Massive Weight Loss Patients Create Mass Appeal For Body Contouring Procedures

Body contouring procedures include breast (76,000), buttock (3,500), lower body (9,000), thigh (8,000) and upper arm lifts (10,000). There were 43 times more lower body lifts and 30 times more upper arm lifts in 2004 versus 2000. Plastic surgeons are treating increasing numbers of patients with dramatic weight loss, and surgeons are applying these newly developed massive weight loss contouring techniques to other patients interested in improving their body shape.

“There has been an explosion in the demand for body contouring surgery, and I think this can be explained by the rapidly increasing numbers of patients who have dramatic weight loss,” said Scott Spear, MD, ASPS president. “At the same time, this new group of patients has served as a catalyst for surgeons to create surgical techniques that can now be transferred to other patients where there are only average needs from mild weight loss, pregnancy, or aging.”

Although the trend for many cosmetic patients is to turn to less invasive options for facial procedures, plastic surgeons are seeing patients choose invasive procedures when dealing with lower body contouring. Rather than liposuction to contour the lower body, patients are turning to procedures like thigh lifts, up 45 percent in 2004 versus 2003, and lower body lifts, up 72 percent in 2004 versus 2003.

“We have gone from being less invasive to more aggressive for body contouring,” said Jeffrey Kenkel, MD, ASPS/ASAPS Post Bariatric Surgery Task Force Chair. “I know I can get a more dramatic change in the waist with a lower body lift than I can with liposuction alone.”

To ensure plastic surgery procedures are not overstated, the ASPS has refined the methodology for its collection of statistics to offer more accurate, reliable, and realistic data on plastic surgery. Since 2003, statistics have been collected through the first online national database for plastic surgery procedures called Tracking Operations and Outcomes for Plastic Surgeons (TOPS). This data combined with the annual survey sent to more than 17,000 board-certified physicians in specialties most likely to perform plastic surgery results in the most comprehensive census on plastic surgery procedures.

For referrals to ASPS Member Surgeons, call 888-4-PLASTIC (888-475-2784) or visit http://www.plasticsurgery.org.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world. With more than 5,000 members, the society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. ASPS comprises 94 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. Founded in 1931, the society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.