Dr John Di Saia, an orange county california plastic surgeon

Is Liposuction for Me?

Here is a simple quiz for the patient considering liposuction. If "You" reads as something you'd say, consider how suitable liposuction might be for you. Liposuction is a great operation for the right patient, but has its limitations.
 

"You"
Liposuction Suitability
Alternate Procedure
 Bottom Line
"I want to lose weight."
Poor
 Cosmetic surgery is not effective for patients looking to lose weight. Even Tummy Tuck patients lose little weight. This may not be for you.
"There are many (more than 4)  body areas I want treated."
Maybe less than optimal
 It depends upon the areas involved. Carefully discuss this with your surgeon. Some of the areas you want to treat may not be areas that respond well.
"I am a woman who has had three or more pregnancies."
Variable
 In the woman with multiple pregnancies, liposuction of the abdomen may (as sole treatment) leave a fair amount of loose skin. Liposuction also primarily addresses fat and women after multiple pregnancies often also have "tummy muscle" laxity with the loose skin. Tummy Tuck Surgery should at least be considered in patients in this category. If you are looking to treat the abdomen, see a surgeon who does both Tummy Tuck surgery and liposuction. If your surgeon does just one or the other, you may get a biased opinion.
"I have already had liposuction two or more times in the same area."
Maybe not-so-great
 Consider a lift of some sort. Unless you are looking to fine tune your result with more liposuction or looking into a different procedure (such as a body lift), more liposuction may be more likely to leave a "dent" or simply may not be effective.
"The skin over the area I wanted treated is quite loose."
 Less than optimal
 Unless you don't mind irregularities of the skin over the reduced fat, you may want to consider other "body lift" surgery. Here you might want to accept less liposuction or the addition of a procedure to address the skin tone issue (eg. tummy tuck or body lift). 
"I just want my clothes to fit better in the sides of the thighs on my tummy and/or around my waist. My skin is pretty snug in these areas."
Good
 Liposuction will probably "fill the bill" nicely here. Looking for a modest improvement in "good responder" areas by this procedure is very reasonable.
 
 

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© John Di Saia, MD... an Orange County California Plastic Surgeon       

Serving Southern California since 1997 * (949) 369-5932

  

USE STATEMENT
Please note that this resource is offered freely to individuals considering liposuction. No rights are granted and it is not to be reprinted or copied without the author's prior written consent. Understand that some of the information presented may be a matter of professional opinion. Although efforts have been made to assure accuracy, no guarantees are expressed or implied.