What Type Of Buttock Lift Do I Need?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have lost a lot of weight and the one area that bothers me the most is that of my buttocks. It hangs down with a lot of loose skin onto the back of my thighs. I don’t mind its size now but I can’t stand the loose skin at the bottom. And exercise will not get rid of it. What type of buttock lift do I need?

A: When it comes to large amounts of weight loss, the buttocks like every other area of the body is not spared from an overall deflation effect. The deflated buttocks loses both volume from fat loss and exaggerated amounts of sagging due to such volume loss. Buttock reshaping after weight loss can include either volume addition, tucking or lifting the sagging skin or some combination of both.

Buttock lifts can be separated into a true buttock lift (done from above as part of a circumferential body lift) or a lower buttock lift. (which is really a tuck after excision of overhanging skin.

A lower buttock lift is a lower excision/tuck procedure that is done along the infragluteal crease. (or makes a new one) It removes excess tissues and creates a new higher and more tucked in fold. It is not a difficult procedure to go through nor to recover from it. The biggest issue is to just not stress the incision lines (like bending over far) for a few weeks as the area heals. All sutures are under the skin and dissolvable so no suture removal is needed. The incision lines are heavily taped for support and serve as the only dressing. One can shower the next day and only strenuous activities need to be avoided for awhile until the incisions are more fully healed.