Facelift After Bariatric Surgery in Raleigh, North Carolina*

Patients having weight loss surgery will often have a host of concerns that can be addressed with cosmetic surgery. Typically Patients will choose abdominoplasty, brachioplasty, thigh lift and breast surgery. Often the extensive weight loss will result in severe laxity of the facial tissues and neck skin. Generally this is not the top priority but is on the list of desired improvements that many patients would like improvements on. This 65-year-old woman had lost 160 pounds after a duodenal switch. Dr. Lyle had already performed breast lifting with augmentation on her and ultimately she requested improvements in her face. She had a "turkey gobbler" type deformity of the neck and this was her top concern. Because of the extreme laxity of her face, an isolated neck lift was not recommended and she underwent a full facelift. She was very pleased with the improvements made. Her scars were barely perceptible and hidden in the hairline and preauricular area. Although not as common as body contouring, facelift is a commonly requested procedure after massive weight loss. Minimally invasive procedures generally are not as effective in patients with this degree of weight loss as the skin laxity is best served with excisional procedures. Downtime of a facelift is generally about 2 weeks before returning to normal day-to-day activities and up to 4-6 weeks before being completely presentable in social situations.