Fixing botched liposuction - how can I tighten and smooth the skin? (Photo)

Question

I had a botched traditional liposuction 1 year ago on inner/outer/front/back thighs and buttocks. I'm faced with irregularities and lumps as well as my cellulite being more visible. Surgeon took too much fat from my buttocks and now it is sagging. Don't have enough fat for a BBL and Emsculpt 6 times hasn't helped much to lift my buttocks. How can I tighten and smooth the skin? RF skin tightening? I'd like to do non-invasive treatments first. Before pics (left) and after.

Camille Cash, MD · Answer

There are a few options to consider to address your concerns.  Aveli is an FDA approved treatment to address cellulite.  The procedure is done in the office with no downtime.  BodyTite could be helpful in addressing skin laxity.  This is a minimally invasive procedure which uses RF technology to tighten skin. No general anesthesia is required.  Visit my website or a provider near you to learn more.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Morpheus 8 is a non-invasive skin and soft tissue tightening treatment that is consistently amazing in our patients. We use the Morpheus to exact fractional induced RF into the skin or tissue in order to tighten collagen and stimulate contraction of the tissue. For acne scars, it is quite useful to build collagen in patients who have atrophic scars but is not very productive for ice-pick scars which require TCA Cross. For tissue tightening, Morpheus is ideal for the face and neck and we often combine it with CO2 laser or Ultherapy to further enhance results. Chemical peels and skin resurfacing should be done at least 5 to 7 days after, but can be performed earlier, depending on treatment severity. Avoid exfoliating skin treatments before Morpheus and expect a period of 2-4 weeks for skin contraction to set in.

Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian 
Realself100 Surgeon

Lisa Vuich, MD · Answer

Thanks for your question. In non-surgical aesthetics, skin tightening is going to be "all about heat delivery". This is because the microinjury of heat is needed to stimulate collagen and elastin production in the skin, which happens during the healing response to the treatment. There are many devices which deliver what is called "bulk heating"- this means they deliver heat, often through radiofrequency energy, to the tissue without any 'disruption' of the skin surface. Example: Venus Bliss, but there are many, many devices which work "like this". The upside of this approach is zero downtime. The downside is you are often talking about 8 to 12 sessions, then a maintenance session every few months for a while ideally. So that's time and labor intensive. Another downside- because you are transmitting heat from the surface straight through, there is a "limit" to how high the heat can be set in order not to burn the surface skin. The next level of approach, to get around that limitation, is to deliver the heat at the tips of microneedles which penetrate the skin surface. This requires numbing of course. These microneedles are insulated partially so that significant heat does not reach the skin surface (no burn)- so now you CAN deliver very high temps to the deeper skin/fat layers and more heat + more penetration more results in fewer treatment sessions. You pay for this with some downtime- mainly redness, some puffiness, temporary "dots" on the skin- all of that resolves over the course of a few weeks of course. A great example of this type of treatment is Morpheus8 Body. This is the most advanced device of its kind available in the US. So, you could certainly do a series of 3 Morpheus8 Body sessions to any area you wish and achieve a very nice result with minor downtime. Finally, you could also consider a procedure called BodyTite, which is also performed off the Morpheus8 device. This is the "highest level" of tightening in a SINGLE procedure, but it requires more numbing (lidocaine infused into the tissues) and it involves a heat probe gliding in the fatty layer under the skin, delivering the heat to "full thickness" skin and fat. Very potent tightening, but more downtime as you wear a compression garment afterwards for a couple of weeks to speed healing and resolution of swelling. Most clients are satisfied with the results of a single BodyTite session for a region, though it could be repeated if and when desired. This procedure is considered minimally invasive, completely non-surgical. I hope that is helpful to you!

Fixing botched liposuction - how can I tighten and smooth the skin? (Photo)

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Fixing botched liposuction - how can I tighten and smooth the skin? (Photo)

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Everything you need to know about Skin Tightening

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.