Unsatisfied with lipo (remaining fat and loose skin). Is 5100 euros a reasonable price for a revision?

Question

I have had a Lipo in December 2021 On (belly+back + flanks+ inner tights) and I paid 8500 euros. I ended up with a lot of remaining fat and loose skin in the upper belly and back and with asymmetry in the flanks.I discussed with the doctor and he suggested another lipo with laser to tighten the skin. They said that I'm going to get charged another 5100 euros for the second lipo. Is the price reasonable? What are the patient rights in Germany if your are unsatisfied with the results ?

Daniel Barrett, MD · Answer

Dear rama9,
every surgeon has a revision policy. Many involve reduced or even no fees for the surgeon (depending on the situation) while the patient may still be responsible for facility (the use of the operating room, staff, and supplies) and anesthesia fees. Best to go back to your surgeon and have a talk about your concerns again. Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Camille Cash, MD · Answer

Each practice will have its own policy on charges for revision.  If you are unsure about the costs you may wish to visit with a few other board certified plastic surgeons for other opinions and quotes.  Be sure to discuss if you are a good candidate for skin tightening or if a tummy tuck is a better option to address the skin laxity.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

You bring up a number of points despite being a fairly brief post.
First and foremost delivering consistent quality Liposuction is far more difficult than most people believe and this includes plastic surgeons. Most plastic surgeons are not particularly good at Liposuction and finding one who has mastered the procedure and can deliver consistent predictable quality results on a regular basis is not always easy.
It generally requires having lots of in person consultations at which time I recommend patients ask providers to open up their portfolio and give patients a chance to review all of their before and after pictures.
Being shown a handful of sample pictures which represent the best results of the providers career is insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider.
An experienced provider should have no difficulty showing you at least 50 sets of quality before and after pictures of common procedures like abdominal liposuction.
I recommend patients ask providers to show examples of other patients with similar body characteristics, also ask them to show exc excellent results, average results and results that didn’t turn out as well as they had hoped.
Revision Work is typically more difficult and delivers far less than most people had hoped for it. Lasers do not tighten skin despite the hype and claims.
If you have a skin laxity and want to deal with it then you typically need a skin tightening operation like a tummy tuck.
Different plastic surgeons have different levels of comfort doing revisions and each one has their own revision policy unless they work for a large clinic in which case the clinic will have a policy.
Most plastic surgeons will not charge for revision surgery but may ask patients to cover the cost of facilities and fees for anesthesiologists.
Unless you’re treating new areas what makes you think that doing liposuction twice is going to get you a better result when it didn’t work the first time?
Either you are not a good candidate for Liposuction or your surgeon lacks the skills and experience.
Either way your best option is to figure out which one of those is the case or if it’s perhaps both.
The cost of doing bad surgery is probably the most expensive since it leaves people feeling bad about their decision and the cost to correct poorly done work can be very complicated and become very expensive.
For Liposuction I suggest patients be extremely selective and only choose providers that have been thoroughly vetted and proven to have a track record of being able to deliver consistent quality results.
Would you describe does not sound like something that’s going to work out well in the end.
Doing more of the same and adding a laser treatment is unlikely to make you look better.
You didn’t include before and after pictures so I am making statements based on general assumptions but I’ve done over 8000 liposuction cases and spent the last 12 years doing only Liposuction and fat transfer. I’m a board-certified plastic surgeon and have been for 22 years.
If your surgeon failed to deliver results that are resembling results they had promised then I think your surgeon should not be charging you anything for doing the revision.
In your case you may be far better off taking a hiatus from surgery and finding out if you’re really a good candidate for the procedure in the first place and secondly if that’s the case find an exceptional surgeon to do the work for you
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Unsatisfied with lipo (remaining fat and loose skin). Is 5100 euros a reasonable price for a revision?

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Unsatisfied with lipo (remaining fat and loose skin). Is 5100 euros a reasonable price for a revision?

Answers (3)

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Everything you need to know about Liposuction Revision

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