Results of Body Lift Surgery

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You will probably feel a bit mummified initially with all the dressings that you will have on your wounds and the compression clothing that you may be required to wear. However, you will immediately realise that you have less weight on your body due to the removal of all your excess skin. This may make you feel lighter, but you will also feel quite exhausted from the procedure, so the two feelings may counter each other out slightly! The folds of skin will be gone and the skin that you are left with will feel tighter.

Wound appearance

The areas around your wounds will probably appear quite swollen and bruised initially. This can look quite unsightly but you shouldn’t be put off. Carry out all the wound management that was suggested by your surgeon or nurse. This will help reduce the swelling and speed up the healing process. The swelling should reduce after about six weeks and most people find that it has nearly completely gone after around 3 months. The bruising will also reduce over time (depending on the extent and your natural healing speed). Your surgeon or nurse will be able to suggest some creams or treatments to help this healing process. This could include taking anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen to reduce the swelling and using arnica cream to reduce the area of bruising.

Once you have the dressings removed you will notice that your scars will change colour as they heal. The appearance of your wounds about six months after your body lift surgery will usually represent the final appearance of your scars. However, this will vary from person to person due to differences in natural healing ability and wound extent. The final result of your body lift may take up to two years to fully develop. Be aware that different people’s scars will look different (some people have pink, purple or white scars or suffer from keloid) and your scars may also change colour on exposure to the sun. 

How long do the results of body lift surgery last?

The results are usually long lasting (years) but this will depend on your behaviour after surgery. If you are committed to maintaining a stable weight and carrying out daily exercise then most of the tightness produced by the surgery will be maintained. A small reduction in your skin firmness will occur naturally as you age, but by living a healthy, active lifestyle you can maximise the more youthful appearance produced by your body lift surgery.

Pregnancy will stretch the skin around the abdomen and may result in the re-development of skin folds on delivery. However some people find that there skin returns to its post-body lift surgery state a few months after giving birth (in the same way that it does for most women).  

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