Can I get away with lipo on the love handle/waist only? (Photos)

Question

Will it look weird if I get liposuction on my love handle/waist area only and not my stomach? Will my stomach look worse? I know I have a tummy, but my main concern is my love handles. I can't wear skirts/semi form fitting dresses without a muffin top. When I lose weight my stomach will shrink, but my love handles are always there to a degree no matter what. I have realistic expectations w/ lipo on my love handles, I’m more just worried about it looking strange or even worse w tummy the same?

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

Liposuction can banish love handles but will not prevent you from gaining weight again. Liposuction does permanently remove love handle fat cells. Future weight gain can cause existing fat cells in other parts of the body to enlarge, however.
Based on your photos it seems like you can benefit from liposuction. Many varieties of liposuction are available including ultrasonic, smart lipo, and conventional lipo. However, the results depend less on the method used and more on the surgeon and the postoperative care. Ideal candidates for liposuction are at or near their ideal weight and have good skin elasticity. Lipo is intended to remove stubborn pockets of fat that don’t respond to regular exercise, as the skin does need to be able to smooth back into place after the procedure is complete.

Cem Payasli, MD · Answer

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your question. No, it won't look weird if you only get liposuction on your love handles and waist. However, I'd suggest you get liposuction on your upper and lower abdominals as well, you are a good candidate to get amazing results.

Please feel free to contact me for a consultation.
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Best regards, 
DR. CEM PAYASLI 
MEMBER OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AESTHETIC PLASTIC SURGEONS

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

you can do small areas but if you want the best outcome you will do 360 of the torso and fat grafting to the hips/buttock.

my whole practice is doing lipoabdominoplasty, or at least liposuction with internal heating (which is not the gold standard for skin tightening with body contouring).

the smaller you are before liposuction the more contouring you can get from the procedure. most of my liposuction patients get pre and post surgical optimization with hormonal therapy (see link to help boost their weight loss before surgery and help them heal after).

You need a formal evaluation by an expert in body shaping and contouring to determine what is best.  Traditional liposuction awake and smart liposuction are old methods and do very poorly for tightening skin or significant skin tightening or contouring.  Small problem areas can be improved slightly by these methods.  The best in body contouring not only removes fat with energy devices like VASER ultrasound but also internally heat the skin with radio-frequency devices such as J PLASMA/RENUVION, InMode BodyTite, ThermiRF to heat the under surface of the skin and tighten it at the same time as fat removal. These combinations are called 4D HIDEF VASER contouring and can only be done by a well . trained body contouring specialist. At the same time fat should be harvested, PRP and stem cells added and injected into muscles or indentations/cellulite to get body shaping and contouring.  This is known as a Brazilian butt lift when you inject the fat to the buttock for contouring and lifting, but fat can also be used in areas such as the chest/breast, arms/shoulders, calves and face.  Cellulite should also be treated with cellfina, sculptra, subcision and/or fillers such as bellafill, renuva synthetic fat, or sculptra.  If skin is very loose before surgery then it will need to be removed such as lower abdominal skin (tummy tuck/abdominoplasty), breast skin (breast lift), arm skin (brachioplasty).  Overall you need a full assessment, but simple liposuction alone will not tighten skin and needs a combination of various methods -- fat removal, skin tightening, defining, fat grafting, skin removal -- to get the best in body contouring and body sculpting.  Dr. Emer.

Farid Brad Mozaffari, MD · Answer

You can get lipo on just the areas that you want and if the hips/waist area is the only place that bothers you the most, then you can get just that area treated. By reducing the size of one area, other areas will look a bit bigger just because the ratios change. So will you be better off getting lipo of the abdomen at the same time, the answer is yes. Is it absolutely necessary to get lipo of abdomen done also, the answer is no. If you decide to get only one area done, then the person doing it needs to make sure that they do a good job transitioning from area of lipo to normal tissue so you do not get a step-off or a sharp change from treated area to the non-treated area.

Salih Onur Basat, MD, EBOPRAS · Answer

Hi and thanks for your question. Based on your photos, you are a good candidate for liposuction.
For your case I recommend vaser and microaire combination. In this combination; vaser (ultrasonic liposuction) is used for liquifying the fat and microaire (power assisted liposuction) is used for aspiration. With this combination your belt region will get slimmer. You are good candidate for for liposuction for abdomen, flanks and upper and lower back. That means 3600 liposuction. Generally central part of the body is evaluated one region so in operation liposuction should be done for abdomen, flanks, upper and lower back region. If liposuction is done for only flanks and back, it causes bad appearance.If you want, aspirated fat can be used for your butt and hip augmentation.
 
Best of lucks.

Can I get away with lipo on the love handle/waist only? (Photos)

Answers (8)

Answer: Liposuction

Answer: Liposuction

Answer: Body contouring

Answer: Body contouring

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Everything you need to know about Liposuction

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

Can I get away with lipo on the love handle/waist only? (Photos)

Answers (8)

Answer: Liposuction

Answer: Liposuction

Answer: Body contouring

Answer: Body contouring

Browse related questions

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Liposuction

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