Body Lift Surgery, Before After Photos, Details
Are you dreaming of a flat, sexy tummy, a slender waist, and uplifted buns and thighs after losing weight?
Have you lost a massive amount of weight either from diet and exercise or weight loss surgery? If so, congratulations to you, it is a significant, life-changing achievement! But now that you have lost the weight, are you bothered by excessive loose, hanging skin around your belly, waist, and buttocks? Is this ruining the fit, sleek silhouette you envisioned after your successful weight loss? Do you feel like your weight loss journey is incomplete? If you are answering “yes” to any of these questions, then you may be a candidate for a body lift.
The only way to eliminate the large amount of loose skin that remains after massive weight loss is through surgical excision. You’ve lost the weight. Now let Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Dr. Jason Petrungaro tone and lift your midsection to help you achieve the body you know you deserve.
Doctor Petrungaro is a board certified Plastic Surgeon who has successfully completed many years of surgical training in all aspects of body contouring surgery. He is well versed in the established traditional methods as well as the latest and most innovative techniques in body lift surgery. He listens to his patients and respects their goals and wishes, and will always go the extra mile to deliver the most beautiful results possible.
If you’re looking for powerful body lift results with the highest standards of patient safety and care, Doctor Petrungaro will be honored to be your surgeon for this life-changing procedure. Come visit us for an hour — you’ll leave knowing you’ve found the right partner to complete your weight loss journey. One thing that sets Doctor Petrungaro’s body lifts apart: the liposuction portion is done with his “Trifecta” — VASER ultrasound-assisted liposuction, MicroAire power-assisted liposuction, and Renuvion helium plasma skin tightening of the liposuction sites. He is the only plastic surgeon in the area offering all three together. And he was voted Best Cosmetic Surgery Center in Northwest Indiana in the Times Best of the Region three years running — 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Are you interested in a body lift and have questions? Please feel free to call or text Doctor Jason Petrungaro at (219) 836-1163 or click to schedule a consultation online.
What is a Body Lift?
A body lift removes excess skin and stubborn pockets of fat from the entire midsection of the body. This procedure, also known as a “belt lipectomy”, improves the shape and tone of the underlying tissue that supports fat and skin. The procedure can improve dimpled, irregular skin surfaces, which is commonly known as cellulite.
Areas that are addressed in a body lift typically include:
Every candidate for a body lift presents a different set of challenges. Based on your goals and Doctor Petrungaro’s clinical evaluation, a treatment plan will be recommended that will help you safely attain your goals. In many cases only one procedure is necessary. In others, it may require a staged approach with more than one surgery required to address all areas.
Who is a Candidate for Body Lift Surgery?
A body lift is a major surgical procedure. In general, body lift candidates include:
Body Lift Procedure
A body lift is done under general anesthesia. The surgery itself takes approximately 5-6 hours. Patients are sent home the same day under closed supervision of family or friends, and then you can complete your recovery in the comfort of your own home.
Prior to your surgery, Doctor Petrungaro will review the exact technique he will use during your procedure and answer all questions you may have. He encourages his patients to get all of their concerns addressed, no matter how small. He wants his patients to be confident that they have made the right decision, and wants them to feel they received the best body lift results that Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland have to offer.
The procedure involves making an incision circumferentially around the waist and then removing the excess skin and fat. This will tighten and lift the abdomen, waist, buttocks, thighs, and groin. An important thing to keep in mind with a body lift — it automatically includes a full tummy tuck (it is “built into” the procedure). So you will have your abdominal muscles tightened (it fixes the rectus diastasis), your belly button moved into the correct position, and of course your excess abdominal skin will be removed.
Deep support sutures within underlying tissues help anchor the newly shaped body contours into place. The skin incisions are closed using absorbable stitches deep to the skin. Prior to final closure, drains will be placed around the waist, typically 2 in the abdominal area and 2 in the back area. These drains will be removed in the clinic at approximately 7-14 days after surgery. Every attempt is made to ensure the scars will remain hidden beneath clothing, underwear, or bathing suits.
Liposuction is often performed together with a body lift — either during the same surgery or at a later time — to fine-tune the result and achieve the best possible contour. When I do that liposuction, it comes with my full “Trifecta”: VASER ultrasound-assisted liposuction, MicroAire power-assisted liposuction, and Renuvion helium plasma skin tightening of the treated areas. I’m the only plastic surgeon in the area offering all three together, and it makes a real difference in the smoothness and tightness of the final result.
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Request Body Lift ConsultationBody Lift Recovery
A body lift is a major surgical procedure, and full recovery takes 6-8 weeks. You will be expected to take at least 2 weeks off work and relax in the comfort of your home. It is important to have family or friends that can help you with basic tasks such as sitting, standing, and laying down for the first week. Swelling and bruising are to be expected but will begin to resolve after the first 2 weeks. Pain is typically well controlled by oral prescription pain medications.
You will be encouraged to walk around as soon as possible to prevent any complications such as forming bloodclots in your legs and to speed the healing process. There are no major dietary restrictions, but you should avoid food that might upset your stomach. It is also important to eat foods high in protein, as this will help with wound healing.
You will wear a compression garment for at least one month to help reduce surgical swelling. For the first few days you can elect to have sponge baths, but if you would like to shower it is allowed after 48 hours. All strenuous activity (running, sports, yoga, etc.) is absolutely restricted for 6-8 weeks. During your recovery, you will see Doctor Petrungaro in the office multiple times to make sure you are doing well and the wounds are healing nicely. As mentioned earlier, the surgical drains are typically removed in the office at 7-14 days.
Body Lift Results
You will see immediate changes in the profile of your midsection, and it will continue to improve as swelling decreases in the first few months.
Your new shape and profile will continue to improve during the year following your surgery. It is important to adopt and maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle to insure that your results will last and that you love your new look for years to come. A body lift is an extremely gratifying Plastic Surgery procedure, and nearly all patients are ecstatic with their results after surgery.
What about the cost of a body lift?
A body lift is a big operation — typically 5 to 6 hours — and every patient’s anatomy is different. That’s exactly why Doctor Petrungaro does not quote body lift pricing until he has examined you in person. He needs to see your skin laxity, understand your goals, and determine whether we can do it in one stage or plan a staged approach. Two patients asking about a “body lift” can need completely different operations, and he won’t guess at your quote without seeing you.
At your consultation, you’ll get one all-inclusive written quote covering everything: surgeon’s fees, the surgery center and anesthesia fees (surgery centers charge by the hour, so this depends on your operative time), and incidentals like your compression garment and 45-day complication insurance. You’ll pay the surgeon and the surgery center separately, but you’ll know the complete number up front, in writing.
And every patient, every surgery, gets $500 off as our standing policy. We also work with third-party financing such as CareCredit and Cherry.
