Body Contouring after Massive Weight Loss: A Road Map

Body contouring procedures are the consequent and final step for patients after massive weight loss. These surgical procedures are mainly indicated for functional reasons resulting from extensive excess skin flaps. The current overview serves as an introduction to body contouring strategies without any claim to comprehensiveness. In the following, we describe the general and specific aspects of the respective body contouring procedures. These are in accordance with the guidelines published by the Association of Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF). This includes principle anatomical functional features, detailed general and specific aspects of a comprehensive history with the respective physical examination. We also describe the documentation and fundamentals of the application for required assumption of costs for hospital care. The main section deals with the principles of the most frequent lifting operations, such as abdominoplasty, brachioplasty, mastopexy, thigh lift etc. We describe the specific aspects of the specific body regions as well as different surgical techniques, with step-by-step instructions and with pre-, intra- and postoperative pictures.