A body lift is a procedure that removes as much excess skin from the midsection as possible while tightening the abdominal muscles and lifts the buttocks and outer thighs at the same time. It is a wonderful cosmetic surgery procedure, but it can take 5-6 hours to perform. Therefore, Dr. Schreiber usually recommends an overnight stay in the hospital after a body lift to help ensure your safety and a smooth recovery. Body lifts are very common procedures for those patients who have lost a lot of weight with diet and exercise, those with excess skin from bariatric surgery, and those women who have excess skin from pregnancy.
Dr. Jeffrey Schreiber greets each person himself during the consultation. He will then perform a thorough physical exam to help determine the best course of action that will meet the patient’s aesthetic goals. Next, he takes every patient back to his office to show them exactly what he will do and how he will do it. He also spends as much time as is necessary to answer each and every patient question. Dr. Schreiber is also willing to get insurance preauthorization for those patients he thinks will qualify to get the abdominal panniculous, or excess belly skin, removal covered by the insurance company.
For the actual surgery, Dr. Schreiber will first remove the excess skin from the back and lift the buttocks and outer thighs. He will then essentially perform a tummy tuck to complete the procedure. This involves tightening the abdominal muscles and involves removing as much excess abdominal skin as possible.
Recovery takes about 2 weeks with exercise resuming at 4-6 weeks. Dr. Schreiber also places 2-4 drains underneath the skin to help remove any excess fluid. The drains that Dr. Schreiber uses are painless when they are removed! He also places long-lasting numbing medicine in the abdominal muscles for maximum patient relief that lasts several days.