Plastic surgeons say major GLP-1 weight loss is bringing more patients in for cosmetic procedures tied to loose skin and lost volume.
Plastic surgeons are reporting more cosmetic concerns among some patients who have lost significant weight while using GLP-1 medications, including complaints now being described as “Ozempic earlobes.”
The reports center on changes that can follow substantial fat loss, not on damage to the ear or hearing. Doctors cited by Fox News Digital and NewBeauty described thinner or more sagging earlobes, deflated-looking breasts, flatter buttocks and excess skin after major weight loss on medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
Facial plastic surgeon Sachin S. Parikh told NewBeauty that semaglutides can reduce fat throughout the body, including small fat pads in the earlobes. “It’s important to note that semaglutides do not damage ear tissue or affect hearing in any way, so any intervention would be purely cosmetic,” Parikh said.
Possible cosmetic treatments for sagging earlobes include dermal filler, fat transfer, laser treatments or surgical earlobe reduction, according to the report.
Other doctors said the same weight-loss pattern is showing up in requests for body-contouring procedures. Dr. Mohammed Asif of Duly Health and Care in Naperville, Illinois, told Fox News Digital he has seen a significant rise in breast lifts, panniculectomies, tummy tucks, arm lifts and thigh lifts among patients who lost weight with GLP-1 medications.
Asif said healing and recovery can be less complicated than after bariatric-surgery-related weight loss because weight loss on GLP-1 drugs may occur more gradually over time.
Surgeons also described complaints involving breasts and buttocks after rapid or large-volume weight loss. Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Omidi told Fox News Digital that younger women may seek breast lifts after losing fat volume faster than skin and supporting tissue can adjust. Dr. Samuel Golpanian, also practicing in Beverly Hills, said he has seen patients seeking treatment for a flatter or saggier buttocks after significant GLP-1 weight loss.
Kristy Hamilton, a Houston surgeon and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said in an ASPS report that more patients are seeking skin-tightening procedures after losing large amounts of weight on the medications. The society lists common post-weight-loss body-contouring procedures including tummy tucks, lower body lifts, arm lifts, thigh lifts, breast lifts and face or neck lifts.
Experts cited in the report said adequate protein intake and resistance training may help limit lean muscle loss during rapid weight loss. The cosmetic concerns, as described by surgeons, are elective-treatment issues tied to body changes after substantial weight loss, and the trend may continue as GLP-1 use grows.
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