Body Lift vs Smart Lipo

I share your concerns. Liposuction is a wonderful treatment when skin quality and elasticity are good. It can make saggy inelastic skin look worse if significant volume is removed exceeding the ability of the remaining skin to tighten. If the skin is already lax, removing more volume from it will only make the problem worse.

I do not believe the laser lipo systems cause significant skin tightening.

Seek out a board certified plastic surgeon to evaluate you and help make this decision.

good luck

Thank you for your question regarding whether you should undergo a 360 circumferential lower body lift or smart lipo, given that you are 63 years old and in medium condition. Without a thorough physical examination, pictures, and a more thorough history, this is a difficult question to answer. However, at 63 years old, your skin has lost a lot of elasticity. Therefore it is unreliable in retraction after intelligent lipo. Therefore, without pictures, more history, and a physical examination, I would suggest a 360 circumferential lower body lift. However, a thorough past medical history and preoperative evaluation, including blood, EKG chest X-rays, stress test, and curated duplex test, need to be done to know if there are any preoperative conditions before surgery. However, due to your advanced age, I suggest 360 circumferential lower body lifts yield better results than intelligent lipo. Good Luck.
Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

You hit the nail on the head. Liposuction removes the excess fat from a given area, but will not remove the excess skin. Liposuction relies on the skin's own elastic properties to tighten following the removal of the fat. If there is skin excess already present or the skin has lost its ability to "snap back" then liposuction is not a good option. In patients that have gained and lost significant weight and in older patients, the skin has lost some of its elastic property, so a body lift may be the better procedure for you. To determine which procedure will give you the results you desire, see a plastic surgeon that has a lot of experience performing lower body lifts. Good luck.

At 63 years of age the body has lost a considerable amount of its skin elasticity. The exact amount depends on many factors such as genetics, sun exposure, smoking etc. In general, excess skin is better treated with some form of excision than trying to get skin contracture with liposuction. The answer to your specific question can only be obtained through a consult with a Plastic Surgeon who has experience with the body lift procedure.

It s  important to evaluate what is best for you.  If the problem is excess of skin,  a body lift or similar surgery is indicated, if you remove fat only and you have lose skin and poor skin tone you are not going to be happy with the results.

Hi there-

There are a few important points to make:


Liposuction of any kind is fundamentally a fat removal and (when well done) a body sculpting procedure.

In patients with good skin tone and quality, there is always a bit of skin contraction in response to the procedure- INDEPENDENT of the machine used. In other words, please do not allow yourself to believe that Smart Lipo (or any other device/technique) is necessarily a better liposuction option than another.

In patients who have lost some skin elasticity and tone, liposuction is often not the best option, as excess skin of poor quality will give a less than ideal outcome.


In patients who have lost skin tone and elasticity over time due to aging, weight loss, or both, body lift and abdominoplasty procedures are often better alternatives.

Please be sure you prioritize your safety and happiness appropriately and choose only a surgeon certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery.