A panniculectomy is a medical procedure whereby excess fat and/or hanging skin is removed. It is usually performed on patients who have either had major weight-reduction surgery or have recently lost a large amount of weight - typically 100 pounds or more. The procedure is generally performed by a certified plastic surgeon, and almost always in a hospital or at an outpatient surgery center. The time for each procedure varies, depending upon how much skin/fat is to be removed, although a patient can typically expect to be operated upon for several hours. The excess fat/skin is removed using a horizontal incision that runs from hip to hip, and a vertical incision from the sternum to the waist. Once the excess fat/skin is removed, the surgeon sews the remaining skin back together.