
Women and men who see isolated fatty deposits not responding to diet and exercise often consider liposuction. The best candidates are normal-weight people with firm, elastic skin who have pockets of excess fat in certain areas.
Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty or suction lipectomy, is a procedure that sculpts the body by removing unwanted fat from specific areas, including the abdomen, hips, buttocks, thighs, knees, upper arms, chin and neck. While liposuction can improve contour related to fatty deposits it does not improve muscle or skin tone and expectations and goals should be addressed during consultation. Sometimes abdominoplasty or another procedure may be more effective in achieving your goals.
It is important to have realistic expectations about what the procedure can achieve.
Patients wear compressive garments to minimize swelling, improve comfort and optimize skin retraction. Prescription medications are used during this time to relieve minor surgical pain. Patients are generally back to work in less than a week. More vigorous activity can be resumed in 2-3 weeks.
An improvement in proportions and contour is the usual result following liposuction. Most patients find clothing fits better and there is improved self-esteem and self-confidence.
The re-contoured body can still gain weight but usually in more normal proportions
Liposuction is a very common surgery and most patients are exceptionally happy with the appearance and change in proportions and how clothing fits. However, no surgery is without potential risks. The majority of these are minor and can be reviewed on the link below.
Copy adapted from the joint ASPS and PSEF website.