Post-weight-loss surgery in Edinburgh

Losing a large amount of weight — through GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, bariatric surgery, or diet — often leaves loose skin that no amount of exercise can correct. At Quaba Plastic Surgery, post-weight-loss body contouring is performed by Mr Will Anderson and Mr Omar Quaba, consultant plastic surgeons on the GMC Specialist Register, at Waterfront Private Hospital in Edinburgh. Most patients combine procedures, and planning starts with a single consultation.

Anaesthetic
General anaesthesia for most procedures
Length
Varies by procedure and combination — combined surgery can last up to 5 hours
Hospital stay
Varies by procedure — see the individual procedure pages
Recovery time
Varies by procedure — see the individual procedure pages
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Bra strap groove on a patient's shoulder, a common reason for breast reduction
  • Consultant plastic surgeons on the GMC Specialist Register
  • Surgery at Waterfront Private Hospital, regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland
  • Your consultation and your operation with the same consultant

Contents

Results from our patients

Surgical photographs, includes nudityTap to view the gallery

See all 7 post weight loss before and after results

Real patients, shared with their consent and not retouched. Results vary from person to person.

Is it right for me?

The ideal candidate for post-weight-loss surgery has reached a stable weight and is left with loose skin that diet and exercise cannot address.

  • A weight that has settled at a stable level, whether reached through weight-loss injections, bariatric surgery, or lifestyle change.
  • Loose skin folds causing irritation, hygiene problems, or difficulty with clothing.
  • Good general health, with any ongoing medical conditions well controlled.
  • A non-smoker, or willing to stop smoking before and after surgery.
  • Realistic expectations of what each procedure can achieve.

Patients who are still significantly overweight have increased risks of infection and delayed wound healing, and are usually advised to continue losing weight before surgery. Where several areas need addressing, your consultant will advise on what can safely be combined and what should be staged.

Unsure? Try the free AI consultation, or ask at your appointment.

What post-weight-loss surgery involves

Plastic surgery after weight loss removes the excess skin that remains once a large amount of weight has gone. Skin stretched by weight gain loses elasticity and does not shrink back, leaving loose folds around the abdomen, waist, legs, arms, breasts, neck, and face. Volume is also lost in areas where it is wanted, such as the breasts.

It is not uncommon for patients who have had massive weight loss to need several procedures, planned together. The most frequently requested operations are:

Combined surgery requires careful consultation and planning. All surgery is performed at Waterfront Private Hospital in Edinburgh by Mr Will Anderson and Mr Omar Quaba, consultant plastic surgeons on the GMC Specialist Register, and the consultant who plans your surgery is the consultant who performs it.

View our gallery
A woman's chest and arm from the side, in a sports top

Surgery after weight-loss injections

Weight-loss injections — GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro — have made substantial weight loss achievable for many more people, and excess skin is now one of the most common reasons patients seek body contouring surgery. The skin changes after medication-driven weight loss are the same as those after bariatric surgery: the faster and greater the loss, the more loose skin tends to remain.

Before surgery is planned, your weight should be stable — operating while weight is still falling changes the surgical plan — and any weight-loss medication you are taking is discussed as part of your pre-operative assessment.

We have written about this in more detail: read our guide to excess skin after weight-loss jabs.

What post-weight-loss surgery can and can't do

Body contouring can remove the skin that weight loss has left behind, and for many people that changes everyday life. It usually means more than one operation, long scars and a slower recovery, and you should know that before you start.

It can

  • Remove loose, hanging skin from the tummy, arms, thighs, breasts or back.
  • Reduce the chafing, rashes and skin-fold infections that come with heavy folds of skin.
  • Make fitted clothing easier to wear at your goal weight.
  • Ease the strain of a heavy apron of skin on the tummy.
  • Restore volume where it has been lost, most often the breasts, with an uplift, implants or both.

It can’t

  • Leave short scars. The more skin we remove, the longer the scar. After large weight loss the scars are long, though placed where clothing usually covers them.
  • Give back the skin you had before. Skin that has been stretched stays thinner and less elastic, and some looseness can return.
  • Usually be done in one operation. Most people need two or more operations several months apart, because one very long operation carries more risk.
  • Make both sides match. Perfect symmetry is not always possible, particularly after very large weight loss.
  • Go ahead while your weight is still changing. Your weight needs to have been stable for at least six months, ideally twelve, or the result may not hold.

Your consultant will tell you at your consultation which of these apply to you.

What is the cost of post-weight-loss surgery?

Post-weight-loss surgery is usually a combination of procedures, so there is no single guide price — each combination is quoted individually after consultation. The component guide prices are:

  • Tummy tuck: mini £7,000; standard (full) £11,200.
  • Liposuction: £4,100 (local anaesthetic) or £5,850 (general anaesthetic).
  • Arm lift: £8,800.
  • Breast uplift: £8,800; uplift with implants £11,800.

Each price covers the surgeon’s fee, the anaesthetist’s fee, the hospital and theatre fee at Waterfront Private Hospital, and all post-operative reviews until you are fully discharged. Your written quotation follows your consultation.

The full price for your individual case can only be confirmed after a face-to-face consultation with the consultant who will perform your surgery.

Our consultation fee with a consultant plastic surgeon is £200. Where a further consultation would help you reach a decision, this is offered without additional charge.

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Questions before you book?

Ask anything about post weight loss, its recovery, risks or cost, any time and in plain language. If you would like, our team can contact you afterwards.

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General information, not a substitute for a consultation.

Patients often ask

Quick answers

Will the same surgeon plan, perform and review my surgery?

Yes. Post-weight-loss surgery at Quaba is performed by Mr Will Anderson and Mr Omar Quaba, consultant plastic surgeons on the GMC Specialist Register. The consultant who assesses you at your first appointment is the consultant who plans your surgery, performs it at Waterfront Private Hospital, and reviews you afterwards.

Who will perform my post-weight-loss surgery?

Your post-weight-loss surgery is planned and performed by one of our consultant plastic surgeons, Mr Omar Quaba and Mr Will Anderson, both on the GMC Specialist Register. You choose your consultant, meet them at your first appointment, and the same consultant operates and sees you afterwards.

Can I see results from your surgeons?

Yes. Our post-weight-loss surgery before and after gallery shows patients treated at Quaba Plastic Surgery, shared with their consent. Results vary between people, and your consultant will show you what is realistic for you at your consultation.

What happens if I have concerns after my surgery?

Your Quaba consultant stays responsible for your care after surgery. A nurse sees you a week after your operation, more often if you need it, and your consultant reviews you at around six months, when the result has settled. If anything worries you before then, contact us and your consultant will reply directly and see you as soon as needed.

How much does post-weight-loss surgery cost?

There is no single price, because most patients combine procedures. Component guide prices include a full tummy tuck £11,200, an arm lift £8,800, and a breast uplift £8,800. Each combination is quoted individually after consultation.

All our guide prices are on our pricing page.

Can I have surgery after losing weight with Ozempic or Mounjaro?

Yes. Excess skin after weight loss with GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro is treated in the same way as excess skin after bariatric surgery or dieting. Your weight should be stable before surgery is planned, and any medication you are taking is discussed at pre-operative assessment.

How long should my weight be stable before surgery?

Your weight should have settled at a stable level before surgery is planned. Operating while weight is still changing compromises the result — further loss creates new loose skin, and weight gain stretches the repair. Timing is assessed individually at consultation.

Which procedures are most often combined?

Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), often with liposuction, is the most common starting point. Breast uplift with or without implants, arm lifts, thigh lifts, and buttock lifts are frequently added or staged. The right combination depends on the pattern of excess skin and is planned at consultation.

Is post-weight-loss surgery riskier than other cosmetic surgery?

Combined procedures mean longer operations — up to five hours — which carries a slightly increased risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolus. Precautions include compression stockings, pneumatic boots that maintain leg circulation during surgery, and blood-thinning injections where required. Individual risk is assessed at consultation.

Will my results be as good as someone who has not lost a lot of weight?

Outcomes after massive weight loss are often not quite as good, mainly because skin that has been stretched loses elasticity. The improvement is still usually significant, and honest expectations are set at consultation.

Can everything be done in one operation?

Not always. What can be combined safely depends on the extent of surgery, your health, and the operating time involved. Many patients have surgery in two or more planned stages, agreed with your consultant at the outset.

Does excess skin cause medical problems?

It can. Skin folds can cause rubbing, rashes, hygiene difficulties, and discomfort during exercise. Removing the excess skin addresses these problems as well as the appearance.

The surgeons who do this

You meet your consultant at your first appointment. The same consultant plans your surgery, carries it out and sees you afterwards.

Risks, and how often they happen

Every operation carries risk. Here they are in three groups. The figures come from UK national guidance and published studies, averaged across many patients, so your own risk may be higher or lower. Your consultant will go through what applies to you, and every risk is in your written consent.

  • Expected
  • Uncommon
  • Rare
  • For the long term

Expected Almost everyone, and they settle

  • Swelling that can take several months to settle fully.
  • Long scars, red and raised at first, softening and fading over 6 to 12 months.
  • Numbness around the scars, often temporary but sometimes permanent.
  • Tiredness and a slower recovery than after a single smaller operation, with two to four weeks off work.

Uncommon Some patients, and some need further treatment

  • A wound opening up or healing slowly. Up to half of people have some complication after body contouring, most often a minor wound problem that heals with dressings. It is more likely after bariatric surgery, with smoking, or if your nutrition has not recovered.

    About 1 in 6after a lower body lift

  • Fluid collecting under the skin (seroma), which may need draining with a needle.

    About 1 in 10after a lower body lift

  • An infection or bleeding under the skin. Infection affects about 1 in 20 and bleeding that needs draining (haematoma) about 1 in 30.

    About 1 in 20

  • A blood clot in the leg or lung (DVT or PE). The risk rises with longer operations, so we use compression devices, early walking and, where appropriate, blood-thinning medication.

    1 in 30 or fewerhighest after a lower body lift

Rare but serious

  • A serious reaction to the anaesthetic.

    Very rare

For the long term

  • Further operations are common. Most plans are staged over a year or more, and about 1 in 20 people need an extra operation to deal with a complication. Puckers at the ends of scars sometimes need a small touch-up.
  • Combining operations raises the risk. In a large study, the complication rate roughly doubled when a tummy tuck was combined with another body contouring operation, which is one reason we stage surgery.
  • Your weight needs to stay stable. Gaining weight stretches the skin again, and losing more can leave new loose skin.
  • Ageing continues. Skin keeps loosening with age, and some people choose a minor revision years later.

More from the operations themselves, each with its own full list of risks: tummy tuck, arm lift, liposuction, breast uplift, breast augmentation and breast reduction.

Where these figures come from

Aftercare and recovery after post-weight-loss surgery

Recovery depends on the procedures performed and whether they are combined or staged. The individual procedure pages and our aftercare pages give specific timelines for each operation.

A nurse reviews you at one week, and more often if needed in the early healing period. Your consultant sees you again at around six months once the result has settled. Between then, your consultant is always available — if anything concerns you, they will respond directly and arrange to see you as soon as needed.

View our aftercare pages
Nurse reviewing a patient at Waterfront Private Hospital, Edinburgh

Written by

Mr Omar Quaba

Consultant plastic surgeon · GMC 4586300

Last updated October 2026