Khaliah Ali Undergoes Skin Reduction Surgery
Jul 27, 2008 
line of sewing patterns at Simplicity Pattern Company (www.simplicity.com). Her charity work includes serving as chair of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's "Hand in Hand with Children" campaign, for which she won the Volunteer of the Year award from the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, she serves on the board of directors of Help USA and as a spokesperson for Soup's On!, a Salvation Army initiatve, along with serving as a national spokesperson for Communities in Schools, and participates in many other charitable causes and mentoring programs. She lives with her son in the Philadelphia area. Khaliah Ali--
I’m happy to report that the paperback version of my book, Fighting Weight, comes out this month. In the final chapter, I talk about how even though I’m happy with the 180-pound weight loss from my gastric banding surgery:
“I do have rolls of loose skin over my middle – a sack – that I can grab with my hands, and I have the same type of skin sagging under my arms. It’s sort of crepe paper-like. There’s even a little excess skin hanging on certain parts of my legs. It simply hasn’t shrunk as well as the rest of me.
“My breasts sag, too,” I wrote. “They breast-fed, went up to an E cup in my mid-twenties, and then down to what is now a C cup – so they have lost a good deal of their elasticity.”
Well, I wrote those words two years ago, and I finally decided to do something about it. I said in my last Basil & Spice blog that this spring I had skin surgery to cut sagging skin from my under my upper arms, where it folded like drapes. But then, a couple of weeks later I went in and had a post weight-loss skin flap taken off my tummy, too, and I also had a breast lift with implants put in. I decided 34 is too young to having sagging breasts, and I’m thrilled with my decision.
People don’t understand why I bothered to undergo more surgery – they said I looked fine. But the procedures on my arms and my stomach took off 15 pounds of skin altogether! Now, when I wear a tight dress, I don’t have to squeeze myself into a body girdle; I used to tuck myself into one to smooth out the ripples. It’s a whole lot more comfortable without it. Also, I love being able to wear a sleeveless or short-sleeve top, or a tight top without the bra fat – that bulge that comes out underneath your arms.
Thank you, my fantastic and sensitive surgeon – Dr. Ronald Lohner of Bryn Mawr Hospital – for making the process go so smoothly.
Just one more procedure to go. In early August, I undergo Smartlipo on my calves and upper thighs, which is liposuction with a laser to minimize the effects of the procedure. Less bleeding and bruising. Smartlipo is to traditional lipo what laparoscopic surgery is to traditional, cutting-a-big-hole-in-you surgery. They’ll suck out about 8 pounds, and then I’ll be where I want to be. It even will tighten my leg skin, which is something traditional lipo can’t do. My doctor this time will be Dr. Richard Goldfarb – a great physician in Langhorne, PA.
After the Smartlipo, it’ll be back to meetings for my various charities (working hard at the We Are Family Foundation these days, which builds schools in Africa and Central America) and enjoying the second half of summer with my son, Jacob, and Spencer (his dad). I can't believe Jacob starts fourth grade this year – it really does go by so fast!
Khaliah Ali's One Year Update After Fight Weight
Gastric Banding: Khaliah Ali--Fighting Weight
Personal Interview With Khaliah Ali
At Basil & Spice
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