When you are looking for an answer to your weight problem, you may want to turn to cosmetic surgery. It’s important to make a distinction between weight loss surgery and cosmetic surgery for weight loss. Bariatric surgery–true weight loss surgery–limits the amount of food that you can eat, forcing you to lose weight. A cosmetic procedure, on the other hand, will cause you to look better, but it doesn’t affect the way that your body works.
Types
Liposuction is one of the most popular cosmetic weight loss surgery. In this procedure, the doctor removes the fat from a problem area, such as your butt or thighs. A tummy tuck works on the stomach area, making it flatter. There are also cellulite treatments that eliminate or reduce the appearance of cellulite. If you’ve already lost a lot of weight, your skin may be saggy in certain areas. Post-weight loss surgery can help remove some loose skin, allowing you to look slimmer.
Time Frame
Though you can typically leave soon after your cosmetic weight loss surgery, full healing can take several weeks. Your doctor will give you instructions specific for your surgery, but in general, you must wait one to three days before you can shower or bathe. There will be much swelling after your surgery, which make make the area seem bigger. This swelling should subside within four weeks.
Considerations
Unless you already have a close-to-perfect body, cosmetic weight loss surgeries are not a miracle answer. Your body will definitely look slimmer than it did before the surgery, but you won’t necessarily be ready for a swimsuit photo shoot. Cosmetic surgeries can leave scars on your body.
Costs
In most cases, health insurance plans do not cover plastic surgery for weight loss. The one exception is when you have lost so much weight that your doctor determines that your loose skin poses medical problems. Out-of-pocket costs for plastic surgery vary greatly depending on your location, the doctor and the procedure you want. In general, the doctor’s fees for these types of surgery range from $3,000 to $6,000. However, you may incur additional fees, such as those associated with your recovery clothing, anesthesia and hospital fees.
Warning
You must maintain a proper diet and active lifestyle after you’ve had liposuction or a tummy tuck. Failure to do so can cause you to gain more fat in those areas again.
Photo Credit
- surgery image by Andrey Rakhmatullin from Fotolia.com
