Are There Special Considerations for Liposuction on Asian Patients? I Scar Easily.

Dear QuestionsinLA:

Thank you for your question. Addressing your tendency to scar, liposuction leaves small scars which tend to heal well. Before surgery, review with your surgeon where the scars will be placed. The bigger problem is pigmentation. The skin around the scars can get darker. Usually this is temporary, but it can be permanent.

I have found that using small, straw-like "ports", protects the skin edges from the rubbing of the liposuction cannula, and leads to scars that heal faster and that are less likely to pigment. I was very skeptical the first time I used them, but after seeing the results, I use them every case.

Addressing brand name liposuction. I hire a carpenter based his skills, not on the brand of hammer he uses. You are paying for the skill, experience and judgement of your plastic surgeon. For the vast majority of patients, the results of tumescent liposuction cannot be improved upon.

The biggest obstacle to a great result in liposuction is loose skin. Lasers, ultrasound, radio-frequency, heat, cold have been around a long time. While some studies show a small, measurable improvement  in skin shrinkage, they will not shrink-wrap loose skin. Additionally, measurable and noticeable are two different things. You need the good judgement of your plastic surgeon to guide you. If truly superior results were available with a specific machine, then every plastic surgeon would be using it.

Beware of the practitioner who makes promises too good to be true, or claims to be the only one in the world who has figured out how to achieve superior results. Plastic surgery societies are open, and we freely share results and experience. I learned about liposuction "ports" from a "competing" plastic surgeon in my local area. Great breakthroughs are accepted quickly and shared. Great marketing is tolerated, because our minds are open to improvement.

Every good plastic surgeon wants every patient to get great results. I want you to have a great result, so find a board certified plastic surgeon in your area, not a machine. And if they haven't tried using ports for liposuction, it would be worth mentioning. 

Asian fat does not differ from that of any other race. There is no scientific evidence to support that claim.  A surgeon may make an hypothesis or a guess that Asian fat is "different,"  but that would be only opinion or worse yet, hype.  At the last meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgery New Technology Forum, Vaser liposuction was not shown to have superiority over other techniques.  Promoting Vaser is primarily a means of marketing, as is the claim that there is some different technique to use on Asian patients. Darker skin types, including Asians, Hispanics, Greeks, and Afro-Americans,  tend to hyperpigment around scars.  It is important to use fade cream around the scars after surgery to get the best result. Hope your result is all that you want it to be!