New York City Lower Body Lift, Manhattan Butt Lift, Thigh Lift NYC

PLANNING

Following massive weight loss, as everyone's hopes, concerns, goals, and story are quite different, the lower body lift procedure is carefully tailored to your specific needs. During your initial consultation with Dr. Kolker, he will thoroughly discuss your desires and expectations for your lower body lift. After a careful discussion of your weight loss and health history, he will conduct a thorough examination of the skin, soft tissue and muscles of your torso, and their relationship to the rest of your body. He will carefully review the lower body lift procedure, or combination of procedures, that suit you best. Known by a variety of names, such as circumferential abdominoplasty, circumferential dermolipectomy, extended abdominoplasty, and belt lipectomy, the lower body lift procedure that best suits your needs will be carefully customized, using the most appropriate combination of techniques. As women and men who have lost considerable weight will often have areas other than the torso that concern them, such as the inner thigh excess, breast droop, arm laxity, and facial and neck laxity, Dr. Kolker will determine the best sequence of procedures with you, as well as the possibility of a combination of procedures. Dr. Kolker will answer all questions that you might have regarding any step of the process.

PROCEDURE

The lower body lift procedure is performed with a horizontal incision in the lower abdomen within the bikini line that progresses past the hips and around to the upper part of the buttock area. Most lower body lift incisions are kept low, so camouflage may be possible in many bathing suits and potentially in low-rise jeans. Excess fat is removed directly around the entire midsection, and the abdominal muscles and fascia (connective tissues) are tightened and repaired, and the excess skin is trimmed away. Dr. Kolker will use liposuction techniques in conjunction with most lower body lift procedures to produce the most natural and beautifully sculpted results. Dr. Kolker favors the circumferential incision lower body lift for most individuals. In certain cases, a "fleur-de-lis" technique may be employed, which is often reserved for cases of severe horizontal excess where there is a pre-existing vertical incision line from an open bypass procedure. In the majority of individuals following weight loss through diet and exercise, laparascopic band surgery (lap band), laparascopic bypass (lap roux-en-y and other bypass procedures), and even open incisional bypass surgery, a low-placed circumferential incision is performed. Dr. Kolker's unique artistic and technical approach to lower body lift can be found in his journal article "Maximizing aesthetics and safety in lower body lift... with liposuction" developed and published by Dr. Kolker in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, May 2009. The procedure takes between four and eight hours. Lower body lift in New York is performed in hospital at the Mount Sinai Medical Center with one overnight stay for monitoring and nursing care. In rare circumstances, patients will elect to spend two nights after a lower body lift.

RECOVERY

Following your lower body lift procedure, you will go home the following day with a friend or family member. Dr. Kolker suggests taking two to three weeks for recovery when feasible, although it is indeed possible to return to work or school as early as 10 to 14 days after your lower body lift (provided there is no heavy lifting involved). Small drain tubes are placed during your lower body lift, and most often will be removed between the seventh and tenth day. With few exceptions, all sutures are dissolvable, and no suture removal in necessary. Light aerobic activity (elliptical or Precor, light treadmill walking) may be resumed as early as ten days following lower body lift, and more strenuous activity is begun at three weeks (excluding abdominal and core exercises, which are resumed at six weeks). The final shape and feel is reached approximately three months after lower body lift. Your relationship with Dr. Kolker does not end after lower body lift surgery; he will see you often through the first weeks and months following your lower body lift, and will advise you on all matters in your recovery including exercise, activity, and diet.

RELATED PROCEDURES

Lower body lift surgery is most often performed as an isolated procedure. For those individuals who desire additional plastic surgery enhancements, lower body lift may be combined with breast augmentation, breast lift (mastopexy), liposuction, and facial rejuvenation procedures in selected cases. Given the length of the lower body lift surgery, however, in only rare cases will the lower body lift be combined with other procedures. Other procedures geared towards treating the excesses associated with massive weight loss, such as inner thigh lift, arm lift, breast lift (mastopexy), breast augmentation and lift (augmentation mastopexy), and face lift can be performed before or after the lower body lift procedure, usually staged by 8 to twelve weeks.

If you would like to learn more about having a lower body lift in New York, and about the lower body lift techniques that will suit you best, we invite you to meet with Dr. Kolker for a private consultation at our office, located at Park Avenue and 70th Street, by calling 212-744-6500, or by scheduling an appointment online.