Cosmetic Surgery after Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass surgery is one of the fastest growing surgical procedures in the United States today. Over 145,000 people had gastric bypass, also known as bariatric, surgery in the year 2004 alone, which showed a huge increase over the 47,000 patients that underwent this procedure in 2001. While the use of gastric bypass to lose weight has become more common, it is not a perfect solution. Many patients require cosmetic surgery after gastric bypass surgery, in order to get the exact look they want.

Cosmetic surgery after gastric bypass can be a mandatory step for some patients, due to the amount of weight that they lose and the loose skin that is created by this weight loss. Directly after the gastric bypass surgery, most patients are placed in body shaping compression garments. These garments help to put pressure on the areas of the body that are going to be losing the most weight, such as the abdomen and the thighs and buttocksocks. The purpose of this compression is to help the body's tissues (skin especially) to contract naturally after a large weight loss, and also to stop edema (swelling from fluid).

The most common cosmetic surgery after gastric bypass is the tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty. This surgery involves cutting off excess skin in the stomach area, and then helping to redrape the skin over the muscle, pulling it taught. While the tummy tuck procedure does leave at least one scar, often this surgery and resulting scarring is preferable to the excess skin.

Another procedure that is often performed after gastric bypass is liposuction. While liposuction is not the best way to lose large amounts of weight, it can be helpful after bariatric surgery, because it can remove fat deposits from areas where weight loss by itself is not working. Examples of this can be in the chin area ? some patients have double chins even after losing large amounts of weight through surgery, or in areas such as the love handles, which may not disappear even with massive weight loss.

Cosmetic surgery after gastric bypass can be a good way to help bariatric patients to feel their very best. While the gastric bypass may be the major surgery, additional cosmetic procedures can help to make bodies that have lost a lot of weight look even shapelier. The removal of excess skin or fat deposits can help patients to really have the body they've always wanted.