Buttock lift: plastic surgery in patients with extreme weight loss

Like the rest of the body after a great weight loss, the gluteal area is not spared. While this is generally not at the top of the list of desired body changes, it can become the center of attention after addressing other higher priority areas such as the abdomen, arms, and breasts.

In the normal aging process, the buttocks sag over time, more in some people than others. After extreme weight loss, this sagging is greatly exaggerated. Deflating the buttocks creates folds of loose skin that hang over the lower crease of the buttocks or cause the buttocks to move down as a complete unit. In women, this sagging effect is usually much greater than in men, since they tend to have more skin and fat on the buttocks to begin with.

The buttock lift can be performed with several different methods, approaching the problem from above or below, depending on the buttock problem and what other concurrent procedures are being performed. One of the most effective methods is the upper or upper glute lift, which is the back half of a circumferential body lift. The skin and fat are cut around the waist above the gluteal area as part of the 360 ​​degree excision of a body lift. While not as much skin can be removed on the lower back as on the front of the abdomen, the buttocks can be lifted by a significant amount. Think of this procedure as “pulling up your pants,” so to speak. This glute lift can also be done alone, without the front half of a body lift, but it would be unusual to have significantly saggy glutes after weight loss without an abdominal overhang as well.

While the body lift or upper butt lift lifts sagging skin, it will not cause the buttocks to “re-inflate” or fix the loss of volume from weight loss. In essence, the sagging of your buttocks will be improved, but it will still be fairly flat. Some plastic surgeons do ‘auto augmentation’ at the same time using a bit of skin and fat that would normally be removed by trimming. Essentially using your tissue to serve as an implant. While this is a smart use of tissue flaps, it rarely adds significant volume and often doesn’t put it where the volume is really needed. (lower, not higher) I’m not overly excited about this approach even though it’s its own weave. If someone finally wants a bigger butt, I will usually do butt implants later.

Another type of butt lift is from below or a lower butt lift. This is an “old-fashioned” method that removes the skin on the lower half of the buttocks that protrudes from the crease of the buttocks. This is generally not helpful in extreme weight loss as it pushes the buttock down further to cut through the skin. This is pulling in the wrong direction for most patients. For mild buttock sagging without significant volume loss, this type of butt lift may be acceptable.

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