Is Liposuction Right for Me?

Aack! It's bikini season and we're all panicked. We have Covid tummy and Zoom hips. There's no time to waste - what can we do? 'Tis the season for Liposuction. I don't know anyone who hasn't thought about it, joked about it and wished for it. But what is it exactly and what can it do for us?

Liposuction with Aqua-Shape® used to be called Body-Jet or pulsed water lipo. It uses a gentle stream of water to remove fat from under the skin in those annoying areas that don't respond to diet and exercise. It's great for smoothing out bellies, hips and thighs, but it's not intended for loss of excess weight. Liposuction helps to sculpt and refine your shape, but it won't change your whole body. Double chins are another excellent target for liposuction. It works way better than those fat-dissolving injections! But here's the bad news. Don't expect it to make up for years of bad habits. Don't expect to drop many pounds from the scale-fat doesn't weigh a lot and the amount that can be removed won't add up to much. And don't expect to start eating everything in sight afterwards. Although fat cells don't grow back once they've been removed, the cells which remain in other parts of your body can expand. Weight gain post-lipo often results in “back fat”. So, is it for you?The answer depends on your particular problem areas, your age, your skin tone and your overall fitness. Let's examine a couple of examples.

Mary is an ideal liposuction candidate. She's under 50 years of age, watches her weight and exercises regularly. Lucky Mary has good skin elasticity too. But she's unhappy with the pouches at the top of her thighs that won't disappear no matter how many leg lifts she does. “Saddlebags” are a common, inherited problem area for many women. Mary also has a tummy bulge that hasn't budged with core work. This is what Mary can expect: An in-office procedure with local anesthesia, tiny incisions to allow the insertion of narrow tubes through which the water flows painlessly to wash away her bumps. A skilled surgeon like Dr. Sackman sculpts the area so that it is symmetrical and smooth. Some call this talent for artistic shaping and blending “360° Lipo” because the surgeon takes your whole body into consideration - like a sculptor. Mary will walk out of the office relatively free of pain wearing a compression garment which stays on for 2 weeks. She will come back to the office the day after her procedure for a check-up and will recover fully in about 3 to 4 weeks. Mary's good skin should snap back without folds or sagging, and the tiny scars should fade over time.

Doris is not a great candidate because she has been neglecting herself. She's more than 20 pounds overweight and hates exercise. Her skin is stretched out, so it won't bounce back when the fat underneath is removed. Extra pounds have accumulated all over her body and she doesn't have a particular area where fat removal will make a difference. Advice to Doris: Start taking care of yourself. Start moving and modify your eating habits to lose a few pounds. Then MAYBE lipo could be an option. But lipo for Doris could leave sagging folds of skin. That means a surgical tummy tuck to remove the extra skin would be needed.

Most of us fall somewhere in-between Mary and Doris. We're not perfect candidates and we're not sure if liposuction is right for us. That's why an honest assessment from an experienced doctor is a must. Choose the right surgeon and with a little luck you could walk out of the office with a trimmer waist or no double chin. I CAN reassure you that it's not hard, there's no long recovery and you're worth it!

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