Can severe abdominal sagging after extreme obesity weight loss be corrected with abdominoplasty?

Information

Surgical site

• surgical site :abdominoplasty, M-type, Navel Correction, abdomen liposuction
• liposuction aspirate volume : 4900cc

Even after successfully losing weight, people with severe obesity often struggle to completely eliminate excess sagging abdominal skin.

Think of it like a balloon that was fully inflated for a long time—when the air is released, the balloon doesn’t return to its original shape but instead remains stretched and wrinkled.

Similarly, when the body gains a significant amount of weight and maintains it over time, the skin stretches, and the muscles also weaken and sag, leading to loose, wrinkled skin.

Once the abdomen sags in this way, it becomes difficult to restore its original firmness, which is why more people are turning to abdominoplasty as a solution to improve skin elasticity and achieve a more contoured body shape.

Let’s take a closer look at the case of a patient who underwent abdominoplasty.

The patient is a woman in her early 20s, unmarried, with a height of 163 cm and a weight in the low 80 kg range.

She had experienced severe obesity since childhood. Upon reaching adulthood, she became aware of changes in her body shape and skin laxity and consistently worked on abdominal weight loss.

Despite her efforts to overcome severe obesity, she struggled with sagging skin and excess fat throughout her upper and lower abdomen, causing her significant stress.

Before undergoing an abdominoplasty, a body shape assessment revealed that the patient had significantly reduced skin elasticity across the entire abdomen.

Additionally, due to abdominal wall laxity, her navel was almost completely covered, and numerous stretch marks were observed around the area.

To address this, a medium-type abdominoplasty was recommended to lift the sagging abdominal skin, creating a firmer and smoother contour.

Considering that the patient is a young, unmarried woman in her 20s, only a medium-type abdominoplasty was performed without rectus muscle plication.

However, as the dissection extended up to the upper abdomen and the sagging skin was pulled down and removed, a navel repositioning procedure was essential.

Let’s now compare the preoperative condition with photos taken three months post-surgery for a detailed analysis.

Comparing the patient’s abdominoplasty photos before and three months after surgery, there is a noticeable reduction in waist circumference.

Additionally, the severely sagging abdominal skin, which had lost elasticity, was lifted, resulting in a slimmer and more contoured abdominal shape.

When viewed from the front, the before-and-after changes become even more apparent.

Before surgery, the lower abdominal area was covered with sagging skin, and the navel was barely visible due to the excess skin.

After the procedure, the navel was beautifully repositioned through umbilicoplasty, and the waistline appears more defined, achieving a dual benefit of both aesthetic improvement and body contouring.

In the side-view comparison of the tummy tuck surgery, we can clearly see how the previously sagging abdominal area has been smoothed and lifted through abdominal liposuction and abdominoplasty, resulting in a slimmer waistline.

As mentioned earlier, this patient is in her 20s, unmarried, and has no history of childbirth.

After the surgery, we advised her that rather than worrying about scars and swelling, following the post-operative care guidelines and receiving consistent aftercare would help her achieve a more satisfying surgical outcome.