Weight Loss Surgery vs. Body Contouring Surgery
Many people are unhappy with their figure, either due to excess weight, loose skin, or stubborn fat deposits. Unfortunately, diet and exercise alone often fail to provide desired results. Weight loss surgery eliminates extra pounds and improves body contours, but it is important that the right technique is used.
It is common for people to wonder if they are ideal candidates for weight loss surgery or body contouring treatment. While both can be effective, they have different goals. The surgical team at Oasis of Hope Bariatrics, in Tijuana, Mexico, helps patients consider weight loss surgery vs. body contouring surgery, and which is best-suited to their unique needs.
Weight Loss Surgery
Weight loss surgery, or bariatric surgery, alters the size of the stomach or the digestive tract to restrict the amount of food that the stomach can hold and the amount of calories absorbed by the body. There are various weight loss techniques, but each is geared toward encouraging substantial weight loss.
Candidates for Weight Loss Surgery
Weight loss surgery is meant to assist individuals who have struggled to shed excess weight and take control of their health. Although weight loss surgery can be life saving, it is a serious surgical procedure that carries a degree of risk. Because of this, weight loss surgery is not recommended for people who are moderately overweight.
Instead, weight loss surgery is ideal for individuals who are classified as obese or morbidly obese. Bariatric surgery can be especially beneficial for individuals who are suffering health complications related to their weight, or those who are at high-risk of weight-related medical conditions.
Weight Loss Surgery Results
Many people who come to our Tijuana bariatric center are anxious to know how much weight they will lose after surgery. Surgical results vary slightly for each patient, and are dependent on how much weight they need to lose, which surgical technique is used, and how carefully the patient follows post-surgical care instructions. All factors taken into consideration, the average patient can expect to lose around 70 percent of their excess weight following weight loss surgery. Most people start to lose weight right away following their procedure, and continue to shed excess weight in the first six months to a year after treatment.
Body Contouring Surgery
Body contouring surgery is not considered a weight loss procedure. Instead, body contouring treatment can eliminate loose and stretched skin and target stubborn deposits of fat that are preventing a person from enjoying the slim, toned figure they desire. Body contouring surgery can focus on one area of the body (such as the stomach or thighs) or the entire figure.
Candidates for Body Contouring Surgery
Candidates for body contouring surgery are those who are within 20 to 25 pounds of their ideal weight range. While these patients may have some weight to lose, the primary concern is excess skin and fatty tissues that are compromising body contours. Often, body contouring surgery is recommended following substantial weight loss or pregnancy.
Body Contouring Surgery Results
Body contouring surgery may result in some minor weight loss. However, the most noticeable results of surgery are slimmer body contours and firmer skin. After post-surgical swelling subsides, patients should find that clothes fit more comfortably and that their figure appears more toned.
Contact Us
If you are interested in losing excess weight and enhancing your body contours, you may be an ideal candidate for weight loss surgery, body contouring surgery, or both. To discuss your treatment options with the surgical team at Oasis of Hope Bariatrics in Tijuana, send us a message online or call us at (619) 690-8417.
