Experience a new you

by Courtney Caplin, MD, DMD
Cosmetic Surgery Columnist

With the epidemic as health, athleisure and people regaining healthy lifestyles, the number of patients who come to our office (Cosmetic Surgery Affiliates; CSA) after massive weight loss has been soaring.

While tummy tucks are still a very popular surgery for after pregnancy, more and more patients are interested in larger surgeries to remove the extra skin around their entire body.

The most popular surgery is called a body lift which removes a belt of tissue 360 degrees around the midsection. In practical terms, the body lift is three surgeries in one: a tummy tuck in the front, a thigh lift on the sides, and a butt lift in the back.

As you can imagine performing this surgery can transform a body. Here is what one patient told CSA about her experience:

“Pregnancy was not a kind thing to my body. I always managed to lose the weight after each pregnancy, but the skin and stretch marks afterward always stuck around. I married and had children young. In fact, I had four before the age of twenty-five.

“I have lived with those physical scars for most of my adult life. I was in a bad marriage which caused many emotional scars as well during that time.

She went on to say, “I have healed emotionally from those times in my life, but I had the physical reminders every day. I always knew I wanted to "get my body fixed.” I knew no amount of exercise or dieting was going to help my situation. I shopped around and explored many surgeons before I chose Dr. Caplin.

“I noticed you had lots of transgender cases. I chose you because I was afraid of being judged for what my body looked, and I admired your open-mindedness and compassion for changing someone's life genuinely.

“The results blow my mind every day. My husband has seen me naked, and that hasn't happened in nearly three years, and I went and bought myself a bikini! My confidence, my attitude, my energy, and my motivation has increased so much. I will be back for my breast as soon as I can save up the time off work again. I cannot recommend you and your staff enough. You all have been such a blessing to me. The one thing I can say I regret is not having the procedure sooner.”

Although the surgery can sound daunting, on average, it is performed in three hours or less at our office. Although general anesthesia is used, the body lift surgery is performed in our on-site surgical center and is considered outpatient.

Patients are welcome to stay in our overnight convenience suite or go home to the comfort of their bed. Recovery time is just a little longer than a tummy tuck and on average, takes about two weeks. Most of our patients who have worked so hard to get to their new healthy weight are excited to get back to their routine and go to the gym to exercise and sport new work out clothing that shows off their new shape.

We encourage them to listen to their bodies and return to light exercise, including walking and elliptical as soon as they feel comfortable. However, we request no high-intensity exercise for one month.

Copyright The Gayly 7/22/2018 @ 11;31 a.m. CST.