Lifts After 60 Pound Weight Loss - what surgeries would be best and how should they be prioritized? (Photos)

Hi there, and thank you for your question. First off, congratulations on your weight loss. When the time is right, and you feel like you are within 25% of your goal weight, the first procedure I typically recommend starting with is the Lower Body lift (or Belt Lipectomy). This will give one of the greater improvements in a larger area of your body. Once this is healed, you can move on to the Upper Body lift, Arms, Inner Thighs, and then Face and Neck lift. I understand that you have many questions, which is why I recommend consulting with a Board certified plastic surgeon that can responsibly guide you through the process.

For your face, a facelift is probably going to be the best procedure.
For your abdomen, it’s going to be a full tummy tuck.
Finding the right provider is by far the most important variable.
There are substantial differences in outcomes in overall experience, depending on who you go with.
To find the right provider and have an overall good experience I suggest the following.
First get a set of pictures of yourself take the same way plastic surgeons take before and after pictures.
Use pictures of yourself as a reference whenever you’re reviewing before and after pictures.
There’s no point in seeing results of the patient who had a different surgery potential than your own.
Patient has their own candidacy which determines the potential outcome.
Next make a list of plastic surgeons in your area that seem to be good at the two procedures you’re interested in.
You may want to consider different providers for different procedures.
Those specialize in facelift surgery may have less experience with tummy tuck and vice versa.
Next schedule in person consultations with each of the providers on your list.
I highly recommend patient schedule in person consultations and avoid virtual consultations.
The outcomes for these procedures are permanent and irreversible.
If not done well, patient can be left with permanent issues that cannot be corrected.
One of the biggest mistakes I see patients make is having only one consultation and then scheduling surgery.
Having only one consultation eliminates the ability to choose a better provider.
I do not believe patients can adequately vet plastic surgeons by using their cell phone or computer.
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.
Your goal is to get an understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider for patients with similar body characteristics.
Seeing the best results of a providers career or results on patients who were ideal candidates may not be accurate or a good representation.
To get a good understanding of what typical results look like you need to see a lot of results.
And experience provider should have no difficulty showing you at least 10 to 20 previous examples.
Before having consultations, you should get familiarized with what quality results should look like.
Look at lots of before, and after pictures online until you can recognize and quality results easily.
Ideally, you should be able to tell why results look good.
For tummy tuck results look primarily at surgeons who get natural looking belly buttons And a well designed incision or scar.
The color of the scar is irrelevant to the skill of the surgeon.
Is the design and position of this car that makes the difference
A tax score should be placed low and follow anatomic contour naturally.
Individuals who have extensive skin laxity and may need a more extended tummy tuck procedure.
Make sure if this applies to you or not.
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 the better provider for your needs.
Most people do not have a lot of experience consulting with plastic surgeons.
By having multiple consultations, you’ll get better at the process, including the ability to vet providers.
Went out, slow down and scheduled more consultations.
Finding the right provider is time consuming and may involve some financial cost.
The investment is well worth it.
This is definitely one of those things that should be done once and done correctly.
Average plastic surgeons deliver average results.
If you want exceptional outcomes, you’ll need to find exceptional providers.
Good luck,
Mats Hagstrom MD