Over 70% of American adults are overweight or obese. GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic® have proven to be a groundbreaking assist in many people’s attempts to lose weight, achieve a slimmer physique, and mitigate potential health concerns from obesity. However, rapid weight loss may leave you with loose skin or a prematurely aged look – effects known as “Ozempic body” and “Ozempic face.”
Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Kyle Sanniec specializes in helping his patients address post-Ozempic effects with surgical and non-surgical body contouring treatments.
Understanding the Post-Ozempic Body Transformation
Ozempic for weight loss is an injectable semaglutide that makes people feel fuller longer by suppressing and regulating their appetite. This medication can help people with a BMI of 30 or higher achieve significant weight loss when paired with a healthy diet and increased physical activity.
With age, your skin loses elasticity, detracting from its ability to contract. You might experience sagging and laxity if your skin cannot adapt to your rapid weight changes.
Dr. Sanniec offers many surgical solutions designed to address loose skin in areas like your face, upper arms, buttocks, thighs, breasts, and abdomen. To ensure outstanding results, Dr. Sanniec advises you to maintain a stable weight for at least six months before undergoing a body contouring procedure.
Tummy Tuck
Aside from your face, your waistline is another area that will undergo substantial transformation when you take Ozempic. One beneficial effect of Ozempic weight loss is reduced visceral fat – the fat surrounding your organs, which liposuction cannot remove. Patients who lose significant abdominal fat will achieve a leaner body mass. Following weight loss, a tummy tuck eliminates lax skin in the abdominal region to create a tighter midsection, allowing you to “show off” your weight loss and inspiring you to sustain your new figure.
Breast Lift and Breast Augmentation
Many women first notice weight loss in their breasts. With age, fat will gradually replace the glandular tissue in your breasts, making them more responsive to weight changes.
Fortunately, breast volume can be restored through procedures like breast augmentation, breast lift, and breast lift with implants. A breast augmentation can improve the shape, fullness, and projection of deflated breasts. A breast lift can reverse sagging by eliminating excess skin and repositioning your breasts higher on your chest wall, creating a youthful appearance.
Fat Transfer
Fat transfer or fat grafting is a two-phase procedure to relocate fat from an unwanted location to areas where fullness is desired. First, the fat is harvested from a donor location, such as the abdomen, thighs, or buttocks, via liposuction. The fat is processed to ensure healthy cells are transferred. Then, it’s strategically injected into the desired areas to increase volume.
This procedure offers the benefit of addressing remaining pockets of fat to further enhance your body contouring results.
Dermal Fillers
As we age, the skin produces less collagen and elastin, making it more challenging for the skin to retain its elasticity after being stretched due to weight fluctuations. After rapid weight loss, like that achieved with Ozempic, patients often experience sagging facial skin that dramatically ages their appearance.
Dermal fillers can help plump your skin, restoring lost volume and youthful contours. With minimal downtime and discomfort, injectable fillers last 6 to 18 months, depending on the location and product used.
Skin Tightening
Non-invasive or minimally invasive skin tightening procedures are effective for long-term rejuvenation. Dr. Sanniec offers FaceTite, AccuTite, and platelet-rich plasma skin-tightening solutions to enhance your appearance after weight loss. FaceTite and AccuTite heat the skin’s deeper layers with radiofrequency energy to boost collagen production and recontour the targeted area.
How to Choose a Procedure
Selecting a solution to refine and restore your contours involves multiple factors. You must consider your skin type, aesthetic goals, and willingness to commit to a recovery period. Dr. Sanniec will recommend the best treatment after meeting with you and learning about your unique concerns.
The Importance of Muscle Toning and Skin Elasticity
Muscle toning is vital for maintaining skin elasticity. Well-developed muscles create a supportive framework, holding your skin taut to prevent sagging. Resistance training, like weightlifting, is an excellent way to tone your body and target muscle groups like your biceps, triceps, pectorals, deltoids, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. In addition to adding definition, building muscle mass can minimize sagging by filling the spaces previously occupied by fat. Exercise also increases blood flow and delivers vital nutrients, promoting skin cell turnover. Studies have shown that there is a significant amount of muscle loss on patients who are on Ozempic, and Dr. Sanniec believes it is critical for all his patients to maintain some type of weightlifting to try and resist this muscle loss.
What to Expect After Skin Tightening
Your recovery will depend on whether you choose to go the surgical or non-surgical route. Most plastic surgery procedures require at least one week of downtime to allow your body the rest it needs to start healing. While you may notice an immediate improvement, be aware that your results will continue improving for several months as the swelling and bruising resolve.
If you have had a non-surgical treatment, you will likely experience mild redness, swelling, and tenderness in the targeted area for a few days. Apply cool compresses to alleviate discomfort. Avoid sun exposure and use gentle products to keep your skin clean and moisturized.
Benefits of Post-Weight Loss Body Contouring
Following significant, rapid weight loss with treatments like Ozempic, many patients experience lax, sagging skin—leading to “Ozempic Body.” Sagging skin can diminish a person’s satisfaction with their progress toward their target weight and improved health.
Body contouring and skin tightening procedures are effective solutions for sagging skin, restoring a more aesthetically pleasing overall figure and allowing patients to “show off” their weight loss. Additionally, procedures like liposuction can effectively target and remove stubborn fat deposits, complementing weight loss efforts to help you achieve your goals.
Why Choose Valley Plastic Surgery for Your Transformation?
Choosing a physician to tighten your post-Ozempic body is essential for successful results. As a board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Sanniec understands the impact of losing weight on your health and appearance. He achieves exceptional patient outcomes with compassion and a commitment to the highest safety standards, complementing weight loss to help you achieve your objectives.
Don’t let skin laxity diminish your satisfaction with your progress. Look and feel your best with the confidence boost you’ll get by partnering with one of the East Valley’s leading body-contouring surgeons.Contact us today to learn about body contouring procedure options in Scottsdale, AZ, by calling (602) 786-1144 or schedule your consultation with our online form.
