Abdominoplasty When Overweight-

This 36-year-old mother of 1 child had significant weight gain during pregnancy and was unable to lose much postpartum. Despite working out in the gym and dietary restraints she was still overweight. Her body mass index was at 33 which is considered obese. She had very specific goals and that was to remove redundant skin and fat from her lower abdominal pannus as well as improve her flanks. She did feel that she would be able to exercise better with the excess tissue removed. Dr. Lyle evaluated her and recommended weight loss however her goals seemed achievable and she had realistic expectations. She had no other significant health problems so she underwent a full abdominoplasty with diastases repair as well as liposuction of the flanks and abdomen. During surgery she had 5.6 pounds of skin and fat removed from her lower abdomen and nearly 2 lbs of fat removed via liposuction. She was very happy with her outcome. She did in fact continue to work out and actually lost more weight after her recovery. Tummy tuck is ideal for patients who are moderately overweight or normal weight. Significantly overweight and obese patients can also realize significant benefits. However, risk of complications is higher in the obese population and expectations have to be tempered. Surgery is not a substitute for weight loss and healthy habits. Strict criteria for patient selection is paramount, and as long as patients are otherwise very healthy, good results can be achieved.