CHAPTER ONE CREATION OF TOTAL BODY LIFT™ SURGERY

TOTAL BODY LIFT™ REPRESENTS A PARADIGM SHIFT IN BODY CONTOURING SURGERY; AN ORIGINAL AND BOLDLY COMPREHENSIVE CORRECTION OF SKIN SAGGING, DEMANDING INSIGHT, ARTISTRY, SKILL, STAMINA, AND TEAM WORK.

For over 60 years, plastic surgeons have treated skin laxity of the trunk and extremities with an à la carte selection of body contouring operations. Sagging breasts are lifted by mastopexy. Oversized arms are reduced by brachioplasty. Bulging stomachs are flattened by abdominoplasty. Thighs deformed by saddlebags are treated by lower body lifts. Drooping and flat buttocks are lifted and augmented. Loose inner thighs require a medial thighplasty. Throughout the body, bulges are reduced by liposuction. There was no organization. The extraordinary deformity caused by massive weight loss demanded a unifying approach.

I created Total Body Lift™ surgery to meet this challenge of extreme body contouring. Total Body Lift™ surgery transforms the entire body in one to two stages. Advances in surgical technique, anesthesia, and patient education converge to make this modern surgery practical. This book chronicles my pioneering effort in Total Body Lift™ surgery, and prepares candidates for their journey.

Since 90 percent of my patients are women, I have written this book mainly in the female gender. However, most of the issues and techniques that are described apply equally to both sexes. Men are not forgotten.

Increasingly, women seek correction of sagging and wrinkled skin following pregnancy, advancing age, or massive weight loss. Aging but healthy baby boomers and successful gastric bypass patients lead this boom. In 2003, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASPS) reported 117,688 abdominoplasties; 76,943 breast lifts; and 147,173 breast reductions by board certified plastic surgeons. Lower body lifts have increased 127 percent to nearly 11,000 procedures, upper arm lifts increased 68 percent, and buttock lifts increased 70 percent. Just for the massive weight loss patients, the ASPS reports more than 52,000 body contouring procedures. That is because massive weight loss leads to unacceptable laxity of the skin. The ASPS estimates that these procedures on post-bariatric patients will have increased 36 percent in 2004. Total Body Lift™ surgery is designed to help this portion of the population and is being applied to many others.

{Back to top}