Lower body lift after massive weight loss: Belt lift

Abstract

As the prevalence of overweight in our population continuously increases, the number of morbidly obese individuals is on the rise on the one hand, while on the other, the number of people who go on diets and lose large amounts of weight is also increasing. Experience shows that weight loss due to dietary measures leads, after a latent period, in a high percentage of cases to a return to obesity. This has led to a growing number of centres that offer surgical treatment for obesity in the form of gastric banding or intestinal bypass operations. With these procedures, weight losses of 40-70 kg are frequently achieved. As a result of these massive fluctuations in body weight, the skin becomes stretched and falls in folds over the body, causing functional and aesthetic problems. Further, it is rare that these patients achieve a normal weight, even after weight reduction. Rather, it is muchmore common that they are still considerably overweight. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.