May 14, 2008 11:00 pm US/Eastern
Health: Weight Loss Journey With Famous Daughter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
In health, a life changing transformation -- for people who lose a dramatic amount of weight, it can be just the beginning of the journey. Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl takes you through the process with a famous daughter.
For Khaliah Ali, the 34-year-old daughter of Muhammad Ali, her struggles with weight have been a very public battle.
"People think, well my goodness you should have the resources, you certainly have the genes, what is wrong with her," said Khaliah.
In his day, her father was a world renowned athlete. And her sister Laila, the boxer, is also in great shape.
But Khaliah, at age 30, weighed 335 pounds. Even then, her father didn't complain.
"He always told me I was beautiful. I know in his heart that he was concerned for me," said Khaliah.
Four years ago, Khaliah lost 175 pounds after getting a lap band to reduce the size of her stomach. Even though she exercises, Khaliah still has a common problem for people who lose a dramatic amount of weight excess skin and tissue.
"The elasticity of the skin is lost," said Dr. Ronald Lohner, a Plastic Surgeon at Bryn Mawr Hospital.
He is going to perform a skin excision operation on Khaliah.
Dr. Lohner's photos of other patients show the dramatic results. There are usually a series of operations.
"It's a large undertaking, but the results are very dramatic. It's absolutely huge. This is probably the most dramatic thing that we do in all of plastic surgery," said Dr. Lohner.
To control pain associated with such a massive operation, Dr. Lohner uses what's called the ON-Q PainBuster. Tiny leads, connected to a portable medication pouch, are temporarily left inside the surgery site.
"I was very afraid of the pain," said Khaliah.
She has become a spokesperson for ON-Q, having used the system for five days after the first surgery to remove excess skin from her arms, with no big discomfort.
Khaliah, who's written a book called "Fighting Weight", says the end of her journey will allow her to finally be a proud member of her famous family.
She had the skin excision surgery last Thursday and tells us she is doing well and is thrilled with the results.
The lap band procedure is skyrocketing in popularity, and so is body contouring.
But the plastic surgery can be expensive and is often not covered by insurance.
RELATED LINKS:
Dr. Ronald Lohner
On-Q PainBuster
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