Is body contouring a medical procedure?

Author: Paige Mosciski  |  Last update: Sunday, November 30, 2025

Body contouring, or body sculpting, refers to surgical procedures that improve your appearance by removing excess skin after major weight loss. Body contouring helps improve body shape after weight loss through diet and exercise, weight-loss medications or bariatric surgery.

Does insurance cover body contouring?

Insurance providers typically cover costs of body contouring surgery for patients who had bariatric surgery and lost weight. Insurance can also cover patients with medical issues, wounds or excessive skin that interferes with their daily lives.

What is medical contouring?

Contouring is defined as the outline of a part or the surface configuration. During radiotherapy treatment planning, a physician contours cancerous tumors and the surrounding organs (or organs at risk), based on medical imaging.

What is body contour in medical terms?

Body contouring, or body sculpting, is a medical or surgical procedure that aims to reshape an area of the body. It may involve procedures to: Get rid of extra skin.

What is the difference between body sculpting and body contouring?

Body sculpting is best for targeting specific spots. Example: Reducing love handles. Body contouring works well for larger area improvements. Example: Tightening abdominal skin after pregnancy.

What is body contouring surgery and who is it for? | Ohio State Medical Center

How much does body contouring cost?

Here's a straightforward snapshot to give you an idea: Non-Surgical Treatments: Ranges from $600 to $4,000 per session. CoolSculpting®: Typically between $2,000 and $4,000 for a treatment plan. Treatment Sessions: Depending on the area, 1-3 sessions are often recommended.

How long does body contouring last?

Overall, the process for this treatment will take about six to nine months for both surgical and non-surgical treatments. This ultimately means that you can have your ideal body in under a year, and with results that can last well over a decade.

Is body contouring a surgery?

Body contouring, or body sculpting, refers to surgical procedures that improve your appearance by removing excess skin after major weight loss. Body contouring helps improve body shape after weight loss through diet and exercise, weight-loss medications or bariatric surgery.

How permanent is body contouring?

Fortunately, body contouring procedures such as liposuction and tummy tuck surgery, as well as body contouring treatments like CoolSculpting®, are long-lasting. Your results should be visible for many years as long as you maintain a healthy weight.

Does non-surgical body contouring work?

Non-invasive body contouring does not treat obesity or improve your health. It will not result in weight loss or contribute to the health benefits associated with weight loss.

How painful is body contouring?

Everyone has varying levels of sensitivity and pain tolerance, but most people who undergo body contouring experience minimal discomfort and actually find that the procedure feels more like a therapeutic spa treatment than an aesthetic procedure.

What is the disadvantage of contouring?

Potential for Side Effects

While generally considered safe, body contouring procedures can lead to side effects such as temporary redness, swelling, bruising, or numbness in the treated areas.

How to get rid of belly flab after losing weight?

After you lose weight, your skin is loose because the fat underneath it has disappeared. By building muscle mass you can replace the missing fat with muscle and fill the skin back out, alleviating the loose sagging appearance. Building muscle mass also helps you if you do ultimately decide to have skin removal surgery.

How to prove medical necessity for panniculectomy?

Medical records from the enrollee's family physician and other treating physicians documenting that the panniculus causes chronic rashes, abscesses, skin irritation, infection, chafing, or dermatitis occurring on opposed surfaces of the skin, that consistently recur over six (6) months of appropriate medical therapy, ...

How much does a 360 body lift cost?

The expected cost of body lift surgery

As we mentioned, you can expect to pay between $11,000 – $15,000. Your current health insurance providers may not cover body contouring surgery since it is an elective procedure.

How much is one session of body contouring?

Body contouring costs vary depending on the procedure. Non-surgical options may range from $2,000 to $4,000 per session, while more invasive surgeries like liposuction or tummy tucks can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000, depending on the extent of the treatment and the areas targeted.

How much weight do you lose with body contouring?

Most professionals consider the results of contouring treatments to be negligible in terms of weight loss. One of the main reasons why reducing five pounds with a contouring treatment may not seem like a big deal is that your weight can naturally fluctuate by one to five pounds every day.

Is body contouring worth it?

While body sculpting isn't a substitute for a healthy lifestyle, it can enhance the results of diet and exercise. These procedures can target stubborn fat pockets that resist traditional weight loss methods, giving you that extra boost to achieve your desired physique.

What is the best body contouring procedure?

Liposuction is often at the top of the list of the most well-known plastic surgery procedures, and it is one of the best tried-and-true body sculpting methods. It is a surgical procedure that involves removing fat from underneath the skin with a suction device called a cannula.

What doctor removes skin after weight loss?

You may need several body contour procedures to remove excess skin and get the look you seek. A plastic surgeon can determine the best body contour procedures for you.

Where does the fat go after body contouring?

After treatment, your body picks up the waste from the fat cell destruction and eliminates it over time from your body via the natural lymphatic process. Lipids do not escape from the fat cells into your interstitial space (as with fat shrinking treatments).

How many sessions do you need for body contouring?

Depending on the size of the area you'd like to target and the amount of excess fat in the region, you may need anywhere from one to six sessions. You'll feel a small immediate improvement, but it can take up to three months to see the final results.

What are the side effects of body contouring?

Body contouring can reshape your body, but both surgical and non-surgical methods come with side effects. Common side effects include bruising, swelling, and temporary numbness, especially in fat reduction treatments. Scarring and skin laxity can occur, especially after surgical procedures like liposuction.

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