Counting Liposuction Areas? Does it Vary Among Doctors?

Yes you would be accurate in counting 8 areas by most docs but it is the size of the areas and the amount of work estimated that determines the price.  With that many areas, even if you are thin, it would have to be done in at least 2 procedures minimum or if you are large then 3 procedures at a cost estimate of $5-6000 per procedure on special. Don't go for the cheapy lipo mills out there or the gimmicky laser, ultrasound, freezing, melting etc...lipo jobs since they tend to have the worst results such as dimpling, skin discolorations, puckering and overall unhappy patients. You tend to get what you pay for in liposuction. Sincerely,

David Hansen,MD

More important than pricing individual areas is to speak with your PS about your goals, then have a plan formulated with a cost.  More areas= more time and thus have increased cost. Thus its important to really focus on your goal rather than counting areas.

It’s not a question of counting areas of liposuction it is simply just anatomical areas which are, or may be, in need of liposuction.  The most common areas of liposuction are as you have mentioned i.e. abdomen, back, hips, flanks, neck, arms and thighs. 

Jonathan Ross Berman, M.D. , F.A.C.S.

Dear MsBodyCouture  in InMySkin,

Every plastic surgeon has their own method of defining the areas that will be treated.  In our office, we have four plastic surgeons each with their own system but strangely enough, when we calculate the costs to the patient, we are usually very close despite one partner claiming 4 areas and the other 8.  That's because we really base the charges on the amount of time we think it will take to treat the patient.

Just to use your example, I do not separate upper and lower abdomen and waist and love handles/ flanks and lower back go together.  So I would have state you had 5 areas to treat.  But even then, some patients have lots of fatty tissue to treat and others just a bit so the pricing would be different.

Make sure your doctor is a plastic surgeon who is board certified and works in an accredited surgery center or  hospital.  If you have any questions about the area definitions and their counting system, ask them and they should be able to explain it to you.  Hope this helps and best of luck.

Thank you for your question.

Each doctor / each office counts areas differently and so pricing may be a bit different.  The cost will really depend on how much time / how much work needs to be performed in the operating room.  Longer OR time = higher pricing.

Make sure you are visiting with board certified plastic surgeons who are performing the surgery in a safe environment and can show you examples of their work.

Best wishes.

Liposuction sites or areas are defined differently by surgeons. Most will group abdomen, love handle, lateral thighs, medial thighs, knees, back as units. However one can designate arms, axilla (arm pits), lateral buttocks, etc...as needed for individualization. 

I assume you are asking due to cost or liposuction limit. At the end of the day, a surgeon should charge for time as that is what he or see is selling, their time. The sites are an indirect measure of time so I personally look at the size of the patient and the size of the site and estimate how long it will take me in addition to the number of sites. 

Finally there is a limit for the amount of liposuction fat volume one can remove safely both in the hospital or as an outpatient. The number of sites do not determine this adequately. It is the actual estimated volume of fat removed that is the defining factor. 

Hello and thank you for the question. It is not necessarily counting areas of liposuction, but analyzing the body and identify the areas that may be in need of Lipo. Before you have any surgery, my recommendation is to try to eat healthy, incorporate more protein in your diet to aid your healing. Try as much as possible to get to your ideal body weight or a healthy weight. And also please make sure that your surgeon is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and he or she has hospital privileges to do the same type of procedure(s) in the hospital that he or she plans to do on you, and finally an accredited surgery center is used. Thank you  and best of luck!

Different Doctors count differently. An example would be if you had your hips done some doctors would count this as one site some would count it as two sites.