It was reported by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) that 30-million Americans had some form of cosmetic procedure performed in 2021. These cosmetic treatments ranged from surgical procedures such as rhinoplasty to injectables including Botox. The ISAPS also reported that a new procedure had claimed the top spot and, since this is a website dedicated to liposuction, it should come as no surprise that the new top treatment is…liposuction!
Liposuction – Why it Has Grown in Popularity
Liposuction has passed breast augmentation as the most popular cosmetic surgery and medical professionals link the change at the top spot to growing concern about breast implants and their connection to cancer.
In addition, trends in plastic surgery are linked to the body type that is currently in style. These days, patients are looking to gain a more contoured and toned look to the body. The desire to have a better contour to the body makes sense as more people are focused on their health, including following a healthy diet and trying to exercise as much as possible. Unfortunately, this is not always easy to do as the work world still consists of Zoom meetings and being inside the house or an office for many hours per day. Unwanted and hard to remove fat can appear on the body and there are times when it is resistant to regular diet and exercise. In these cases, liposuction can be used to remove targeted fat on the body as well as give the treated area a look that is more contoured and slimmer in appearance.
Liposuction – Where it Targets the Body
In general, liposuction is an outpatient surgical procedure that uses a cannula to suction out fat from specific areas of the body. While liposuction can be used on multiple areas of the body, it is often used on the waist and abdomen of patients. Besides being trained to perform the actual liposuction procedure, the surgeon also needs to have an artistic eye in order to provide results that are natural in appearance along with giving the desired contour and firmness to the targeted area of the body.
It is also important to note that liposuction should be performed to improve the shape of the body and not to lose weight. It is not a weight loss procedure and should not be treated as a weight loss solution. The performance of liposuction might be able to convince a patient to follow a healthier lifestyle in order to maintain their results, but it is not a replacement for diet and exercise on a regular basis.
Another reason that liposuction is such a popular cosmetic procedure is because the results of the treatment are permanent. The fat that is removed from the body is permanently eliminated from the targeted section of the body and it will not return. Deposits of fat can still form on other parts of the body and they might need to be treated with liposuction at some point in the future. However, the fat that is removed during the initial procedure will not return to the body.
When it comes to having liposuction, there is a myth that the fat will migrate to another section of the body. In addition, if a patient gains a large amount of weight after having a liposuction procedure, the body distribution pattern of that weight might be a little bit different than it was before the surgery. In turn, this can lead to the illusion that the person had liposuction on their stomach but all of the fat moved to the arms or elsewhere on the body. This is not true because the fat that is removed using liposuction is permanently removed from the body of the patient.
Liposuction – Costs and Concerns
The average cost of liposuction is between $5900 and $10,000. The final cost depends on the extent of the work performed by the surgeon, the area of the country where the procedure takes place, the technique used by the doctor, the amount of fat that is removed, and any additional fees charged by the surgeon or the medical facility.
Patients do need to know there are some risks associated with having liposuction and one of the main concerns is gaining results that are not aesthetically appealing. For instance, the results can sometimes be asymmetrical in appearance, cause lumpy spots to appear, change the texture of the skin, or remove too much fat to the point that the results do not look natural. Patients do need to keep in mind that liposuction is not able to remove stretch marks, loose skin or cellulite that has appeared on the body.
Some of the less common risks of liposuction include numbness in the treated area, swelling, and a chance of an infection.
Anyone who is interested in having liposuction should schedule a consultation appointment with a board-certified surgeon who is experienced in performing the procedure and making sure the patient is an ideal candidate for this body contouring treatment.
