All About Liposuction with Dr. Thomas Taylor

What Is Liposuction?

Liposuction is the most common cosmetic surgical procedure in the world.¹ It involves sucking out fat from under the skin to contour and reshape the body.

You may think that fat is sitting under your skin like Jell-O® and that liposuction involves putting a tube in there to suck it right out, but that's not the case. Instead, think of fat more like a honeycomb — the fat is in a lot of little pockets that must be broken up in order to remove it.

What Areas of the Body Can Liposuction Treat?

Liposuction can be performed from the ankles to the temples, and pretty much everywhere in between. Wherever there is fat that can be removed safely, liposuction is a potential option.

The most common areas treated by liposuction include:

• Tummy
• Hips
• Thighs

Who Is a Good Candidate for Liposuction?

The best candidate for liposuction is someone who maintains a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise but has diet- and exercise-resistant pockets of fat.

The ideal candidate is also a younger person because the younger you are, the tighter your skin. After all, when you remove fat through liposuction, it leaves a cavity, and the skin has to shrink. In older people who have had a few babies or major weight gains and losses, the skin won't shrink as well.

Is Liposuction a Viable Option for Someone Looking to Lose Weight?

When a plastic surgeon examines a patient, they can estimate how much fat they're going to remove and translate that to how many pounds that may be. But it's important to remember that liposuction is not a weight-loss surgery — it's a reshaping and contouring surgery.

Can Liposuction Treat Gynecomastia?

Yes, most gynecomastia (enlarged male breast tissue) cases are treated with some type of liposuction.

Can Liposuction Be Used for Breast Reduction?

Breast reduction in women is not usually done with liposuction alone. That's because most women with large breasts also have ptosis (sagging) due to the weight of the breasts. Liposuction corrects the size, but not the sagging. So a typical breast reduction involves removing breast tissue and lifting the breasts, which can't be done with liposuction alone.

However, for a younger person (like a teenager) who hasn't had large breasts long enough for them to sag very much, liposuction may be the only procedure needed.

How Much Does Liposuction Cost?

Most surgeons charge by the area(s) of the body being targeted by liposuction. For example:

• Knee liposuction can be done in the doctor's office under local anesthesia, so there's no general anesthesia fee or operating room fee. Average cost: $1,000
• More comprehensive surgery, such as liposuction of the abdomen, hips, thighs and back, will be done under general anesthesia at a surgery center. Average cost: Up to $15,000

In the Pasadena, California area, average liposuction costs range between $5,000 and $9,000.

What Can I Expect During the Initial Consultation?

Here's what you'll do after you book a consultation with a plastic surgeon:

1. Go into the office, meet the staff and fill out paperwork.
2. Meet the doctor for a consultation examination.
3. Speak with a staff member who will walk you through the financial aspects of the procedure, answering any scheduling or technical questions.
4. Decide whether to book the surgery and become a pre-op patient.

What Should I Ask the Surgeon During the Consultation?

Here are some questions to ask during the initial consultation for liposuction:

• What kind of training have you had?
• Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery?
• How long have you been in practice?
• How many surgeries have you done?
• What percentage of your procedures are liposuction vs. other procedures?
• Where will you do my surgery? (i.e., office operating room, hospital or surgery center)
• What kind of anesthesia will you use? (i.e., local or general)
• What safety measures will be employed if there's a problem during surgery?
• How close are we to a hospital?
• Have you ever had to take anyone to the hospital?
• Have you ever had a major complication?

What Are the Risks and Complications Associated with Liposuction?

The complications associated with liposuction are typically cosmetic — getting an uneven or unsmooth result, with skin irregularities or residual fat in certain areas.

Infections are rare, as is bleeding. Disastrous complications that lead to death happen almost exclusively when liposuction is done by someone who is not fully trained and who fails to administer adequate hydration. Liposuction involves removing a lot of fluid, so patients must be properly hydrated during the procedure so that their blood pressure doesn't drop.

Should I Lose Weight Before Liposuction?

If you're situationally overweight — for example, you gained weight six months ago because of something like a death in the family — it's a good idea to get back down to your normal weight before liposuction.

But it's not a good idea to go on a fad diet to get down to a weight you can't maintain for the long term. If you have liposuction done at that weight and then you gain weight afterward, a lot of the fat is going to come back — and it may come back in different areas than where you did the liposuction.

Instead, your weight should be at a comfortable, easily maintainable level before liposuction. And if you lose weight after liposuction, you're only going to look better.

What Are the Different Types of Liposuction?

There are several different types of liposuction, all of which remove fat. The techniques just vary in how the fat is loosened and removed. These methods include:

• Power-assisted liposuction
• Ultrasound-assisted liposuction
• Laser-assisted liposuction
• Water jet-assisted liposuction

Though the techniques vary, one is not inherently better than another. Rather, it's best for surgeons to use the technique with which they're most experienced and comfortable.

How Has Liposuction Advanced Through the Years?

In the early days of liposuction, patients were typically put to sleep using general anesthesia, and the surgeon used a very big tube to remove the fat. While the results were encouraging, there was a lot of bruising, bleeding and recovery time.

Now, surgeons typically use the tumescent technique to prepare for liposuction, which involves injecting fluid to numb the area, loosen the fat and constrict the blood vessels. This way, they can treat much larger areas of the body because there's no bleeding and a lot less bruising. And by using a local anesthetic, the procedure can be done with a patient completely awake or just mildly sedated.

What Is the Future of Liposuction?

There is a lot of new technology being developed to tighten the skin after liposuction. After liposuction, probes with radio frequency energy can heat and shrink the skin and build collagen, giving a much tighter result than with fat removal alone.

What Can I Expect During Liposuction?

Before your procedure, don't take aspirin, ibuprofen or anything else that can cause blood thinning. Here's what you can expect on the day of surgery:

1. You will undress and the doctor will take “before pictures" of the treatment area(s).
2. The doctor will mark the area(s) of the body where liposuction will be performed. This should be done in a mirror so you can see exactly where the doctor is marking.
3. You will be brought to the operating room, where you will be cleaned while lying down or standing up.
4. You will be given local or general anesthesia, depending on your size and health issues.
5. The doctor will inject tumescent fluid into the area(s) being treated. If you are awake and not sedated, you will feel a bit of stinging.
6. The doctor will wait 5 to 15 minutes for the skin to blanch (turn white) — the sign that it's time to proceed with the liposuction.
7. The doctor will make multiple poke holes in your skin, depending on the area(s) being treated. These tiny poke holes are almost always hidden in areas such as in the belly button, under the buttock creases, in the groin creases or in the armpits — so liposuction is basically scarless.
8. During the procedure, you may be turned in multiple positions on the table.
9. When the doctor is done, they may put small stitches into the poke holes.
10. You will be put into a tight-fitting compression girdle to wear full time, day and night, for a few weeks.

What Can I Expect During Recovery from Liposuction?

When it comes to resuming your regular activities, liposuction has a rapid recovery time. In fact, after about four days, your doctor may remove all restrictions, allowing you to drive, get back to work and exercise. But you will be sore and very bruised, and you may look a bit bruised, too. You will feel tight when you bend, turn or twist.

You may have to wait about four days to take a shower. That's because swelling peaks about two days post-surgery, so if you took off the girdle at that point, you would never be able to get it back on again. After about four days, the swelling will start to recede, and you will feel the girdle loosen a bit. Then you can take a shower, wash and dry the girdle, and put it back on. You will taper off the girdle over a few more weeks, depending on the swelling.

Keep in mind that the clothes you're wearing before liposuction may be too tight the week afterward because you will be swollen, but that swelling will dissipate.

What Results Can I Expect from Liposuction?

About two weeks after liposuction, you're going to look smaller than you were to begin with. It takes about six to eight weeks for about two-thirds of the swelling to go down, and another few months for the last third of the swelling to go down. So your results will just keep getting better and better. And as time goes on, your skin will tighten more and more.

After about six months, once all the swelling has gone down, you will see the final result of your liposuction. That's why your doctor may not take follow-up photos until the six-month mark.

Should Liposuction Be Done More Than Once in the Same Area?

Ideally, no. But if you don't maintain a proper diet and exercise, you may gain back some of the fat. In that case, you can get liposuction done in the same area, but it will be a more difficult surgery because you will have a lot of scar tissue under the skin from the first procedure.

How Does Fat Freezing Compare to Liposuction?

Unlike liposuction, freezing is a noninvasive approach to body contouring. During this procedure, doctors use a handheld device to transmit cold to the skin, which freezes fat cells. Fat cells are susceptible to death by freezing, so over six to eight weeks, 20% to 25% of the fat cells will die and be removed by the immune system. (While liposuction is more invasive, it removes 90% to 95% of fat cells.)

As with liposuction, the best candidate for fat freezing is someone who diets and exercises but has some resistant fat pockets. If you don't want surgery, a girdle or recovery time (e.g., you want to go back to work the same day), fat freezing can be a viable option.

Financing Liposuction With The CareCredit Credit Card

Ready to revitalize your appearance and boost your confidence? The CareCredit credit card makes it easy to pay for liposuction and related expenses not covered by health insurance.** Apply today and use our Acceptance Locator to find a doctor or cosmetic surgeon near you that accepts CareCredit so you can stop dreaming and start living your best life. Continue your wellness journey by downloading the CareCredit Mobile App to manage your CareCredit account, find a provider on the go, and easily access the Well U hub for more great articles, podcasts, and videos.

Author Bio

Robyn Tellefsen is a freelance writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience covering health and wellness, finance and more. Her work has appeared on sites such as LoopNet, Beachside Rehab, First Horizon Bank, SoFi, A Place for Mom, American Express, Chase and others.

Meet the Expert

Dr. Thomas Taylor is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon with a private practice in Pasadena, California. He received his medical degree from Columbia University and completed his residency at UCLA Medical Center. He's not only board-certified in plastic surgery, but also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Taylor's surgical achievements have been featured in several local and national media outlets.