Liposculpture

The Most In-Demand Plastic Surgery Procedure

The most in-demand plastic surgery procedure in the US in 2023 (and most likely again in 2024)… is liposuction. Yes, “lipo”: the vacuum-assisted, permanent removal of stubborn fat through small openings in the skin.

Traditional liposuction involved making sizable holes in the skin (which would become sizable scars) so that large, blunt-ended tubes called cannulas could then be introduced under the skin into a fat pocket. The cannula would then be attached to a vacuum that would “suck” out the fat into a cannister.

During this fairly traumatic process, bruising and blood loss would occur and a good deal of soreness, swelling, and downtime would ensue. Nowadays, the technique has been refined such that smaller openings in the skin are made, the tools are smaller and often vibrate – causing less trauma to the tissue and leading to a much less painful and shorter recovery.

Liposculpture vs Liposuction…

So if liposuction is the removal of fat, then what is liposculpture? Sometimes recontouring the body involves more than just selectively taking away fat. Sometimes we want to remove fat where it’s NOT wanted (i.e. the love handles or flanks) and put it where we DO want it (the dips in your hips or buttocks). This selective removal and/or repositioning of fat in order to create a certain silhouette is called liposculpture. Fat is most often taken from areas such as the belly, the love handles, under the chin, the arms, or the inner thighs. It can be placed into the breasts for augmentation, into the dips of the hips or buttocks, into the face to correct hollowing, or into the backs of the hands to camouflage veins and tendons seen through thin skin.

Why is Liposculpture Still So Popular Despite the Weight-loss Drug Craze?!?

Up to 1 in 8 Americans have tried or are currently using one of the GLP-1 agonists semaglutide or tirzepatide and many are losing weight like crazy. The problem with weight loss drugs is that you can’t selectively lose fat from areas of the body that you want to and keep it where you don’t. It’s a generalized weight-loss, and many of these patients wind up seeking liposculpture for a variety of reasons.

For example, despite losing 50lbs, the stubborn lower belly fat won’t go away. Or, you’ve lost and are close to your goal weight, but your buttocks or your breasts have completely flattened and “melted away”.

Liposculpture is a much more targeted procedure and often some degree of skin tightening can be done at the same time. Despite the magic of losing weight… unfortunately you can’t lose or “work out” excess skin laxity.

With the fashion-of-the-day swinging from “Kate-Moss-rail-thin” to “Kim-Kardashian-curvy” to the current “ballet or athletic build”, body contouring will always be a popular procedure. For the right patient, liposculpture allows the body to be contoured in a minimally invasive way with relatively short down time.

Interested?

Schedule your consultation today and bring your questions for Dr. C.

References:

ASPS Procedural Statistics 2023: https://www.plasticsurgery.org/documents/news/statistics/2023/plastic-surgery-statistics-report-2023.pdf

The Most Popular Plastic Surgery Procedure Says a Lot About Our Culture Right Now. Elizabeth Siegel. https://www.allure.com/story/liposuction-most-popular-plastic-surgery

Surgeon photo: https://images.app.goo.gl/yogW6eEQgtDPooQq5