Looking to improve my waist to hip ratio. Would Lipo visibly give me a better shape? (Photos)

Question

Context: 37 year old East Asian female, have lost weight previously (body recomp from size 12 to as low as size 6 - approximately 25-30 lbs), active lifestyle, weight lifts 3-4x weekly I’m looking to improve my waist to hip ratio as I don’t have very big hips and I’m not sure if Lipo around my midsection would help to do that, or if it would just make my stomach flatter without any visible changes to my actual waist size. Also, would Lipo be recommended for this amount of fat removal or would something less invasive be more ideal? Thank you in advance.

Martin Benjamin, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello! I find that you would best benefit from what I call a "skinny BBL" Lipo 360 in combo w/ vaser ultrasound and skin tightening w/ small amount of grafting to your hip dips would improve that ratio but be subtle enough to maintain your active shape! Anything less invasive would typically cost more and give you less impressive results...the only benefit being nonsurgical. Good luck!

Gary M. Horndeski, MD · Answer

You look like you would benefit from liposuction of the upper medial thighs and around the flanks.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

David Hansen, MD · Answer

Your waist would definitely improve with lipo and is easy to undergo under local.  Be sure to get quantum and morpheus with all lipos to help tighten up the skin nicely.

George Marosan, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question and photos. Based on these photos, you are a great candidate for VASER Hi Def Lipo (VHD) 360 and fat transfer to the hip dips. Cannot evaluate the buttocks from these posted photos. I do these surgeries in our office accredited surgical suite under deep intravenous sedation. As a Total Definer surgeon, I trained with the inventor of the VHD. I use stealth incisions, so no sign of surgery is visible. See a bard certified plastic surgeon experienced in these advanced body sculpting techniques for an in person consultation/evaluation. Good luck.

Zoran Potparic, MD · Answer

It appears that well executed liposuction with small cannula would be your best option. In person consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon with good reputation in body contouring surgery is recommended. Good luck

Forrest S. Roth, MD, FACS · Answer

You are an excellent candidate for BodyTite! This procedure combines liposuction with radio frequency, to remove fat as well as tighten the skin. This is also called body contouring, to balance your waist, hips, and abdomen. Performed while “awake”, in the comfort of our River Oaks Clinic

Darryl J. Blinski, MD · Answer

Based on nicely posted photos, it is a difficult question to respond to without more detail. Therefore, a virtual consultation is indicated. But based on what is seen in the photos liposuction of the 360 and taking the fat in a hip dip BBL is an option in combination with potential injection hip dip correction using capital SCULPRA/RADIESSC, the new allograft called ALLOCLAE injections should be entertained. Again, best of virtual console.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

The potential outcome for Liposuction primarily depends on two variables.
The first is your candidacy for the procedure.
More on that later.
The second variable is the skill and experience of the provider.
Both providers selection and patient candidacy are probably equally as important.
To understand who has the potential of getting the very best Liposuction results I’ll describe the ideal Liposuction candidate.
The ideal Liposuction candidate is typically young, has tight skin, thick layers of subcutaneous fat in an undesirable fat distribution with no other variables affecting the body contour.
The opposite is also true.
Older individuals never do as well when it comes to Liposuction as young people.
There’s no absolute cut off age, but after the age of 50, I become more reluctant to do Liposuction and when I do, it’s going to be more conservative.
 Each decade we lose skin elasticity, and this has a major impact on what Liposuction results look like.
Any skin laxity will also lesser the patient’s candidacy.
Skin laxity typically comes from weight loss, weight, fluctuations, or previous pregnancies.
Patients who don’t have thin layers of subcutaneous fat don’t have that much to work with, and this will limit contouring, but can create good definition if the patient has tight skin.
In your case, it appears you might have slight skin laxity from your weight loss, but still have a modest subcutaneous fat layer so you’re probably good candidate with some caveats.
And the hands of the right provider you should have a nice improvement.
There isn’t much you can do about your own candidacy for Liposuction.
Other than losing or gaining weight you’re born with a certain fat distribution and patients are the age that they are.
What patients have complete control over is provider selection.
A patient who is an excellent candidate for Liposuction can end up being a disfigured with a poor outcome in the hands of a less than ideal provider.
A patient who is not a good candidate for Liposuction can never have exceptional Liposuction results in the hands of the very best providers.
 Finding the right provider is difficult.
It’s difficult enough that most patients don’t do it well.
Lip selection results are permanent and irreversible.
If the provider selection is not done correctly, patients can be left permanently disfigured.
The number of plastic surgeons who approach mastery of Liposuction is in reality quite small.
 Average plastic surgeons do average work and average Liposuction results are sometimes not particularly impressive.
Only exceptional providers do exceptional work.
No plastic surgeon is going to tell you that they don’t like doing Liposuction, isn’t good at it or has had problems in the past.
 Plastic surgeons tend to only show their very best results and will hide results of undesirable outcomes.
To find the best provider I recommend patients to the following.
Start by getting a good set of pictures of your body taken the same way plastic surgeons take before and after pictures.
Have someone else take the pictures or use the timer on your camera.
Do not rely on mirrors.
 Try to take the pictures from the same angles and standing in a neutral position.
Look at how plastic surgeons take pictures.
Bring those pictures with you to Enny consultation to use as a reference.
Do not rely on memory of what your body looks like when comparing before and after pictures.
 Next make a list of plastic surgeons in your area who seem to have particular skill or interest in Liposuction.
Ideally, you’re looking for a plastic surgeon who focuses exclusively on Liposuction and has years of experience.
There are some corporate Liposuction clinics and while they don’t always have ideal reputations The number of cases, the surgeons who work at these facilities do sometimes makes them the best in the field.
Ultimately, it’s the patient’s responsibility to vet providers accurately, and choose the surgeon wisely. Once you have a list of providers, you think may be right for you. Start scheduling in person consultations.
I highly recommend patients avoid virtual consultations whenever possible.
I suggest you always meet the provider who’s going to do your procedure during the consultation.
This is your best shot at vetting the provider and making sure they have the skill and experience necessary.
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 have very similar body characteristics to your own.
This is why having pictures with you is so important.
 An experience provider should have hundreds of before, and after pictures to choose from.
Showing a handful of good results or results of patients who don’t look just like you is insufficient to make a confirmation. The provider has sufficient skill and experience.
An insufficient collection before and after pictures is probably a really good reason to not use that provider.
Sufficiently experienced providers should have more before and after pictures for you to look at then you have time for it during the consultation.
It’s helpful if you have a good understanding of what quality results look like.
When looking at before and after pictures, you wanna have pictures of yourself in front of you for reference.
There’s no point in looking at impressive results if the patient didn’t look like you in the before pictures.
 Patient candidacy and provider selection are the two variables that matter nothing else really does.
Considering how much variation there is in Liposuction skill among board certified plastic surgeons, I would be cautious.
Considering the impact of a procedure done poorly, I think having at least three or five consultations seems reasonable.
Consulting with several providers is time consuming and may involve financial outlay.
 To me, this is a solid investment in yourself and is very much worth it.
The expression do it ones do it right very much applies to plastic surgery.
Never assume that credentials or overall reputation means that somebody is good at Liposuction.
There are plenty of famous plastic surgeons who are simply terrible at Liposuction.
You’ll find the providers who are really good at Liposuction. Enjoy doing the procedure.
Providers who don’t like doing Liposuction or who aren’t very good at it May recommend alternative procedures like a tummy tuck.
Why not ideal? I think your candidacy for Liposuction is quite good and the answer the right provider you should get an excellent outcome.
There are so many variables to discuss.
A liposuction consultation in my office can take 45 minutes to an hour.
It’s important to understand exactly what areas will be included with the procedure.
If you’re going to be under general anesthesia, you want to know for certain if they’re going to you during surgery.
When it comes to treating the midsection of the body, I usually see the torso as one anatomic unit. this means if I treat the abdomen, I’m also going to treat the love handles waste entire back and under arm area as well.
If one area on the torso is left untreated the patient will have an abnormal fat distribution.
Once you start on the torso, you kind of need to finish the torso.
When plastic surgeons referred to terms like full abdomen or abdomen 360 you need to know exactly what’s included, especially if the under arms, side of the breast or back is included.
Not treating these areas in conjunction can be a big mistake.
It can leave women looking wedge like. 
I currently work at a clinic called Airsculpt. Overall, I’m very happy working there and overall find they hire really exceptional doctors who are committed and have tons of Liposuction experience.
Obviously, everybody has to have their first day sometime.
Don’t think of a clinic is having a good or bad reputation.
It’s the individual provider whose credentials you are interested in.
If you do choose to go to a Liposuction specialty center you may have a consultation with a sales person.
Never sign up for surgery until you’ve consulted with the surgeon who’s going to do your procedures.
When looking at before and after pictures, confirm that those are the results from the provider who’s going to do your operation.
 These are issues that pertain to specialty Liposuction clinics.
Sometimes the surgeons at these clinics have the most experience.
With corporate cosmetic surgery patients need to be diligent about looking out for number one.
Good luck,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Looking to improve my waist to hip ratio. Would Lipo visibly give me a better shape? (Photos)

Answers (8)

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