Will Losing Weight After a Tummy Tuck Lead to Flabby Skin?

Dear worrier,

    Well, I will try to make you feel better after the negative answers that you recieved in regard to weight loss after tummy tuck. My experience in over 1000 tummy tucks, is that the overwhelming  majority of the patients are doing fine after significant weight loss from tummy tuck.  The only ones who might have skin redundency after surgery are those with massive weight loss, like after bypass surgery, because their skin elasticity is impaired. As long as your  surgeon is an experienced board certified plastic surgeon and he tightens your muscles and skin adequately  , you should not have a flabby skin after surgery. I would also strongly recommend to you the book 'Sugar busters'. If you will follow the book recommendation and change your eating habbits, there is a very good chance that you will lose a lot of weight.

             Best of luck,

                                       Dr Widder

Great question! Losing an additional 30 pounds after a tummy tuck will most likely improve your appearance even more.  It is unlikely that you will need the surgery done all over again because of looseness of skin.  Even more importantly, make  sure you don't gain weight after the surgery which is a much more common problem we see.  Good luck! I'm sure your surgery will go great.

If you lose 30 pounds after a tummy tuck, you may be left with some loose skin and a contour which is not as nice as the day of surgery. You would need to lose the weight very gradually in order to minimize the amount of loose skin. You should discuss this in greater detail with your plastic surgeon before having your procedure done.

 

Best wishes,

Dr.Bruno

Body contouring should be done when you are at your goal weight or a stable plateau. Losing 30 lbs after a tummy tuck will lead to some laxity of the skin. You will certainly look better than if you never had the procedure but you will lose some of the aesthetic benefit. Also when you are overweight at the time of your procedure there is an increased risk of complications with your procedure.

Discuss these issues with your board certified plastic surgeon to determine your best coarse of action.

I hope this was helpful and good luck

My experience is that patients do not lose weight after tummy tuck.  You will be relatively anorexic from narcotics for a while, and surgical site pain will displace hunger.  Your scale weight will increase after surgery from retained fluid and swelling.  You will not exercise for at least 4-6 weeks.  As swelling, pain, and stiffness resolve, you become more active, and find yourself behind in all aspects of your life put on hold for surgery and recovery.  These affairs are urgently resumed, including care for family, career, loose ends, unfinished business, etc.  Having been absorbed in self care for weeks, you now care for others, and your disciplined diet and exercise regimen are forgotten.  Your body is now slimmer, so the need for weight loss seems mitigated.  Pounds insidiously accrue.  If you're serious about losing weight, do it BEFORE tummy tuck.  Your result will be better, and your life will be better.

Thank you for your question.

Yes, weight loss of 20 pounds or more can leave excess skin laxity after a tummy tuck.

To be sure, see two or more board-certified plastic surgeons in your area for a full and complete evaluation to make sure you are a good candidate and that it is safe for you to have surgery.

I hope this helps.

If you are planning on and able to lose 30 pounds, i strongly recommend that you do that before the tummy tuck and also wait a period of time to see if you can maintain that new weight. if you can, I would then recommend the tummy tuck. losing or gaining a small amount of weight after a tummy tuck is not a big problem, but a 30 pound weight loss could be significant and i think you should wait.

If you have stated a goal of losing 30 pounds after surgery, your are probably not an ideal candidate for the tummy tuck, or at least not at this time. There are situation where tummy tucks can be considered to "kick start" a weight reduction process in the case of a panniculus that impends exercise. Ideally you should have attained a healthy and stable lifestyle prior to body contouring procedures. Surgery that is inappropriately timed may increase overall operative risk or lead to a result that is not optimal or is not long-lasting.

Robin T.W. Yuan, M.D.

Thank you for your question.

In general, it is in every patient's best interest to achieve a stable weight  (where they plan to be long-term, without  significant fluctuation)  before undergoing elective plastic surgical procedures. This stable weight will minimize the chances that post operative weight changes will compromise the end results (one way or another); therefore minimizing the chances that further surgery will be necessary (at least for weight gain/loss reasons).

If you do proceed with surgery and then lose 30 pounds, you may have skin laxity that may require revisionary surgery.

I would suggest that you discuss this with your surgeon so that he/she can help you make a good decision.

 

Certainly you do not want to starve yourself prior to surgery to optimize your weight, as this may caused delayed healing from poor pre-surgical nutrition. However your ideal weight prior to surgery will minimize your chances of having further loose skin with post-surgical weight loss. You may consider delaying your surgery until you achieve your weight goal.