Al Aly, M.D.

Al Aly, M.D.

Director, Post Bariatric Plastic Surgery

  • Plastic Surgery
  • Massive Weight Loss Contouring of the Belly, Chest, Arms, and Thighs
  • Rhinoplasty (Revision and Ethnic)

Biography

Al S. Aly, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Plastic Surgery and Director of the Post-Bariatric Body Contouring Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in body contouring surgery.

Dr. Aly performs plastic surgery after massive weight loss, including body lifts (belt lipectomy), arm reductions (brachioplasty), upper body lifts (a combination of upper back roll elimination, addressing breast or chest abnormalities, and arm reduction), and thigh reductions (thigh lifts).

Dr. Aly is also a rhinoplasty surgeon, performing ethnic rhinoplasty (Middle Eastern, African American, Asian, and American Indian), traditional rhinoplasty, and rhinoplasty that presents with breathing difficulties.

In addition, he is an expert in more traditional plastic surgery in his Dallas practice, such as breast augmentation, breast lifts, tummy tucks, and liposuction. He performs the full range of aesthetic (cosmetic) procedures, including skin care and injectables.

Dr. Aly earned his medical degree at Georgetown University. He completed his internship at UCLA Medical Center, his residency in otolaryngology at Vanderbilt Medical Center, and an additional residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Miami. He received advanced training in facial plastic surgery through a fellowship at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center.

He is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. He has been performing aesthetic and plastic surgery after weight loss for over 20 years and is currently practicing at UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Plastic Surgery Clinic in Dallas, TX.

Dr. Aly is a pioneer in plastic surgery after massive weight loss. He published the first textbook on post-bariatric plastic surgery, Body Contouring After Massive Weight Loss, which is considered the authoritative guide for the subject.

He has lectured and performed surgical demonstrations in more than 35 countries. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum and the Body Contouring Section Editor for the Aesthetic Surgery Journal and is past President of the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation (ASERF).

In 2008, he received the Lockwood Award by the Aesthetic Society (previously the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery). This is an award bestowed only to surgeons who have made major contributions to the field of body contouring.

Meet Dr. Aly

Innovation in Aesthetic Surgery for Every Patient

Dr. Al Aly is an international leader in complex aesthetic and plastic surgery, but his true specialty is bringing extraordinary care to his everyday practice.

Although many of Dr. Aly’s patients are seeking complex surgery in the arenas of plastic surgery after massive weight loss or ethnic rhinoplasty, he also specializes in general breast augmentation, body contouring, and rhinoplasty. He offers all his patients the same surgical innovation and expertise.

“For example, we don’t use post-surgical drains in any of our surgeries, which is appealing to our patients,” he says. “Without drains, there is less postoperative care needed, less pain, and potentially less chance of complications.”

He notes that plastic surgery combines function and aesthetics, which is a balance that must be personalized to each patient.

“Measuring the success of a plastic surgery is currently not entirely scientific,” he says. “To me, in order for surgery to be successful, it must not simply lead to a change but to the patient ending up closer to ideal, beautiful normal.”

His current research focuses on just that: understanding beauty and attractiveness across all ethnic groups, a brand-new field of research.

A Leader in Ethnic Rhinoplasty in Texas

“There is not one type of nose that is going to look beautiful on every person,” Dr. Aly says. “Our research is showing how people perceive attractiveness so we can create beauty for an individual that is perceived by all, not just the surgeon who did the surgery.”

In addition to bringing ethnic rhinoplasty to his Dallas-area practice, Dr. Aly is also specializes in complex rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty.

Trained as an ENT surgeon prior to his specialization in plastic surgery, Dr. Aly treats both the inside and outside of the nose.

“My approach is called structural rhinoplasty,” he says, explaining the technique involves having all structures held in place by sutures and grafts – a more durable solution than the standard approach, which relies on the patient’s skin to hold the structures in place. “We don’t leave anything to chance.”

A Pioneer of Plastic Surgery After Weight Loss

Dr. Aly helped define the practice of plastic surgery after massive weight loss. He wrote the first textbook on the subject, and his approaches continue to lay the groundwork for advances in helping people find a more normal body shape after significant weight loss.

His plastic surgery practice and techniques developed from the sincere, widespread need of post-operative bariatric patients looking for ways to be comfortable in their new bodies. Patients who overcame major weight-loss obstacles still felt they looked fat. Dr. Aly knew he needed to find unique, whole-body solutions.

In addition to performing surgeries, Dr. Aly takes great satisfaction in training other surgeons in his innovative techniques. “A person can do only so many surgeries in their career,” he says. “I am humbled and proud that through our teaching over the past 20 years I’ve been able to help so many more patients than I could through my own personal care.”

Surgery after Massive Weight Loss: What to Expect

Unlike normal body contouring of one problem area, plastic surgery after major weight loss addresses unique issues and goals. Patients’ top priority is often excess skin in the trunk, so they prioritize an abdominal lift (tummy tuck) or belt lipectomy (body lift), which is a 360-degree procedure to remove fat and tissue from the lower abdomen and buttocks. A belt lipectomy helps create a waist, better define the buttocks, and improve overall contour.

Dr. Aly is skilled in the tummy tuck approach known as TULUA modifications (transverse plication, no undermining, full liposuction, neo umbilicoplasty, and low transverse abdominal scar), which was developed by a Colombian surgeon. The TULUA technique utilizes horizontal muscle wall tightening instead of vertical, with less surgery and more preserved blood vessels.

Other areas that can be addressed by plastic surgery include skin and fat reduction in the arms (brachioplasty) and thighs (thigh lifts), and upper body lifts (a combination of upper back roll elimination, addressing breast or chest abnormalities, and arm reduction).

Significant weight loss and plastic surgery is life-changing, and patients should consider this a major life event. Patients interested in plastic surgery after massive weight loss should have maximized their weight loss and have been able to maintain a steady weight for three to six months before considering body contouring surgery. This surgery can help patients gain a lifetime of renewed confidence and comfort in their body.

From rhinoplasty to plastic surgery after massive weight loss, Dr. Aly has decades of experience and offers patients world-renowned, leading-edge techniques at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

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Education & Training
  • Residency - Vanderbilt University Medical Center (1988-1992), Otolaryngology
  • Research Fellowship - Vanderbilt University Medical Center (1987-1988)
  • Medical School - Georgetown University School of Medicine (1979-1983)
  • Residency - UCLA Medical Center (1983-1985), Surgery
  • Research - UCLA Medical Center (1985-1987), Surgery
  • Fellowship - University of California Irvine Medical Center (1992-1993), Facial Plastic Surgery
  • Residency - University of Miami Hospital (1995-1997), Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Professional Associations & Affiliations
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons
  • American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
  • American Association of Plastic Surgeons
  • International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
Honors & Awards
  • Lockwood Award 2008, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
  • Best Panelist Award 2007, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
  • Teaching Recognition Award 1992-1993, UCI Otolaryngology Residents
  • Seymour Cohen Research Award 1991, COSM, American Bronchoesophalogical Section
  • Winner, Resident Research Competition 1990, Vanderbilt University, Department of Otolaryngology
  • Ward Ford Memorial Laser Research Grant for 2 Years, The Thermal versus Non-Thermal Effects of Lasers on Tissues)
Books & Publications

Clinical Focus

  • Massive Weight Loss Contouring of the Belly, Chest, Arms, and Thighs
  • Rhinoplasty (Revision and Ethnic)

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Dr. Al Aly

Dr. Aly talks about his approach to patient care.