Liposuction has seemingly been around forever as a popular cosmetic surgery procedure for fat removal. But how can you tell if it’s right for you?
Our plastic surgery teams have performed over 7,000 liposuction procedures over the last decade in Greater Nashville and Memphis, where the name NuBody Concepts is synonymous with liposuction. We were the first to introduce our unique blend of water-based and laser liposuction in Tennessee. It became a patient favorite due to its excellent results coupled with a much faster recovery than other methods. We’ve since added radio-frequency powered skin tightening to our service catalog, as it offers drastically improved results when combined with liposuction.
Schedule a consultation with our plastic surgeon for a personalized treatment plan, or continue reading our liposuction fat removal Q&A below to help you determine if liposuction is right for you.
What to Know About Getting Liposuction
How Do I Know if I’m a Good Candidate for Liposuction?
If you’ve tried diet and exercise but struggle to eliminate certain stubborn pockets of fat, liposuction can help. Such pockets could be belly fat, bra bulges, arm flab, big thighs, or even extra folds around the neck.
To be a good candidate for liposuction, you would be at, or close to, your target weight. You have a fairly healthy lifestyle with a healthy diet and regular exercise. If you have recently lost a lot of weight, or never gained all that much weight to begin with, you are probably a good candidate. Especially women who struggle to get back to their pre-pregnancy shape, even though they lost most of the weight, are good liposuction candidates.
If you fit those criteria, the next step to determine if you’re a good candidate is to schedule a consultation with a plastic surgeon. At NuBody Concepts, we only recommend going forward with the procedure if you are a good candidate and can expect good results.
I Want to Lose 35 Lbs – do You Recommend Liposuction?
In this case, we actually wouldn’t recommend liposuction. Contrary to common belief, liposuction is not a weight loss plan. The only way to shed pounds in a way that your bathroom scale will recognize is to do it the old-fashioned way: Diet and exercise. Once you have lost this weight, liposuction comes in. It can give you the extra boost by finishing off where diet and exercise reached their limit. Liposuction removes such fat by breaking down fat cells under the skin, liquefying the fat, and flushing it out of your body. These fat cells are typically not responsible for a lot of excess weight.
Think of liposuction as a belt tightening program rather than one for weight loss. The success of a liposuction procedure isn’t measured in the pounds you shed but in how many pant sizes you go down.
When You’re Above Your Target Weight for Liposuction: The Orbera Gastric Balloon>>
How Well does Fat Removal With Liposuction Work?
On the surface, it sounds like a miracle cure. You don’t like the fat on your body, so you have it removed – done! But as with everything, it’s not quite that easy.
Fat removal with liposuction absolutely works, or we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing. But not everyone is a good candidate for it. If you’re not a good candidate, we will refund your consultation fee (and if you are a candidate and have the procedure, the fee will be applied to the cost).
4 Reasons You May Not Be a Good Candidate for Liposuction>>
Does Liposuction Remove All Fat?
Liposuction cannot remove every kind of fat. If you are overweight and have not lost any weight yet, you will not get good results from liposuction. Also, there are two types of fat, and liposuction can only remove one of them. The kind of fat targeted with liposuction is called subcutaneous fat, the fat right under your skin.
There is another type of fat called visceral fat that sits deeper under the surface. This type of fat occurs more often in men than it does in women. Visceral fat cannot be removed with liposuction.
Liposuction for Men vs Women: Can Visceral Fat be Removed With Liposuction?>>
Should I Pick a Specific Liposuction Method?
It started with what we now refer to as traditional liposuction, a mechanical breaking up of fat cells by use of physical force. Needless to say, this wasn’t the gentlest of procedures and needed a longer recovery. The big break-through was tumescent liposuction, the breaking up of fat cells using the power of water mixed with an anesthetic. This is also referred to as water liposuction or Body Jet and is used in the majority of liposuction procedures. The advent of ultrasound-assisted or ultrasonic as well as radio frequency assisted lipolysis has added excellent new options to contract skin in addition to pure fat removal.
At NuBody Concepts we customize your liposuction using one or several of these techniques into a procedure tailored to the patient. Any of these methods faces certain limitations when taken all by themselves, and the best outcomes can be achieved using a combination.
The most important element in all of this is your plastic surgeon’s skill and sense of aesthetics. His or her experience is what translates into good results, more so than you picking the “right” method.
A Complete Overview of Liposuction Types>>
How About Less Invasive Fat Removal, Like CoolSculpting?
The 24-hour news cycle always offers up the latest and greatest that commands our attention. Manufacturers of medical equipment bank on the fact that we all flock to new trends and direct hefty marketing budgets towards them. CoolSculpting® and SculpSure have been such trends in the cosmetic surgery fields. One aims to freeze the fat away, while the other one promises to melt it.
Both are non-invasive treatments and therefore very popular – no surgery, and presumably no pain. But we haven’t seen the evidence of good results from CoolSculpting like we have from liposuction. What we do see is patients who ask for liposuction because several repeat treatments of CoolSculpting didn’t give them the results they wanted, or actually made things worse.
For the same – or possibly even lower – price you can get liposuction and see real results.
Fat Removal: Pros and Cons of Liposuction vs CoolSculpting>>
Won’t I just Build Up New Fat After Having Lipo?
We always like to say, the fat leaves your body before you leave the building. Liposuction will remove your stubborn, unwanted fat in one single procedure and the results are permanent. You might build up new fat if you don’t maintain your healthy lifestyle, but the same fat cells are permanently gone. Many of our patients tell us that this is enough motivation for them to keep up the regimen. It’s hard to diet when you see minimal results, but once you see a big change and love your appearance, you are much more motivated to keep it up.
We hope that we have cleared up your questions about fat removal with liposuction. If you have any other questions, give us a call or schedule a consultation with one of our plastic surgeons in Nashville or Memphis!
John Rosdeutscher, MD
Double board-certified plastic surgeon “Dr. R” has been voted Best of Music City #1 plastic surgeon 4 times since 2020.
