Body Contouring After Weight Loss in Des Moines

Following major weight loss, many men and women find that their bodies are still harboring excess skin and fat, despite diet and exercise. These issues often persist, even after reaching a healthy body weight.

If you want to improve the shape and tone of your body after weight loss, it may be time to consider body contouring options at Des Moines Plastic Surgery. Body contouring is a versatile surgery that targets several problem areas in a single surgery.

After your weight loss transformation, you deserve to feel completely at home in your body. Our body contouring procedures at Des Moines Plastic Surgery™ are crafted with precision, artistry, and the highest standard of care. Under the expert guidance of Dr. David Robbins, we help you reveal a silhouette that feels refined, empowered, and entirely your own. Step into the next chapter of your journey with confidence, elegance, and pride, and celebrate the body you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Schedule A Consultation

To learn more about Body Contouring After Weight Loss in West Des Moines, Iowa, contact us and schedule a consultation with one of our board-certified plastic surgeons. If you’ve been searching for body contouring procedures near me, our expert team at Des Moines Plastic Surgery™ is here to help you achieve a refined, confident silhouette through personalized care and advanced surgical techniques.

Schedule a Body Contouring Consultation
body lift

A body lift tightens tissue in the midsection.

breast lift

A breast lift elevates sagging breasts after weight loss.

Brachioplasty

Brachioplasty tightens loose tissue on the upper arm.

Body Contouring After Weight Loss Overview

Body contouring after weight loss focuses on removing excess skin, tightening underlying tissues, and sculpting your body into a more proportionate, natural-looking shape. Our surgeons often combine procedures like tummy tucks, arm lifts, thigh lifts, and body lifts to address multiple areas at once. This comprehensive approach at Des Moines Plastic Surgery™ offers dramatic results, helping you fully enjoy the benefits of your weight loss journey and boosting your overall comfort and confidence.

How Body Contouring After Weight Loss Works

During your consultation, our board-certified surgeons will evaluate your skin laxity, fat distribution, and goals to create a customized surgical plan. Procedures often involve the removal of excess skin and fat, with the option to tighten underlying muscles if needed. Surgeries are performed at our on-site QUAD A-accredited operating facility for the highest safety standards. Recovery times vary depending on the extent of your treatment, but typically involve a gradual return to normal activities over several weeks.

Benefits of Body Contouring After Weight Loss Treatment

Losing a significant amount of weight is a major accomplishment, but excess skin and stubborn fat can remain, affecting your comfort and confidence. Cosmetic body contouring at Des Moines Plastic Surgery™ offers a lasting solution by removing loose skin and reshaping your figure. Key benefits include improved body appearance, increased comfort, better-fitting clothing, and enhanced self-confidence. With stable weight maintenance, results can be long-lasting. Beyond the physical transformation, many patients experience renewed energy and emotional well-being, allowing them to fully enjoy their active, healthy lifestyle with confidence and pride in the body they’ve worked hard to achieve.

Body Contouring After Weight Loss vs. Other Treatments

While non-surgical treatments like CoolSculpting® or Sofwave® can help with mild skin laxity and fat reduction, surgical body contouring remains the most effective solution for patients dealing with significant excess skin after weight loss. Surgery allows for precise reshaping, muscle tightening, and removal of larger skin folds that non-invasive options can’t address. At Des Moines Plastic Surgery™, we guide you in choosing the best method based on your personal goals and body needs.

When To Consider Body Contouring

Body contouring after weight loss is designed to treat multiple regions of your body in a single surgery and can be custom-tailored to address your problem areas. You may be a good candidate for body contouring if you:

  • Have reached your ideal weight and have been stable for at least a year
  • Are you suffering from excess skin and stubborn pockets of fat
  • Are healthy and realistic about the surgery

Though body contouring won’t necessarily give you a “perfect” body, it can significantly improve your appearance and quality of life. Oftentimes, it also allows a person to exercise without annoying skin getting in the way, and makes clothes fit more comfortably.

You can determine if body contouring is right for you by scheduling a personal cosmetic consultation with our board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Robbins.

The Consultation Process

Your journey to a refined body shape begins with a thorough consultation with one of our board-certified plastic surgeons. During this appointment, Dr. Robbins will review your medical history and overall health to confirm you are a suitable candidate. You and the team will discuss your cosmetic goals and expectations to determine the most appropriate procedures. A physical examination will be conducted to identify the areas that will benefit from surgery. Based on this assessment, the team will develop a personalized surgical plan tailored to your unique needs and aesthetic objectives.

Results and Recovery

Body contouring surgery can produce dramatic improvements in your appearance. While you will see immediate changes, the final results will become more apparent as swelling decreases over time.

Recovery expectations include:

  • Initial Recovery: Most patients resume light activities within two to three weeks.
  • Complete Recovery: Strenuous activities and exercise are typically resumed after six to eight weeks.
  • Follow-Up Care: Regular post-operative visits to monitor healing and ensure the best outcomes.

Cost

The cost of body contouring after weight loss varies based on several factors, including the specific procedures needed and additional expenses such as anesthesia and post-operative care. During your consultation, you will receive a comprehensive cost estimate tailored to your personalized surgical plan. 

Before, During, and After Body Contouring After Weight Loss

What To Expect Before Body Contouring After Weight Loss

Before your procedure, you will meet personally with Dr. Robbins, who will take the time to review your medical history, listen to your goals, and perform a detailed physical evaluation. They will design a customized treatment plan based on your individual needs and outline all pre-operative steps, including medication adjustments to prepare you for surgery. Our team ensures you feel fully informed, supported, and confident as you embark on your body contouring journey.

What To Expect During Body Contouring After Weight Loss

Your body contouring after weight loss surgery will be performed by Dr. Robbins at our fully accredited, private surgical suite. Under general anesthesia, they will strategically remove excess skin, sculpt underlying tissues, and enhance the natural contours of your body. Depending on the number of areas treated, surgery can take several hours. Dr. Robbins uses meticulous techniques to minimize scarring and create a balanced, rejuvenated silhouette designed just for you.

What To Expect After Body Contouring After Weight Loss

Following your surgery, you will be closely monitored by Dr. Robbins and our skilled care team to ensure a smooth and healthy recovery. Compression garments will be provided to support your healing process, reduce swelling, and help your body adjust to its new shape. Light activities are typically resumed within two to three weeks, while more vigorous exercise and heavy lifting should be postponed for six to eight weeks. Your personalized recovery plan, combined with regular follow-up visits, will help maximize your results and ensure a safe and comfortable healing journey.

Frequently Asked Questions About Body Contouring After Weight Loss

Because body contouring is tailored to address each individual’s specific body type and cosmetic concerns, the actual surgical details can vary considerably.

Some of our most popular body contouring procedures include tummy tuck surgery, liposuction, arm lift surgery, and body lift surgery. Each of these procedures will be discussed at length during your cosmetic consultation at Des Moines Plastic Surgery.

Surgery will take place in our fully accredited operating room located at our office. A post-recovery document explaining how to take care of yourself after surgery will be given to you before you leave our office.

One will also be sent to your home before surgery for your review. After approximately 5 to 7 days, light physical activity is recommended. In general, recovery times vary depending on the number of procedures performed as well as other factors.

Most patients should anticipate up to four weeks of limited activity. The Des Moines Plastic Surgery team will provide you with specific post-operative instructions for returning to work and other routines during your follow-up appointments.

Scarring can be minimized, but not avoided completely. Scars are an inevitable part of the healing process, but your surgeon will do everything they can in this process to conceal incision lines within the natural folds of your body. Results will vary person to person based on their unique body composition and the way their body heals.

Scarring is an important consequence to consider before elective surgery; however, most of our patients consider the resulting scars a fair trade-off after seeing their final results.

Body contouring will produce significant, long-lasting results. However, it’s important to note that your body will not be immune to the natural aging process. Additionally, significant weight changes may impact your results over time.

Like all major surgeries, body contouring presents a degree of risk. Some of these risks include adverse reactions to anesthesia, infection, numbness, potential for blood clots, need for revision surgery, undesirable scarring, and prolonged healing. These risks are rare and will be discussed in depth during your cosmetic consultation at Des Moines Plastic Surgery™.

Yes, removing excess skin through body contouring can significantly reduce irritation, rashes, and hygiene challenges caused by redundant skin folds, improving both comfort and quality of life.

Ideally, you should be at or very close to your goal weight, and your weight should have remained stable for at least 6 to 12 months before pursuing body contouring surgery.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise and stable body weight, is key to preserving your surgical results long-term after body contouring procedures.

Non-surgical options like CoolSculpting® or Sofwave® can help with mild cases, but they typically cannot address the significant skin laxity that surgical body contouring resolves.

Common areas treated include the abdomen, thighs, upper arms, buttocks, and lower back, depending on your specific goals and areas where excess skin or fat persists after weight loss.

Learn More About Body Contouring In Des Moines

Are you ready to make a dramatic change in your life? Let the team at Des Moines Plastic Surgery reveal the full extent of your weight loss with body contouring surgery. To schedule your cosmetic consultation, please contact our office at 515-221-9999, book online, or email us through the online contact form.

Schedule a Body Contouring Consultation

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