Loose Skin After Weight Loss
Loose Skin After Weight Loss
You lost the weight. The skin stayed where the weight was. It hangs at the abdomen, the arms, the thighs and the breasts, and the body does not look like the work you put in. The weight is gone and the skin that stretched to hold it has stayed. It folds over the waistband, hangs from the upper arms and rubs between the thighs. For many people a large weight loss ends right here. The body cannot finish the job on its own, because skin stretched far enough for long enough does not shrink back.
Loose Skin After Weight Loss
Loose Skin After Weight Loss
You lost the weight. The skin stayed where the weight was. It hangs at the abdomen, the arms, the thighs and the breasts, and the body does not look like the work you put in. The weight is gone and the skin that stretched to hold it has stayed. It folds over the waistband, hangs from the upper arms and rubs between the thighs. For many people a large weight loss ends right here. The body cannot finish the job on its own, because skin stretched far enough for long enough does not shrink back.
WHAT CAUSES IT
Why it happens
Why the skin stays, and what decides which operation is right. This is why the plan starts with an assessment instead of a menu. The same appearance can have different causes, and the right treatment follows the cause.
01
Stretched skin cannot retract
Skin has an elastic limit, and a large or long-held weight expands it past that limit for good.
02
The skin hangs by region
The abdomen and flanks loosen separately from the arms, the inner thighs and the breasts. The outer thighs and buttocks loosen on their own as well, and each region has its own operation.
03
Timing matters
Skin surgery works when the weight has been stable for a year or so and nutrition has recovered, so the body can heal a long incision.
04
Fat is sometimes still part of it
Where fat remains under the loose skin, liposuction is combined with the skin removal.
WHAT ACTUALLY TREATS IT
What actually treats loose skin after weight loss in Barrie
Skin that has been stretched far enough for long enough does not shrink back, and each region loosens separately and has its own operation. Surgical and non-surgical routes are both offered here, and the assessment decides the order.
Abdominoplasty
A tummy tuck. It removes the apron of loose abdominal skin and repairs the abdominal muscles. It is the most common procedure after a large weight loss.
Loose skin at the front, folding over the waistband. Where the loose skin circles the whole lower body rather than sitting at the front, a larger operation that addresses it all the way round is discussed at the consultation.
The apron of skin is removed and the abdominal wall is tightened. Where fat remains under the loose skin, liposuction is combined with the skin removal.
Dr. Tumi performs the surgery. Most patients are back at desk work in two to three weeks and exercising at six. The scar is long and placed under clothing, pink for months and fading over a year or two. The final shape settles over six to twelve months.
Brachioplasty
An arm lift. It removes the hanging skin of the upper arm.
Skin that hangs from the upper arms after weight loss and does not retract. Where the laxity is modest and confined to one area, Morpheus8 Body tightening is sometimes the better fit.
The loose skin of the upper arm is removed. Where fat remains under it, liposuction is combined with the skin removal.
Dr. Tumi performs the surgery. An arm lift is one to two weeks to desk work. The scar is long and placed under clothing, pink for months and fading over a year or two. The final shape settles over six to twelve months.
Thighplasty
A thigh lift. It removes loose inner-thigh skin that chafes and folds.
Inner thighs that rub and fold after weight loss. The outer thighs and buttocks loosen separately and are addressed by the larger all-round operation rather than by this one.
The loose skin of the inner thigh is removed. Where fat remains under it, liposuction is combined with the skin removal.
Dr. Tumi performs the surgery. A thigh lift is one to two weeks to desk work. The scar is long and placed under clothing, pink for months and fading over a year or two. The final shape settles over six to twelve months.
Breast Lift
Restores breasts that emptied and dropped during the weight loss, with or without an implant. The lift addresses the shape, and an implant addresses the volume.
Breasts that lost their volume as the weight came off and now sit low in a skin envelope larger than what fills it. An implant is added where the fullness needs replacing as well as the shape.
Excess skin is removed and the breast is reshaped. An implant is added in the same operation where volume also has to be restored.
Dr. Tumi performs the surgery. The operations are usually staged over months, biggest first, and each one is a real recovery of two to four weeks. The timeline for your case is confirmed at the consultation.
Morpheus8 Body
Radiofrequency microneedling that tightens skin. It tightens, it does not remove, and that line matters here.
Mild to moderate laxity in one area after a smaller weight loss. It is not an alternative to surgery where there is an apron of skin to remove.
Radiofrequency microneedling treats the skin itself to tighten it. Where the skin has been stretched past its elastic limit, only removing it changes the shape.
Delivered by the trained clinical team under Dr. Tumi's direction. Whether it fits your case is decided at the consultation.
Where the loose skin circles the whole lower body, a larger operation that addresses it all the way round is discussed at the consultation. Expect three to four weeks to desk work and a planned overnight stay.
Surgery is planned once your weight has been stable for about a year and nutrition has recovered, so the body can heal a long incision.
What to expect
After a tummy tuck, most patients are back at desk work in two to three weeks and exercising at six. An arm lift or a thigh lift is one to two weeks. A larger all-round operation is three to four weeks, with a planned overnight stay. Scars are long and placed under clothing, pink for months and fading over a year or two. The final shape of each operation settles over six to twelve months, and the results hold as long as your weight stays stable. The timeline for your case is confirmed at the consultation. See before and after results
Cost
Fees are quoted at the consultation. Dr. Tumi first sees which operations belong in your plan and in what order, because each region is a separate operation with its own price. You receive the figure in writing. Not covered by OHIP. Financing available through Beautifi, Medicard and Credit Medical.
Financing
Not covered by OHIP. Financing available through Beautifi, Medicard and Credit Medical.
Who provides your care
Surgeon-led care you can verify
You are assessed by Dr. Kamal Tumi, M.D., F.R.C.S.(C), a board-certified plastic surgeon with more than 28 years in practice and over 3,500 surgeries performed, and a consultant plastic surgeon at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre since 2004. The surgeon who assesses you is the surgeon who operates. Injectable treatment is performed by Dr. Tumi himself. Non-surgical treatment is delivered by our trained clinical team under his direction, including Priscilla Carvalho, medical aesthetician, phlebotomist and skin therapist. Smoking materially affects healing for most procedures, which is why you will be asked about it. His CPSO registration is public and searchable.
“I will not do a surgery on you if you do not need it.”
An assessment and a conversation.
You do not need to arrive knowing which procedure you want. Describing what bothers you is enough. You are not committing to surgery by booking a consultation.
FAQ
About Barrie Plastic Surgery
Yes. He holds an M.D. and is certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as a specialist in plastic surgery. That certification separates a plastic surgeon from a physician who offers cosmetic treatment. He has been a consultant plastic surgeon at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre since 2004.
In everyday use they are used interchangeably, and both terms describe most of what we do. Strictly, plastic surgery is the recognized surgical specialty, which includes reconstructive work. Cosmetic surgery describes procedures done to change appearance. Dr. Tumi is qualified in the specialty.
It depends on the procedure. Some, including upper eyelid surgery, are done in our own office under local anesthetic. Larger procedures are booked in an operating room, and which setting applies to you is confirmed at your consultation.
Yes. Male patients are a normal part of the practice. Eyelid surgery and gynecomastia are the usual reasons, and skin procedures are common too. ---
Unit 24, 222 Mapleview Drive West in Barrie, just off Highway 400 at the Mapleview exit. Consultations, injectables and the office procedures happen here. Operations that need a general anesthetic are done at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, where Dr. Tumi has been a consultant plastic surgeon since 2004.
Dr. Tumi performs facial, breast and body surgery. Skin procedures are part of the practice too: mole removal, skin cancer removal, scar revision. On the non-surgical side he injects the neuromodulators and fillers himself. Laser, CoolSculpting, Morpheus8 and skin treatments are delivered by the clinical team under his direction.
Yes, for anything surgical, and for most non-surgical treatment too. The consultation is an examination and a conversation. Dr. Tumi looks at what is actually causing what you see, tells you what can and cannot be changed, and gives you a written quote afterwards. You are not asked to decide on the day.
Dr. Tumi performs every surgery and every injection himself. The surgeon who assesses you is the surgeon who operates. Laser, CoolSculpting, Morpheus8 and skin treatments are delivered by the clinic's trained clinical staff, under his direction.
Yes. Cosmetic procedures are not covered by OHIP, and we work with three financing providers: Beautifi, Medicard and Credit Medical. Every quote is given in writing at the consultation, so you know the full figure before you decide anything.
Dr. Tumi examines the area himself. He explains what he finds in plain language, including what he would not recommend, and offers the smaller option where one exists. You leave with a written quote and time to think. If nothing surgical is the honest answer, you will be told so.