This response was dictated using Word recognition.My apologies for the rambling nature and grammatical errors.To make an assessment regarding the outcome of any plastic surgery procedure, we need to see a complete set of proper before and after pictures.If you don’t have before, and after pictures, then ask your surgeon to forward the pictures they took.Your surgeon is also the first person you should speak to regarding the outcome of your procedure.Liposuction results are generally based on two variables.The first is the patient candidacy for the procedure. The second is the skill and experience of the provider.A patient who is an excellent candidate for Liposuction has the potential of having excellent outcomes.They also have the potential of having poor outcomes if the procedure is not done well, If the Patient is not a good candidate for Liposuction then they does not have the potential of having high-quality results regardless of who does the procedure.Not everybody seeking liposuction is a good candidate for the procedure.In my practice, I would say only 20% of seeking liposuction are fact good or excellent candidates.Typically 20% of patients will be non-candidates and 60% of patients will be average or reasonably good candidates.A patient who is an average candidate should expect some improvements from the procedure but should not expect ideal or perfect outcomes. Candidacy is a fairly complex topic.In a nutshell and ideal candidate for Liposuction is generally somebody who is young, has tight skin and has thick layers of subcutaneous fat.Sometimes I refer to this as being “Young tight and pudgy”. Increased age will definitely lower the potential results from chin and neck liposuction.It’s a gradual process, but I would say at age 50 I’m reluctant to do liposuction on someone’s neck.If i do liposuction I’m going to be conservative and tell the patient only to expect a modest improvement..Doing liposuction on patients with reduced skin elasticity, removing excessive amounts of fat can compromise the appearance of the skin, creating visible platysma lines and worsening wrinkles.During in person consultations patients should ask providers to show lots of before, and after pictures of previous patients of similar age who had similar body characteristics to their own.In other words, you wanna see results of previous patients who had the same level of candidacy for the procedure as you do yourself.Plastic surgeon should also tell you if you’re a good candidate, an average candidates or a non-candidates for Liposuction.Being talented at Liposuction not only includes the ability to perform the procedure well but also the ability to make accurate Assessments and deliver predictable outcomes.There shouldn’t be little to no guess work in what results end up looking like.Delivering consistent quality liposuction results is more difficult than most people realize.The number of plastic surgeons who approach mastery of this procedure is actually quite small.Considering that Liposuction results are permanent and irreversible. My best recommendation is for patients to be far more critical when choosing providers and never have surgery until you’ve interviewed multiple providers.For those interested in having liposuction, I recommend you start the process by having four or five consultations with plastic surgeons in your community who seem to have a lot of experience with Liposuction. Look for providers who do a lot of these procedures or preferably those who specialize exclusively in doing Liposuction.Bring pictures of yourself to use as reference during the consultation.Take a look at how plastic surgeons take before and after pictures to get an idea of the type of pictures you need.During each consultation, ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before, and after pictures of previous patients who had similar body characteristics to your own.This means they should be about the same age, the same level of skin laxity, and the same thickness of subcutaneous fat. Use the pictures of yourself as reference. Being shown a handful of pre-selected images representing only the best results of a provider’s career may be insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider.An experienced provider should have access to hundreds or preferably thousands of before, and after pictures to choose from.Take careful notes regarding about the quantity and quality of before and after pictures shown.The biggest mistake I see patients make is first having only one consultation and then scheduling surgery.Having only one consultation, more or less eliminates the ability to choose a better provider.The second biggest mistake I see patients make is assuming that Someone who is board-certified in plastic surgery with years of experience and a handful of positive reviews has mastered most plastic surgical procedures. This is often not the case. When Patients are unhappy with outcomes usually, it is related to not being sufficiently thorough in the provider selection process or not understanding your own candidacy for the procedure. (Outcomes are always a combination of candidacy combined with surgeons skills)In your case, I believe your candidacy for the procedure was less than ideal and your procedure was also done a bit too aggressively, especially considering your loss of skin elasticity.Liposuction is a permanent and more or less irreversible procedure.There are no easy treatments to correct poor Liposuction results.I cannot emphasize enough, the importance of provider selection when it comes to permanent irreversible plastic surgery procedures.To get a proper second opinion consultation scheduled those as in person consultations with other plastic surgeons in your community who have extensive liposuction experience.Come prepared, bring with you a complete set of proper before and after pictures and copies of your operative report.These should all be available from your current providers office if you request them. I wish I could be more optimistic regarding your outcome.For those considering having this procedure, I recommend being very thorough when it comes to the Provider selection process and insist on having in person consultations with your providers before selecting a surgeon or considering scheduling surgery.Best,Mats Hagstrom MD
