What is a Body Lift?
A body lift, also known as a belt lipectomy, is a surgical procedure that improves body shape and tone by removing excess skin and fat from the abdomen, lower back, buttocks, hips and thighs. It tightens underlying tissue and improves the appearance of the skin’s surface, especially if the skin is dimpled or sagging. A body lift is often combined with other procedures such as an arm lift, breast lift or liposuction, which removes localized fat deposits.
How Does a Body Lift Work?
A body lift is performed while you’re under general anesthesia. The length and placement of incisions will depend on the areas of the body your lift is targeting. After making precise incisions, your surgeon will remove excess fat — possibly using liposuction — and will reposition and tighten the underlying tissues using deep sutures that form and support your new body contours. Excess skin is trimmed away and the outer incisions are closed with sutures, skin adhesives, tape or clips.
After the surgery, you’ll have surgical dressings over the incision sites; you might also need to wear a compression garment and have tubes in place to drain excess fluid for one to three weeks.
How Long Does it Take to Recover From a Body Lift?
Recovery time for this procedure usually takes about three to four weeks — but as with every surgery, recovery is highly individual. During your consultation, your doctor will talk to you about what to expect. As your body heals, your final results will continue to develop for up to two years.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Body Lift
Skin that has stretched can lose its elasticity, so people who have lost 100 pounds or more are often left with excess skin that used to cover their larger body contours. A body lift can remove this excess skin, but you should be at your final, stable weight for a year before having the surgery.
Body lift results are permanent, as long as you don’t gain or lose a significant amount of weight, but you’ll still see normal signs of aging, such as decreasing skin elasticity.
Most people resume normal activity within a few days and are back to work in about three weeks, but it will be about six weeks before you can do more strenuous activities like exercise or lifting heavy weights.
