Body Lift Gallery

A woman in her early 60’s who has lost 83 lbs with diet and exercise. She is nearly 5 feet tall and is 136 lbs. She had bilateral mastopexy/augmentation (breast lift with implants) with the placement of 300 cc smooth round moderate profile plus silicone gel implants placed in a partial subpectoral (below the muscle) position.She is shown 8 1/2 months after bilateral brachioplasty (“arm lift”) and bilateral mastopexy (breast lift), and then 3 months after extended abdominoplasty. Although scars will continue to improve for up to 2 years, she is already thrilled with her early improvement. The brachioplasty trades a visible scar on the arm for a better contour. I prefer to place the scar on the inside of the arm, where tailors typically put the seam of a suit coat sleeve, as it is not visible with the arms at the side. Some surgeons prefer to place the scar at the back of the arm. The extended abdominoplasty extends the incision around the sides and as far back as we can go without turning the patient over during the abdominoplasty. It gives a better correction of the sides than with a standard abdominoplasty, but is less surgery ( and expense) and an easier recovery than a lower body lift. A posterior excision can be done as a second procedure if the patient wants additional tightening to complete a lower body lift in stages, but many patients, including this one do not need or want this.

A 62 yo woman who is over her ideal body weight at 5’2 1/2″ and 188 lbs is troubled by back, neck and shoulder pain because of the size of her 44DD breasts. She also is bothered by her breast asymmetry (difference in size and shape). Her weight is distributed such that she has a “thoracic roll”, a roll of fat and loose skin around her chest. If this is not addressed at the time of her breast reduction she would have a very wide and “boxy” looking breast. The roll of excess skin and fat can be excised at the time of her breast reduction and not only improve the contour of her chest, but also give a better final shape to her breasts. She is shown 1 1/2 years after a bilateral breast reduction combined with a lateral thoracoplasty with the removal of 1393 gms of tissue from her right breast, and 1277 gms of tissue from her left breast to reduce her to a full “c” cup.

A 36 yo woman who has lost 240 lbs with diet and exercise is shown before and after an upper body lift, combined with a spiral mastopexy to correct her breasts. The resultant scar across her back is designed to be hidden under her bra strap or bathing suit top. At one year after surgery she has an excellent contour. The scars that she has are fairly typical for this procedure in this area, but would be expected to continue to fade and improve for at least another year.

A 45 yo woman who is troubled by back and shoulder pain due to the size of her 44 DD breasts. At 5’1″ and 223 lbs, she is significantly over her ideal body weight. In a perfect world, she would lose this extra weight before surgery, but finds it difficult to exercise because of the size of her breasts. Because of her weight she has a “roll” of tissue along her lateral chest that would not be improved with a typical breast reduction, and would detract from the final result by leaving her with wider breasts and a fullness along her sides that many patients do not like. At the time of her breast reduction, the excision can be extended posteriorly to improve her contour. The additional scarring which is covered by a bra, is a worthwhile tradeoff for most patients. She is shown before and again, just over a year following surgery.

A 69 yo woman is shown 9 years previously at the age of 61. She was troubled by fullness and laxity of the hips and lower back area. She had undergone liposuction of these areas at the time of a prior abdominoplasty with good improvement at the age of 59, but was still troubled by looseness and fullness of these areas which improved by lifting the skin with the hand (a positive “lift” test) indicating that further liposuction alone would not be as helpful. Her markings are shown for a Thigh-Buttock lift which is the posterior half of a “lower body lift”. She is shown again 6 months after the surgery, and the final photo is 7 years after her surgery, with good improvement. Her final scar, when combined with her abdominoplasty scar in the front forms a “thong line” scar around her trunk which is hidden by most clothing and bathing suit styles. Her upper back contour was improved with liposuction-further improvement in the upper back would require a visible scar that could be hidden under the bra line – a so called “upper body lift”.