Post-Bariatric &
Post-Obesity Surgery

Even if you lose a ton of weight after a long and difficult journey for many, you still may not be able to achieve the body you desire despite your own efforts. When you lose weight, you can still have deformed and saggy patches of excess skin that restrict your movements – not to mention demotivate you.

Saggy and deformed excess skin caused by multiple pregnancies is one of application reasons for this surgery.

In these surgeries, first you must be at the point where your body isn’t gaining any more weight and has taken on its final shape.

If you’ve lost weight via bariatric surgery or via diet and exercise, you need to have reached your target weight and remained in such weight for 3 months before considering the surgery. Then, the surgery process can be planned by doctor examination.

If you have sagging and other deformities due to prolonged weight gain or loss and have a constant weight range, you could be examined for surgery at any time. You’ll only go under the knife if the doctor deems it appropriate.

Having had successive or multiple pregnancies may deform seriously your abdomen. When you reach almost your original weight after you’re done breastfeeding, the doctor will examine you and plan the surgery process.

If you’ve got a problem in a single area only, planning and process of the surgery will be shorter. For example, if you want to rid your abdomen and back of excess skin, then we’ll plan the operation as a single procedure with full abdominoplasty.

You have skin sagging and deformation in more than one area, then we’ll conduct multiple surgeries on you every six months – largely because post-bariatric surgeries take longer and are more painful surgeries then other plastic surgeries. If we were to do all of the surgeries together at once, the procedure itself would take longer, you’d be under anesthesia longer, everything would turn out less successful, and you’d suffer from more complications.

Post-bariatric surgery will:

• Rid you of excess skin, and enable you to move freely
• Make your body lighter because the burden of the weight/skin is gone
• Give you a more feminine or masculine body
• Rid you of diaper rash, wound, sweat, and odor problems
• Make your day-to-day life easier
• Make you more mobile, and thus make you walking and doing physical activity easier, as well as accelerate weight loss the subsequent period.
• Enable you to wear normal clothes again. Shopping will no longer be your worst nightmare.

Yes they will.  Post-bariatric and post-obesity surgeries are procedures that require to make large incisions into you in order to remove your excess skin, thus leaving scarring. They’ll be hidden inside your underwear or in your body’s invisible parts depending on where the procedure takes place.

During the surgery, we will carefully suture you as little a scare as possible gets left. We’ll then prescribe you anti-scar creams. Nevertheless, how fast and well your wounds recover depends entirely on the nature of your own body. In some patients, the scars recover by becoming insignificant, in some patients the scar is evident, and in some patients, the wound site heals by swelling.

Post-bariatric and post-obesity surgery is not weight loss surgeries. It won’t lose weight for you or bring you to your target weight.

Rather, the surgery treats sagging skin forming due to extreme weight loss.

This surgery will make your body slimmer and more esthetically pleasing because you won’t have any excess skin anymore. Liposuction will be also applied to give you more curves and make your body look more feminine or masculine.

As a result of this procedure, removal of excess skin will reduce some more weight from you.

If you eat a healthy and balanced diet and do physical activity after the surgery, then yes, the results will be permanent – and you’ll be able to lead a happier life thereafter in your new body.

However, if you don’t pay attention to your diet after the surgery, you will inevitably re-gain weight. Unfortunately, plastic surgery cannot prevent that. If you gain and/or lose weight multiple times over, parts of your body will deform.

If you’re planning on becoming pregnant soon, Dr. Ozsular will examine you and tell you whether to have your surgery done before or after you get pregnant depending on where your excess skin and deformations are.

If you’re a young woman or girl who isn’t planning on getting pregnant in the near future, then we can do surgery on you in other regions at any time you want (arms, thigh, back, legs). We take your future pregnancy and breastfeeding into account if you’re considering having a mini or full abdominoplasty, or a breast lift or reduction done.

Excess skin will prevent you from having a beautiful body, and it is not treated with diet and exercise alone. Therefore, you need surgery. It rids you of your excess skin and re-forms your body.

Moreover, these surgeries are therapeutic in that they encourage and motivate you as you embark on the journey of losing a large amount of weight. Otherwise, if you wind up with a body that looks worse despite all your hard work and persistence, you’ll feel like a failure.

You who struggle with a large amount of weight withdraw from life, are embarrassed about their bodies, and lack self-confidence. You can go through emotionally and physically sensitive periods. If you seek out psychological support from an expert during this process, you’ll come out of it more successful.

There is nothing more frustrating than not knowing where to hide your saggy skin after you lose a large amount of weight, skin sagging from your arms, seeing the folded skin under your clothes, and having difficulty in wearing trousers due to excess skin.

Excess skin also imposes a burden on your backbone and body. Your waist, shoulders, and vertebra all carry this heavy load all the time. If you were to carry 7 kg of weight in front of your stomach all day, you’d get exhausted after a while. Your body involuntarily carries that burden all day, and thus wears out.

Such skin will cause you to sweat excessively and suffer from bacteria, fungi, itching, and odor – especially along the flap areas due to a lack of exposure to air.  Even if you clean these areas thoroughly, you will inevitably suffer from diaper rash and wounds due to moisture.

The procedure will:

• Give you a flatter body and more defined lines
• Give you more self-confidence and make you smile when you look in the mirror
• Enable you to freely wear whatever you want
• Enable you to be more comfortably involved into social life again

Say goodbye to baggy clothes and the embarrassment caused by a lack of bodylines. You’ll feel prouder and happier, as well as be glad that you went through with this difficult process – as it requires persistence.

You’ll also become a role model and a source of motivation for others in their battle against obesity too.

After this surgery, life will continue for these patients with their difficulties and happiness as for everyone.

During your pre-operative exam, Dr. Ozsular first will listen to your complaints and expectations and examine you to determine whether it is suitable for the surgery. If you are eligible for surgery, he’ll examine factors such as age, height, physique, and weight alongside amount of excess skin, sagging, and deformation, and make various drawings and calculations based on the data. Then, he’ll photograph you for medical records’ sake, as well as give you preview of what your results may look like.

Your health condition will also dictate whether you’re fit for surgery or not. Unfortunately, the blood values, heart and lung functions of some post-bariatric and post-obesity patients, who lost weight after the surgery, may not be sufficient. If it is a problem that can be treated, it is requested that they get a solution to this problem and be healthy by being examined by a specialist. Surgery can be performed after the health problem is resolved.

Before undergoing the surgery, you need to be in full agreement as well as in full communication with your doctor. You need to be ready yourself both physically and psychologically, and feel as comfortable/confident as possible.

Before the surgery, you’ll need to have x-rays taken and your blood values should be controlled.

If you smoke, you should quit beforehand. Also, Dr. Ozsular may tell you to temporarily stop using certain medications – in which case you should do so.

Try to reduce how much salt you consume as well a few days before the surgery. This will reduce your risk of developing edema.

You’re allowed to eat as well as drink water until 00:00 (12 AM) the night before your surgery. Since the surgery is conducted with general anesthesia, you will need to fast for at least six hours prior to the procedure. (If you forget to do so, your surgery may be postponed or canceled.)

Don’t put on make-up.

Don’t wear nail polish or enamel.

Don’t wear wigs. Don’t wear any jewelry (including piercings) – your body should be free of metal.

Also, don’t forget to put together an overnight bag – including loose clothes (preferably with zippers/buttons)– before you come in for the surgery. You also should wear comfortable sneakers.

On the morning of the surgery, you will be taken to your room to rest. Dr. Ozsular and his assistant will come and visit you.

The surgery will start at the time specified. Since the surgery will be performed with general anesthesia, you will sleep and your doctor will begin shaping your body.

During the surgery, first he will cut off your excess skin in a calculated and planned manner. Next, he’ll repair muscle damage, and then combine together with thin sutures. If liposuction is also planned in the same surgery, he’ll remove a fair amount of fat from you as well.

These procedures involve a greater amount of tissue loss compared to other plastic surgeries. Thus, major surgeries are planned step by step and with intervals of six months.

You may feel dizzy for the first few hours after the surgery– this is normal and temporary.

You’ll be able to eat a warm soup 4 to 6 hours after the surgery.

Before we wake you up, we will dress you in special corsets and compression socks.

Since the surgery is performed under general anesthesia, you won’t feel any pain whatsoever. During your stay in hospital afterwards, you’ll be given strong analgesics so that you don’t feel stiff or any discomfort. It is normal to feel pain the first 3 – 4 days after the discharge and taking analgesics for that period will help you to be comfortable in this process. As time progresses, your pain will alleviate.

If you have a drain, it’ll get removed the following day or the day after.

You’ll have to stay in the hospital for the first one to three days after the surgery.

You may develop slight ecchymosis or edema – this, too, is normal and temporary.

If you want to heal faster, be sure to eat a balanced diet heavy in animal- and plant-based protein. Also, try not to smoke.

Make sure to protect your surgery area from strikes at all costs. You may also experience light bleeding (spots) around your incision site for the first three days – this is normal. However, if you experience excessive bleeding, then please notify Dr. Ozsular or go to him or a clinic/hospital immediately.

You’ll need to rest for the first ten days. You may have trouble sitting, standing, and walking. You are not allowed to lift anything heavy or run. You need to protect yourself from impacts at all costs. Even though it is an interesting and exciting process, you shouldn’t remove your special corset.

Your first control will take place 5 to 7 days after surgery. We will change your bandages.

Your first showers after the surgery should be short and warm.

Don’t forget to take your medications as they’ve been prescribed to you

You’ll be able to go for slow walks, return to work, and return back to your normal life three week later – provide you avoid doing any heavy labor.

You’ll need to wear your corset for minimum 4 – 6 weeks after the surgery to make new shape of your body permanent.

You’ll be able to exercise and do light stretching 4 weeks after the surgery.

You’ll be able to return to normal 2 months later.

Immediately after the surgery, you’ll already have flattened skin even when in your corset. As your edema subsides, your results will stabilize. Depending on the person, you’ll see your permanent results as early as 3 months later.

Yes, this procedure is safe and successful. Hundred of thousands people both here in Turkey and around the world benefit from it every year. What matters is to examine the health status of the patient together with the desired blood tests and examinations carefully and meticulously. Especially, in the patients who have been overweight for many years, organs such as the heart, lungs, and liver and also the blood values should be carefully examined.

The risk of thrombosis is questioned by examining your family history and the examinations and tests requested before the surgery. Unfortunately, this surgery is not suitable for you if you or your family have a history of thrombosis.

If the doctor gives you a clean bill of heath, he’ll also prescribe compression stockings, corsets, and anticoagulants together to keep any – already minimal – risks at bay.

This depends on where on your body we’ve undergone your surgery.

Generally-speaking, you should absolutely start walking for 30 minutes every day at a light pace starting 2 weeks after surgery.

If you undergo an abdominoplasty, you should start doing physical activity (namely light stretching, pilates, or anything else that won’t strain your body) 4 weeks after the surgery. If you don’t have extra surgery done, then you can do exercise 2 months after your procedure. Be careful, if you over do things at first, you may develop a hernia.

Unfortunately, major post-bariatric surgeries are long in length and require large amounts of tissue removal. In fact, we tend not do everything in a single surgery; rather we fan everything out over 2 to 3 stages.

As mini abdominoplasty and small breast lift involve less tissue removal, we may do both at the same time (if your heath permits!).

You must wait 1 year after you undergo sleeve gastrectomy and maintain your weight at a constant level for 3 months. Sleeve gastrectomy requires serious and close monitoring after the surgery because it will throw off your body’s chemical balance.