You’ve made the big decision. At that moment, you instantly have visions of your best self. The mental image you hold will soon be realized as soon as the procedure is complete!
But surgery day comes and goes. And perhaps the skin around your surgery area doesn’t look the way you had imagined.
It’s saggy, it hangs. It’s empty and lifeless. It’s not what you had dreamed of. Your expectations of the end result have not been met.

What Causes Post-op Saggy Skin?

Let’s talk a little about why it may happen to you in the first place. Perhaps, let’s consider a balloon. Before you fill a balloon with air, the rubber is taught. There is resistance when you stretch it. You can pull at it and it will generally go back to its original shape with the same amount of elasticity.
Then you fill the balloon with air. The rubber skin of the balloon stretches and thins to hold the air within. Then the balloon decides it wants a body contouring procedure.
Once the air is removed from the balloon, its skin is thin and flimsy. It sags, it wilts.
You see where I’m going with this?
Let’s think about it, right? In whatever kind of body contouring procedure, particularly forms of liposuction, you are literally changing the contents of which your skin use to hold. When you remove those contents, the skin may not have the capacity (or elasticity) to form it’s new shape.

What You Can Do About It

Self-(pre)-care. The best defense is proper preparation. The best way to retain skin elasticity post-op is by taking care of it in the first place. If the outer skin does not have enough elasticity to begin with, it will not properly retract to the revised shape it is supposed to cover, and may perhaps be looser than it was before.
Voice your concerns. When you sit down for a consultation with your doctor, discuss your true envisioned end result. They can help guide you choose what’s right for you, perhaps something that is less-invasive.
Set expectations. In the end, this is a surgical procedure. If you find yourself with unwanted saggy skin afterwards, you may in fact need an additional “tuck up” procedure to correct it.
If you think you may encounter some post-op saggy skin, discuss it with your surgeon to preeminently make it a part of your care plan.
Call Washingtonian Plastic Surgery today to see how we can help you!