As medically-supervised weight management grows and changes, so does plastic surgery. Nearly 125 years ago, we saw the advent of the Tummy Tuck, the original body contouring procedure. Some 75 years later, came Liposuction and since then, a whole new crop of body contouring surgeries, such as the panniculectomy, have come and gone.
Today, weight-loss patients and specialists have a new plastic surgery procedure to consider: the Bra-Line Backlift.
The Bra-Line Backlift was developed by Dr. Joseph Hunstad, with the intention of treating excess back skin following massive weight-loss surgeries like gastric bypass. Following massive weight-loss, fatty tissue is suctioned out, using some light liposuction but the Backlift essentially is an upside down tummy tuck, on your back.
Instead of a horizontal incision across the waistline with a tummy tuck, the doctor makes an incision across the upper-middle back (one of the few detractors for men, given the inability to hide the scar with a bra or bathing suit), tightens the muscles and removes excess accumulations of skin.
Dr. Richard D’Amico, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons says that he sees this as more of a “completion procedure”, than anything else. A procedure that might conclude a mommy makeover, for example, as opposed to a primary treatment option.
When is a tummy tuck not the most effective means of toning and sculpting one’s midsection? Often, following some pregnancies or massive weight loss surgery such as Gastric Bypass, a traditional tummy tuck might not be the most effective or even the safest way to minimize excess skin and fat deposits in the lower abdomen.
This question is what led body contouring surgeons to develop a new type of body shaping surgery known as a Panniculectomy.
A Panniculectomy is very similar to a traditional abdominoplasty, but differs slightly in that muscle tissue is not tightened or removed, due to strain on the patient’s body. Instead, only excess and localized fat deposits are removed from the body. The Panniculectomy targets the excess skin and fat of the lower abdomen, between the navel and pubic bone: the area w/the largest accumulation of excess skin and leftover fat after massive weight loss surgery or pregnancy.
Commonly, after massive weight loss surgery, a fair amount of other health conditions will continue to affect a patient’s health, including back problems, ulcers and skin disorders, such as rashes and skin tissue depletion. These health concerns are what principally contributed to the development of this procedure.
Before having this procedure done, prospective patients (after having other fat-removal procedures) must stabilize their weight for one year, including sticking to a strict diet and exercise regiment. Only a trusted and highly qualified (board certified) plastic surgeon, who specializes in abdominal sculpting procedures should perform the Panniculectomy, given the unique patient circumstances that would necessitate such a procedure.
