Board Certified Female Plastic Surgeon Specializing in Liposuction
What is Liposuction Surgery?
Liposuction is an excellent way to remove fat. It is not a weight loss procedure, but a body contouring procedure. Areas commonly treated with liposuction include the abdomen and hips (waistline) and inner and outer thighs utilizing a three-dimensional approach. Other areas that are regularly treated include the upper back rolls, flanks, buttocks, upper arms, medial knees, and lower face and neck.
Liposuction is not a skin-tightening procedure. The best candidates have good overlying skin tone, and therefore experience smooth and even skin retraction. To find out if liposuction is right for you, please call Desert Hills Plastic Surgery Center at 702-260-7707 in Las Vegas today for a consultation.
Goal of Liposuction Surgery:
- To remove fat cells and bulges and improve body contour and appearance of the treated area
- Clothing fits more comfortably and looks better. Jeans look attractive and reveal trim straight and non-touching inner thigh contours with reduction in outer thigh bulges, while maintaining female curviness. The buttocks is framed, with reduction in flanks and square-shaped behind to more projecting, rounder and compact backside. Abdomen is flatter with a narrower waistline, bra strap bulges are reduced
- Removal of "muffin-top" which are fatty deposits that undesirably project above pant lines
- Projecting medial knee fatty deposits can be reduced
- Lateral breast fullness can be reduced
- Upper arms can be reduced so short-sleeved tops fit comfortably. Upper body appears narrower when arms look slender
- Men can feel comfortable in snug tops and in bathing trunks. Abdomen is flatter and flanks are reduced
- Patients with full necks, weak chins, or "double" chins can improve neck and jaw line contour
- Liposuction is not intended for weight loss. The goal of surgery is to contour the body. If a patient desires a weight loss, he or she must do their part in maintaining a healthy diet and exercise. Weight gains after surgery negatively influence results.
Is Liposuction Safe?
Liposuction rarely has complications when performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon. The most common side effects of liposuction are swelling, bruising, and soreness at the treated site. You will receive detailed information about all of the potential risks during your consultation.
Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to reduce your chance of experiencing complications. The following steps will go a long way towards ensuring a safe and successful liposuction surgery:
- Avoid nicotine and tobacco products
- Limit your physical activity during the recovery period
- Take antibiotics and other prescribed medications
- Wear compression garments as instructed
Can I Reduce My Weight With This Treatment?
What is Liposuction?
It is important to understand that liposuction is not a weight-loss treatment. Instead, it is a body contouring treatment, and it is ideal for people who are already at or near their goal weight.
Even if the scale doesn't change, a small amount of fat can take up a lot of space. Removing it often provides a significant improvement to the shape and size of the area that was treated.
Can Liposuction Tighten Up a Loose Neck?
Liposuction is not capable of tightening sagging or loose skin on your neck. If this is a concern that you would like to treat, a tightening procedure would be more appropriate than liposuction.
Excess fat under the chin, on the other hand, is something that liposuction can help improve. Liposuction is an effective way to remove unwanted fat that can make your jaw look undefined.
How is Liposuction Surgery Performed?
- The procedure is done as an outpatient, usually under general anesthesia
- A fluid mixture of saline, local anesthetic, and epinephrine is infused into the fat. This is called tumescent fluid and it controls blood loss and fluid absorption, making the procedure very safe and well controlled. It distends the subcutaneous space facilitating safe passes of the liposuction cannula
- Small 2-4 mm incisions are made over the treatment area, and a long thin metal tube called a cannula is inserted. Cannula sizes range from 2-4 mm, depending on the site and depth of extraction. A vacuum then extracts the fat, as passes are performed to contour the soft tissues evenly. Improvements are immediately seen and felt, and the endpoints are smooth, symmetric contours with even fatty layer thickness
- Ultrasonic liposuction is used in areas where the fat can be denser and more fibrous such as the male chest or upper back. In these areas, the cannula does not pass easily because of tissue resistance. Therefore a preliminary operative stage involves liquefying the fat with heat (ultrasound), so that the liposuction cannula can then pass with little resistance and extract the fatty tissue efficiently
- Incisions are closed with sutures, and patients are placed in snug compression garment.
How Long Is Recovery From Liposuction?
It takes less time to recover from liposuction than many other cosmetic procedures. That is because the incisions are relatively small and the entire surgery is minimally invasive. Generally, patients can resume most of their normal daily activities within one week after undergoing liposuction. Exercise can resume 3 weeks after your procedure, provided the majority of bruising has resolved.
At that point, the vast majority of the healing phase is complete. However, it can take four to six months for residual swelling and scar tissue to subside and reveal the final results of the liposuction procedure.
What is the Recovery from Liposuction Surgery?
- You will go home with a compression garment placed over the treated areas. Mild drainage is to be expected through the closed incisions for 24 hours. This is the residual tumescent fluid left behind in the tissues. The garment can be removed in 24 hours, and patients are free to shower and wash normally. The garment must be worn all the time for 4-6 weeks after surgery. This will keep swelling to a minimum and facilitate smooth skin retraction. After 6 weeks, the garment may be weaned, depending on the amount of residual swelling present in the treated areas
- Exercise can resume in 3-4 weeks as tolerated
- Expect a transient scar tissue phase beginning between 2-3 weeks post op. Firm areas of scar tissue can develop in the treated areas. It responds to massage and typically resolves over months
- Oral pain medication is prescribed for discomfort
- Because of significant bruising and swelling seen after liposuction, results may not be apparent before 6 weeks. It takes 4-6 months for final results.
- Most patients get back to work in several days to one week
- Do not gain weight after surgery or fat can come back. More dramatic results are seen with simultaneous small weight losses on the part of the patient. Follow a healthy diet with regular exercise to maintain your results
- The small access scars generally fade over the year and are inconspicuous
- Avoid tanning over the treated areas for at least 6 months. Sunscreen to treated sun-exposed areas is important.
Can I Enjoy Permanent Results With This Procedure?
One of the biggest advantages of liposuction is that it offers long-lasting results. You have a fixed number of fat cells in your body, and the ones removed during liposuction cannot grow back.
That said, the fat cells that remain in the treatment area can still change along with your weight. If you gain a significant amount of weight after liposuction, these cells will grow and expand. When that happens, you may notice that the treatment area will look less slim and defined.
Additional factors, such as pregnancy and aging, can also have an impact on your results. However, if you eat well and exercise regularly, your new shape should last for many years.
Liposuction Before and After
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At Desert Hills Plastic Surgery Center, liposuction charges are per area treated. One treatment area costs $6,900; two treatment areas cost $8,900; three areas, $9,900; four areas, $10,900; five areas, $11,900; and the cost of treating six areas is $12,900.
Alternatives to Liposuction:
Other procedures that may enhance liposuction include:
Most women after pregnancies and major weight fluctuations need abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), rather than liposuction, in order to contour their abdomen and waistline. In this situation, abdominal protuberance is related to abdominal wall muscle stretch and skin stretch, in addition to fatty deposits. In this situation, all 3 layers of the abdominal wall must be addressed to affect contour improvements.
Techniques for liposuction are continuously evolving and improving. New technology must be proven safe and effective before replacing proven standards for treatment. Dr. Brown stays up to date and current with respect to all available technology and equipment, such as lasers, for liposuction treatment. Advertising claims and mass marketing of procedures and techniques by corporations may not always have the patient’s best interest at heart. Dr. Brown thoroughly evaluates all new technology and incorporates only safe, effective, and reliable technology into her practice.
Rest assured that we  want the best possible outcomes for all of our patients. We are looking forward to the time when we have a non-invasive device that predictably tightens skin without excisional surgery, eradicates cellulite, smoothes skin, and improves skin tone.
Schedule a Liposuction Consultation Today!
For more information about liposuction, please contact Desert Hills Plastic Surgery Center by filling out the form in our contact page, or by calling 702-260-7707, to arrange a consultation with Dr. Brown. We serve patients in Las Vegas, Henderson, and other areas of Nevada.
