Lipo in thin/fit patient vs fat/obese patient? (photo)

Question

I am 32/f, very fit and healthy. I train 5x/week and have a very clean diet - no junk what-so-ever. Yet, I have this small "belly".. My Dr. said I would need to lose "an undesirable amount of weight" to lose the belly.. I have heard that liposuction on fit women require more liposculpting need to go to a surgeon with more experience than your average run of the mill lipo on an obese patient.. So does it require more experience for a thin fit patient requiring lipo vs a fat obese patient?

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

This is an easy question to answer.  A thinner patient is much more difficult to liposuction.  The surgeon must liposuction to produce a noticeable difference without creating contour irregularities.  Liposuction results are highly surgeon dependent.  Find a board certified plastic    
surgeon who performs hundreds of liposuction and liposuction revision   
procedures each year.  Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before
 and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the    
results. Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Marwan R. Khalifeh, MD · Answer

When undergoing liposuction you should always seek a plastic surgeon that specializes in the procedure.  Find a surgeon that has many before and after photos on their website etc.You will have excellent results with liposuction with the right surgeon.

Richard G. Schwartz, MD · Answer

I have seen a number of physically fit women and men who have a small area of fat that just won't go away, despite regular exercise and a healthy diet.  As long as the overlying skin is firm, which it certainly seems to be in your photos, then a careful liposuction can reduce this bulge nicely and create a smoother abdomen.  The surgeon must remove the fat conservatively in order to avoid a depression.  An area of this size could be done using local anesthesia (numbing medicine) with or without sedation.  Whether the patient is thin or heavier, liposuction always requires great care to avoid problems and to achieve the best result for the patient.  Seek out a board certified plastic surgeon who has experience with liposuction.

Manuel M. Peña, MD · Answer

In a case like yours the surgeon should posses the mind and skill of an artist. They are going to take a very nice looking body and try to make it better! When performing liposuction on someone who is heavy many surgeons feel that "anything is an improvement". I believe that it is not what you remove but what you "leave behind" that is what matters. Trying to get an improvement on your abdomen will require careful and detailed discussions between you and your surgeons to go over options and possible complications. These discussions will help you decide on the plan AND the surgeon you choose.  Good luck!

Robert Brueck, MD · Answer

This is true.There is NO substitute for experince.It is something you can't read about.The less fatty tissue there is the smaller the cannulas should be to lipo to minimize the risks of grooves and uneveness.

Lipo in thin/fit patient vs fat/obese patient? (photo)

Answers (9)