Obesity can usually be controlled with diet and exercise. However in some cases, people are so obese that they cannot exercise, and thus find it difficult to reduce weight. In such cases, the solution lies in weight loss surgery, gastric bypass surgery or bariatric surgery.
Bariatric surgery is a surgical procedure where the stomach and intestines are modified with stomach stapling so that less food is consumed at a time, which in turn helps with weight loss. However before anyone considers bariatric surgery, one should be aware of the consequences of the resultant extreme weight loss of 100 pounds or more.
The most prominent after effect of extreme weigh loss is loose skin. Basically, obese people‚ skin stretches to accommodate their increased weight. Once they lose weight, the same skin does not tighten but starts to sag and even hangs. It is not possible to tighten this skin through exercise and diet as only muscles get tightened with exercise.
Surgeries to tighten loose skin
It is however possible to tighten all this loose skin through different surgeries. Tummy tuck helps tighten loose abdominal skin, an arm lift tightens loose arm skin, breast lifts tighten loose breast skin while inner and outer thigh lifts help tighten loose inner thigh skin and loose buttock skin.
A body lift is a combination of all these cosmetic surgeries. Liposuction is not advised or possible for tightening skin as liposuction is advised only when the patient has tight skin, and lots of fat to remove.
Be ready for scars
All these surgeries will definitely leave scars; the more skin that is removed, the more extensive scars are formed. In case of a body lift, expect scars along the lower abdomen, around the hips and towards the buttock crease.
So before undergoing bariatric surgery, one has to be ready for the consequent surgeries required to tighten loose skin. All these surgeries are relatively expensive; require a minimum of a week‚ stay in the hospital, and a few months‚ rest at home.
Moreover, while a body lift and other cosmetic surgeries drastically change the patient‚ appearance, they have to be willing to accept the consequent scars of the operations. It is not at all possible to predict how large or prominent these scars are; however considering the fact that the scars are for a worthy purpose, those suffering from morbid obesity seldom worry much about it.
