A flankplasty – sometimes known as a lower body lift - can help if you have excess skin or fat or loose tissue on your flanks (the area on the side of your body between the ribs and hips, more commonly known as ‘love handles’). This procedure aims to improve the waistline’s contours by creating a more streamlined and defined appearance.
2 - 3 hours
1 night
2 weeks
12 weeks
This procedure removes excess skin and tissue from the flanks – the waist, hips and lower back. This is a particularly difficult area to tone up, even with a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise.
Flankplasty can result in a leaner, tighter, more sculpted look in the flanks and waist by removing areas of stubborn fat and saggy skin. This kind of procedure can be used in combination with other treatments, such as liposuction, an arm lift or a thigh lift, for even more enhanced contours, often following substantial weight loss from bariatric surgery.
If you have ‘love handles’ – excess skin and fat in the middle section of your body – and you feel self-conscious about it, this procedure could help in the following ways:
Just like every surgical procedure, flankplasty carries a degree of risk and potentially could have complications. As a guide, these could include:
This type of surgery uses general anaesthetic, and you should also be aware of the risks that can be associated with this.
As this procedure is performed using general anaesthetic, you’ll be asleep while it’s carried out.
Typically, your surgeon will initially make an incision along your lower abdomen. This will then extend around the sides of your waist and back, just above your buttocks.
The next step is for your surgeon to remove the excess skin and tissue from your flanks – they’ll then tighten the underlying muscles and reshape the remaining skin so that a smoother and more toned appearance is achieved. They’ll then close the incision.
This procedure can take 2-3 hours, depending on how extensive the lift needs to be and the amount of loose skin that needs to be removed.
This procedure could help you if you have lost a substantial amount of weight and would like to have excess skin and fat on your lower body removed. You’ll need to be over the age of 18, be in good general health and understand what can realistically be achieved from flankplasty surgery. You should also bear in mind that you will have to rest following the operation, including taking 3 weeks off work.
You’ll stay overnight in hospital after your operation, and it’s important that you arrange in advance for someone to drive you home, as you won’t be able to drive yourself. You may have drains for a couple of days – if so, these will need to be removed by the hospital.
You should expect to feel soreness, discomfort and/or numbness in the first days after your flankplasty, and you can take painkillers to manage this. Although you should rest after your surgery to help ensure that your recovery gets off to the best possible start, to reduce the risk of DVT and help reduce any swelling, you should make gentle movement around the house frequently throughout the day.
After this, you can start to gently exercise, as it will help to reduce any swelling and is also necessary to help ensure you don’t develop blood clots.
It’s likely that you will need 3 weeks off work following your flankplasty, and you should sleep on your side for 4 weeks. You’ll also need to avoid heavy lifting for 6 weeks.
You’re likely to have bruising and swelling, and this can take up to 8 weeks to fully subside. And you will be required to wear a compression garment for this time, too.
This kind of surgery can have long-lasting results – provided that you’re able to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you should be able to enjoy them for many years. However, it’s important to understand that the natural aging process will cause subtle changes over time, and if your weight fluctuates there can be an impact on your results.
Just like any surgical procedure, flankplasty can cause you to feel discomfort and pain while you’re recovering, although this can be managed with painkillers and will start to reduce as you heal.
How much pain you might feel will depend on various factors, including how high your natural tolerance to pain is. Following a healthy diet which is protein-rich will help to promote healing.
It’s always best to follow your surgeon’s post-surgery instructions so that you can manage any pain, heal more quickly and see the best results after surgery.
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