Cosmetic surgery finds applications in post-bariatric treatment as major weight loss often results in an unsightly body contour due to excess skin and subcutaneous tissue.  Once the patient has reached and succeeded in maintaining his/her ideal weight, surgical contouring may be required to reshape the patient’s body by removing excess tissue.
A standard tummy tuck operation is carried out in those cases where excess skin/adipose tissue is found in the abdomen region. It entails making an incision in the lower part of the abdomen, along the upper line of the inguinal region (which is usually hidden by underwear) and the removal of all excess tissue from the abdominal wall up to the naval area. In almost all cases the naval is surgically isolated in a circumferential manner to ensure that it stays in its original position. After surgery the patient will be left with two scars: one along the inguinal line and another around the naval.

Circumferential abdominoplasty is carried out when the excess abdominal skin/adipose tissue extends around the flanks and back. This operation is mainly performed following major weight loss which has left the patient with copious amounts of residual skin/subcutaneous tissue also around the flanks and back where usually it is less evident.  On the patient’s front this operation is carried out along the same lines as the previously described tummy tuck however the inguinal line incision continues around the sides to the back, again in the area usually covered by underwear. The resulting scar is therefore circular. In the event of superfluous skin and subcutaneous tissue in the upper abdomen region, removal is carried out by making a vertical incision which runs from the naval to the sternal apophysis.

Breast reduction accompanied by breast lift surgery, entails removing and remodelling breast tissue by making incisions which (in the majority of the different techniques available to the cosmetic surgeon) leave one scar around the nipple and a vertical scar running between the areola and the submammary sulcus and, if necessary, along the submammary sulcus itself. The mammary, cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues are usually removed from the lower quadrants of the breast.
The sagging of the mammary glands on the chest resulting from major weight loss is corrected by the plastic surgeon who remodels the glandular tissue and repositions the breast in its physiological position. In some cases, if the patient would like to have a youthful looking breast, the use of breast implants may be necessary which are usually placed in a subglandular position.

Major weight loss can leave the patient with large folds of skin on the medial face of the thigh. At this level, particularly if the patient is not of a particularly young age, physiological and natural refirming of the excess cutaneous tissue is impossible and consequently surgery is required to remove and contour the flabby skin and subcutaneous tissue.
The resulting scars are hidden, as much as possible, on the internal face of the thigh along the inguinal fold. The extent of the scars may vary depending on the quantity of tissue which needs to be removed. The cosmetic and functional result of this operations is usually quite remarkable and often patients consider recovery of the thigh contour a priority compared to remodelling other areas of the body.

This operation is performed on patients who have achieved significant to major weight loss. The loose and flabby skin of the arms usually affects the region covering the triceps causing a cosmetic, rather than functional, problem.
Although lifting is an effective solution to this problem, the scars on the inner surface of the arm are sometimes considered cosmetically unsatisfactory by the patient.