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ContactPlease call 754-277-4120 to schedule an appointment at our convenient location in Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Michael Frederick also serves the surrounding Broward County towns of Weston, Hollywoood and Cooper City. We also welcome patients from the Miami area, including Aventura and Coral Gables. Dr. Frederick also has strong ties to our Palm Beach neighbors from Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter.
While this most commonly includes body lifts and upper back lifts, each patient is looked at individually and often unique operations are designed by Dr. Frederick specific to what the patient needs.
A body lift is often combined with or planned sequentially with other skin tightening surgeries like an arm lift or thigh lift. Upper back lifts are often combined with breast surgery. Browse through our collection of body contouring before and after photos, then read below for more information.
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Benefits
Massive weight loss through either diet and exercise or bariatric surgery results in excess skin and soft tissue with poor skin tone due to a loss of elasticity. For these reasons plastic surgery such as a body lift or upper back lift is needed to get rid of the excess skin and really see the result of all of your hard working losing the weight. Multiple studies have shown that patients who have plastic surgery after weight loss have higher self-esteem and are more likely to keep the weight off permanently!
Upper Back Lift
An upper back lift combines liposuction of the back with an excision of skin hidden along the braline or bathing suit line. This can help contour the waist as the skin is lifted, eliminates completely the back rolls and gets rid of the excess skin and fat that hangs over the brastrap. No drains are used in an upper back lift.
CANDIDATES
The ideal candidate for an upper back lift has lower back rolls or excess skin and fat that hangs over the bra. Many patients think that excess skin on the back can be excised around the waist like a tummy tuck but it cannot. The skin on the back needs to be lifted to tighten. When a tummy tuck scar is extended around to the back it lifts the lower body and buttocks and is called a body lift.
Body Lift
A body lift combines a tummy tuck with a buttock lift. It excises excess skin along the beltline, which is why a body lift is also perhaps more accurately called a belt lipectomy. In the front a body lift pulls the abdominal tissue down to tighten it and in the back it lifts up the lower body skin, tightening the buttock and pulling up the saddlebags. The body lift is almost always done in combination with liposuction of the abdomen, waist and lower back to create hourglass definition and ideal buttock shaping. This also eliminates the need for a drain.
CANDIDATES
Ideal body lift patients have loose skin on their abdomen that extends all the way around to the waist and lower back. They may also have sagging buttocks which will be corrected as well with the body lift. Liposuction can also be done at the same time as a body lift to create optimal shape and contour.
Procedures
Almost any body contouring procedure can be combined with another. The important thing is to do is safely. There is a limit to how much liposuction can be performed and how much time a patient should be under anesthesia. Developing a strategic plan of how to approach the surgeries is most important. A common combination is to do a tummy tuck or body lift in with a breast lift and then in a second surgery do an arm lift and a thigh lift. Planned sequential operations are also convenient because if a small touch up is required after the first body contouring procedure it can be added on to the second operation. For patients who want a brazilian butt lift fat can be injected at both operations allowing for the maximum potential transfer.
Results
The scar from a body lift is placed as low as possible below the beltline and along the groin crease so that it can be hidden within a bikini. Similarly, the upper back scar is placed along the braline so that it can be completely hidden with a bathing suit or bra. It is important to minimize the tension on the wound as much as possible. This can be challenging with a body lift because flexing at the waist put strain o the back incision while lying flat put strain on the incision. It is ideal to be slightly hunched and sleep with a slight incline by putting a few pillows under your back. The incision may initially be red and firm, but this will gradually improve with time. The final swelling and stiffness will go away at 3-6 months but the scar color will continue to lighten for over a year. Either silicone gel (Biocorneum) or silicone strips should be placed on the body contouring incisions to optimize their healing.Recovery
After the body lift or upper back lift you will be placed in a binder or compressive garment. If liposuction was performed at the same time you may leak some fluid from the wound for the first day or two. It is important to position your body such that minimal tension is put on the incision. Most patients take pain medication for 3-6 days afterward during the day and then at night for a little longer. Ibuprofen may be supplemented to assist the transition off of opioid medication. At one week after the body contouring procedure you will be maximally swollen. After this time the swelling will begin to dissipate.The compression garment must be worn for 2 weeks after the body lift or upper back lift.The garment can continue to be worn after this time to expedite the resolution of the swelling. If the abdominal muscles are tightened then heavy lifting should be minimized for 6-8 weeks. or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.