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Procedures >> For the Body >> Contouring Surgery
Body Contouring Surgery
If you are considering a contouring surgical procedure in the near future, you'll find this guide both helpful and educational. All surgeries require research on the part of the patient, and that applies to body contouring surgery just as well.
So while we this article will certainly help you understand the basics, you should view it as the start of your ongoing education about body contouring procedures. After all, you owe it to yourself to learn as much as possible about this subject before making any medical decisions.
What is Body Contouring Surgery?
This type of surgery removes excess skin (and some degree of body fat) in order to reshape or "contour" unsightly areas of the body. Typically, body contouring surgery is used for patients who've lost a lot of weight and therefore have a lot of excess skin.
This is why body contouring is so popular among patients of bariatric weight-loss surgery. When patients lose a lot of weight during a bariatric procedure, they typically end up with excess / sagging skin. Body contouring surgery is used to reduce this problem.
Here's an example of how closely intertwined body contouring is with bariatric surgery. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons more than 140,000 Americans underwent some form of weight loss surgery in 2004. About 56,000 of those people went on to have a body contouring procedure afterward, mainly as a result of excess skin.
Isn't It Just Plastic Surgery?
Many people ask the question: "Well isn't body contouring just another name for plastic surgery?" Yes and no. Contouring surgery is just one type of plastic surgery — a broad classification that covers many different types of procedures. But body contouring has a unique name because of the unique circumstances involved with the procedures.
All plastic surgery procedures involve the surgical improvement or restructuring of the face or body, in some way. But body contouring surgery does this in a specific way. As mentioned, this type of procedure is usually performed on people with large amounts of excess skin, often as the result of a weigh loss surgery.
Various Types of Procedures
It's important to note at this point that there are several forms of body contouring surgery that may be used independently or in conjunction with each other. Collectively, these procedures for dealing with excess skin are referred to as body contouring — thus, in addition to having their own titles, these procedures are also known as "body contouring surgery" in general.
Types of procedures that fall into this group include:
Risks of Body Contouring Surgery
As with most of our cosmetic procedure guides we would like to end this guide by mentioning the risks associated with body contouring procedures. All surgeries have risks, and contouring surgery is no different. So this is certainly an area you should look into further, even after leaving our website.
While each patient and each surgery is different, there are certain risks associated with these procedures in general. Here's a partial list of the risks of body contouring surgery procedures:
- Bleeding (from the small incisions that are made)
- Infection (as with any form of surgery)
- Skin necrosis (tissue death)
- Excessive scarring or abnormal scar formation
- Development of a seroma (a lump caused by fluid buildup)
In addition to the risks listed above, there are also some more severe (but also more rare) risks of body contouring surgery. These include:
- Pulmonary embolism (blood clot that forms in the lung)
- Heart attack
- Pneumonia
- Deep vein thrombosis (blockage in a vein that could form a clot)
- Development of a seroma (a lump caused by fluid buildup)
In addition to the risks of a body contouring surgery there are also some common side effects you should be aware of. These include swelling, bruising and soreness in the area of the surgery; numbness; scarring; and (as is the case with many surgeries) possible depression as well.
Conclusion
We hope this guide to body contouring surgery helps you better understand the process and empowers you to make smart choices about your surgery. We also recommend that you conduct further research into the matter before making any decisions, and that you go the extra mile to choose a highly qualified surgeon (if you do decide to have body contouring surgery after all). Good luck, and good health!
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