In our search for a beautiful and toned body, we sometimes forget about the main thing – you need to lose weight wisely, because with sharp weight loss there is a risk of serious sagging of the skin. What threatens the rapid loss of kilograms, how to lose weight correctly and what methods of plastic surgery help to eliminate undesirable consequences, we learned from an expert.
plastic surgeon at DMC Center for Innovative Medicine
The format of the weight loss process is different for everyone: someone loses kilograms slowly, someone quickly. Some have concomitant aggravating diseases (for example, diabetes mellitus), others do not. Some enter into the fight against bad habits (smoking, alcohol), others do not refuse anything. All of these factors affect the effectiveness and speed of weight loss.
There is such a direction as bariatric surgery or “obesity surgery”. But we, as plastic surgeons, do not directly fight obesity. We correct the consequences of massive weight loss, when excess and sagging skin, retention of adipose tissue in fat traps and eventual contour deformities occur for various reasons. It is this part of the transformation that is in our competence.
We work together with endocrinologists, nutritionists and bariatric surgeons. There is even a separate area “Plastic surgery in patients who have undergone massive weight loss after bariatric surgery.”
The faster the body weight decreases, the greater the chance that excess skin will form, which simply does not have physical time to shrink. The contraction process can be lost if there is a violation of the development of connective tissue (connective tissue dysplasia). Sometimes by indirect signs we can predict this violation. For example, if there are stretch marks or stretch marks on the skin. Everyone has their own rate of weight loss, and it is important that this process is carried out under the supervision of a specialist.
A sharp decrease in body weight harms the body. To achieve an effective and lasting result with a minimum of complications, a gradual and stepwise weight loss is necessary. The process sometimes drags on for months or even years. However, the result is fully justified. The optimal rate of weight loss is approximately 3-4 kg per month. Is left over? First of all, a minimum of stress for the body, as well as a reduction in protein loss, vascular and renal risks. In addition, at this rate, the skin has time to contract after a decrease in body surface area. This is how healthy weight loss occurs while minimizing long-term aesthetic problems.
In the process of reducing body weight, it is necessary to help the body to stimulate skin contraction. The system of physical exercises developed by Joseph Pilates is quite effective. It is commonly known as the Pilates Method or simply Pilates. This system:
helps to increase the flexibility of the body;
helps restore muscles after injuries or congestion in them;
prevents excessive growth of muscles damaged by connective tissue;
improves blood circulation, respiration;
helps to effectively deal with stress;
improves the quality of sleep (which is very important during weight loss).
As a result, the muscles become more toned and the skin tends to follow them. Also an important step is a quality massage.
In the case of significant weight loss, both with the help of diets and drugs, and after bariatric surgery, the body faces a whole list of problems. Plastic surgeons are capable of solving them.
Operations that aim to improve the contours of the body:
abdominoplasty (abdominoplasty);
breast lift;
operations to lift the body and its individual parts (torsoplasty, brachioplasty, femoroplasty, etc.);
removal of various fat traps with the help of liposuction (fat traps are places of accumulation of adipose tissue that does not undergo a natural decrease in the process of weight loss);
facelift (facelift).
Today we have a complete arsenal of interventions that contribute to skin tightening. But it must be remembered that it is not possible to perform weight lifting after massive weight loss more often at once. As a rule, such large-scale surgical interventions are divided into 2-3 stages within 1-1.5 years with interruptions between operations.
