Full back lipo or back lift? (Photos)

Hi CynthiaLopez911 in Walnut Creek, Thank you for your question regarding whether you need liposuction or a back lift. Thank you for your history and your pictures. Let’s analyze the pictures that you provided. You have excess back skin and excess back fat. To eliminate back fat, you can undergo back liposuction or an excision. However, you must remember you have excess back skin. The only way to eliminate excess back skin is by excising or removing the back skin. Therefore, I would highly suggest a back lift. Many other plastic surgeons call a back lift, a back reduction, or torsoplasty. There are two types of back lifts or torsoplasties: horizontal and vertical. During a vertical torsoplasty, a vertical incision is made on each side, from your armpit to your hip. During the vertical torsoplasty, a large, elliptical area of excess skin and fat from your sides is removed. Removing excess skin and fat from the armpit to the hip pulls the back fat and skin forward and eliminates back fat rolls. The advantage of the vertical torsoplasty is that the scars are hidden when your arms are by your side. Alternatively, you may consider a horizontal torsoplasty to remove even more back skin. During a horizontal torsoplasty, an incision is made across your back. The incision and resulting scar are positioned so your bra can cover it. Many plastic surgeons call the horizontal torsoplasty a bra plasty or a bra plasty. During a horizontal torsoplasty, a significant butterfly-shaped area of upper and middle back skin and fat area is removed. The resulting scar goes across the center of your back. The advantage of the horizontal torsoplasty is that a significant amount of upper back skin can be removed. The disadvantage of the horizontal torsoplasty is that the back scar can be quite visible. Torsoplasties are performed under general anesthesia by an anesthesiologist. Torsoplasties are considered outpatient surgery. Torsoplasties are rarely covered under insurance. Typically, back lift drains stay in place for 1 to 2 weeks. Your recovery position will primarily be on your back, speeding recovery. Multiple techniques can be used to minimize the scarring, including Fraxel laser and silicone gel sheeting. Thank you for your question regarding a back lipo or back lift. I hope you see why I suggest a back lift instead of back lipo. Good luck with your back lift or back lipo, whichever you decide. Sincerely, Dr. J. T. Katzen.

A torsoplasty, or also known as an upper back lift would be the best option for you, by looking at the pictures we can see that there is more so excess skin which the only successful way to remove it would be through an incision which would be from side to side sort of like a bra line incision this will help remove the skin and also lift and enhance your waist.

Thank you for your question and uploading those photos! Although my exam is limited through photos alone, it appears you have a combination of excess fat, skin laxity, and skin excess in your area of concern. In order to best address these concerns, a back lift with liposuction would be recommended. This would remove excess fat and also excise all the extra skin on your back providing you with a smooth back. This would leave you with a horizontal scar across your back around your bra line area. An alternative option would include liposuction (to address the fat) and skin tightening technology such as bodytite or laser (to address the loose skin). This option would avoid placing a large scar on your back, however the amount of skin tightening is limited and depends on each patient and how their skin responds. This technology would provide you with improvement, however would not give you a flat back without skin folds. From your photos, the amount of extra skin you have leads me to recommend a back lift. Please make sure to consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss your options.

Thank you for your question. Based on your photos you appear to be a good candidate for this procedure. what I recommend you is be consulted by board certified plastic surgeon specialized in Body Contour, who knows individualize each patient to give you the better advice.
Respectfully,Dr. Emmanuel Mallol Cotes.-

Thank you for your pictures. I think you can benefit from back liposuction and back lift due to your loose skin,in person consultation would better evaluate you, consult with a board certified PS, best of luck!

Hello,It is very difficult to assess you through photos alone. Some people who have your appearance do very well with aggressive liposuction, others don't do as well and have residual, albeit smaller rolls. Regardless, you are not burning any bridges by doing liposuction first, and there is no evidence that expensive high tech machines do a better or more consistent job than standard liposuction.  Go visit a few ABPS certified/ASAPS member surgeons. Best of luck!

Thank you for your question and photos. Understand that answers on this portal are no substitute for a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon.Liposuction addresses the fat present and can cause some improvement in the overlying skin. There is a limit to how much improvement in the tightness of the skin can be achieved regardless of the type of liposuction performed.Deflated skin which does not retract can make the appearance of the rolls worse.A bra line back lift is a very nice contouring operation but the trade is a scar across the back. This will fall in a bra and bathing suit line but will be visible when out of clothing. From the wording of your post my sense is the bra line back lift is the best option for you.Another option is to perform the liposuction and evaluate the results over the following 6 months to 1 year. There will be a significant reduction in fullness of the area and at age 21 you may have somewhat more skin retraction than an older woman. However, I would only move forward with this if you have accepted the idea of a bra line scar. I say this because the skin will not retract as much as you would like and you would then most likely need to perform the back lift to address the lax skin.Seek out a board certified plastic surgeon to evaluate you and discuss these options in more detail.Good luck and I hope this was helpful

Thank you for your question and photos. This is a difficult problem. Based on these photos, these back rolls seem to wrap around the sides and most likely you have excess fat and rolls on the abdomen as well. You would get good improvement with aggressive liposuction, using the VASER, power X and Thermitight in combination first. There's a good chance that you will need these procedures repeated again to hopefully avoid skin excision. You would do best if your whole torso is approached circumferentially. See a board certified plastic surgeon experienced in advanced body sculpting techniques for an in person consultation/evaluation. Good luck.

I think you're a candidate for liposuction and suggest a consult for VASER hi definition liposuction as it would give you body contouring. 4D HI DEFINITION in combination with ultrasound/RF treatments and fat grafting will help with fat removal, contouring, skin tightening and toning. I recommend a formal evaluation with a hi-def physique expert. Best, Dr. Emer.

An in person exam is needed for the best recommendation, but based on the photos submitted it appears you have both excess fatty tissue and excess skin. Liposuction alone can address much of the fat, but you will need to consider a back lift to remove the excess skin. See a board certified plastic surgeon near you for a consultation to learn more.