossible to recommend procedures without seeing pictures, please send some pictures to properly evaluate your case. Or get in touch for a virtual consultation. Make sure you go on consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon. Hope this helps and best of lucks. Dr. Luis Mejia.

There is no right or wrong answer. It is possible to break a body lift to front and back or do it in one go. Often times, I do it in one surgery since the results are much better, but occasionally I do it in two for recovery reasons. Also a body lift not only will take care of you abdomen, and buttocks, but also your lower back, waist, and offers a thigh lift if done comprehensively. Feel free to browse our extensive body lift and tummy tuck galleries. Often times, it is possible to avoid a flour-de-lis. You can also see our extensive body lift work at drsiamakagha on instagram

Congratulations on your weight loss! It's difficult to give a specific recommendation without an in person evaluation or photos. If you are a candidate for each of the procedures you mentioned you can consider having the circumferential body lift done at the same time as the breast work. This will allow you to have only one recovery. It's important to note that you must first be evaluated to know what is best.

Without including pictures, we can’t really make a good assessment.
Based on what you describe, I would say a wrap around tummy tuck a.k.a. body lift is the right procedure.
I really try to avoid a vertical scar a.k.a. Fleur du lys pattern unless absolutely necessary.
I’m a big fan of extended tummy tucks, which usually end up being a wraparound.
The difference between a wraparound tummy, tuck and extended tummy tuck is usually the difference of the patient being turned during surgery or not.
There’s only so far as surgeon can reach with the patient laying on their back.
This limits how much skin can be removed along the sides.
In regards to scar and recovery. The difference between a wraparound tummy tuck and extended tummy tuck is virtually nothing.
Those who have substantial skin laxity will inevitably have dog ears or persistent skin laity on the backside unless skin is removed all the way around.
Not doing a complete circumferential tummy tuck would be a mistake for most massive weight loss patients.
A tummy tuck only treats, vertical skin laxity, so there will still be some degree of horizontal skin laxity left.
A lot of this can be corrected with circumferential surgery by pulling some of the horizontal skin laxity towards the backside.
In the end provider selection will be the most important variable.
In the hands of the right provider, the correct and best procedure will be recommended and implemented in a correct manner.
And the hands of the wrong provider you’ll be guided towards a less than ideal procedure That could potentially not be done well with a less than ideal Aesthetic outcome.
To find the right provider, I suggest the following.
First get a complete set of body pictures taken the same way of plastic surgeons take before and after pictures.
Have someone else take the pictures for you or use the timer on your camera.
Don’t rely on the mirrors.
Bring pictures of yourself to use as a reference for any consultation.
Next make a list of local plastic surgeons who seem to have a lot of experience with tummy tuck or weight loss surgery.
Schedule exclusively in person consultations with each of the providers on your list.
Avoid virtual consultations whenever possible.
During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before, and after pictures of previous patients who had similar body characteristics.
This is we’re having pictures of yourself comes in handy.
Don’t rely on memory of what your body looks like or how much skin laxity you have From each angle.Ask providers to show you examples of previous patients who look just like you do.
Get familiarized with what quality results should look like.
Take care notes during each consultation, especially regarding the quality and quantity of before and after pictures.
When it comes to extended tummy tuck surgery ask specifically if the surgeon is going to turn you to a face down or prone position during surgery.
This is necessary in order to remove the skin laxity on the backside.
It’s the main reason plastic surgeons don’t remove enough skin on weight loss patience.
Turning a patient during surgery is a pretty involved thing.
It is however, necessary in order to get a good outcome if their skin laxity all the way around.
It’s really important that you know this before going into surgery.
It’s one of the questions patients rarely, if ever ask or understand.
A wraparound tummy tuck require requires the patient to be turned during surgery.
There’s no correct number of consultations needed to find the right provider.
The more consultations you schedule the more likely you are to find a better provider for your needs.
The biggest mistake I see patients make is having only one consultation and then scheduling surgery.
This more or less eliminates the ability to choose a better provider.
Average plastic surgeons do average work.
Only the exceptional plastic surgeons deliver exceptional outcomes.
Finding the right plastic surgeon is much more difficult than most people realize and most patients don’t do a good job at it.
My recommendation is to have 3 to 5consultations before considering selecting a provider
Mats Hagstrom MD