Still quite boxy after tummy tuck in January - should I return for lipo to the flanks? (Photo)

It would be hard to imagine how liposuction would contribute to your overall shape? At the time being you should concentrate on managing the abdominal scar using occlusive tape, it helps. Later on, you may seek a second opinion (on the basis of in person consultation). Hope this helps.

Dear Gorgeous214926,
I understand your concern. However, without a proper assessment, it would be difficult to determine what went wrong. It is best that you visit your plastic surgeon for further assessment or ask for a second opinion. Only after a thorough examination, you can get proper recommendations and advice.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Liposuction can be used to enhance and contour your curves, but your surgeon is limited by your anatomy. An in person examination and discussion of your goals is needed to determine if liposuction would get you to results that you'd be happy with or if your anatomy dictates otherwise.

Only 1 posted photo??? Best virtual consult with... I suspect only lipo 360 can offer some hour glass effect. Fee $6,000.

To get an assessment on your backside you need to show us pictures of your backside. Ideally patients who have had a procedure should always include before and after pictures but in your case we particularly need to see images of your side and back.
The amount of change possible from Liposuction is directly related to how much subcutaneous fat you have to remove. The best way to assess the thickness of your subcutaneous fat layer is to put the Skin over the area you’re considering under gentle tension by lifting with one hand then take the tip of your finger and gently press against your skin until you feel the underlying muscle wall. It’s a very gentle touch that does not require much pressure at all.
You can do this anywhere on your body. For example if you do it around your mid abdomen you’ll probably find that your subcutaneous fat layer it’s about 1/2 inch.
With your skin under gentle tension pushing to feel how thick the fat layer is in your love handles and waste and you can expect 3/4 of that fat to be removed with well done Liposuction.
Slim people are going to have more subtle results from liposuction than those who are chubby.
Slim people also typically already look better to start with so as small change can have a bigger impact.
Delivering consistent quality Liposuction results is more difficult than most people believe and this includes plastic surgeons. Being bored certified in plastic surgery with an overall good reputation is no guarantee that somebody knows how to do Liposuction well.Delivering consistent quality Liposuction results is more difficult than most people believe and this includes plastic surgeons. Being bored certified in plastic surgery with an overall good reputation is no guarantee that somebody knows how to do Liposuction well. in conjunction with a tummy tuck plastic surgeons often attempt to do liposuction with patients laying on their back to treat the flank area. This is not a good anatomic position to contour the torso in this area and unless the patient is turned either on their side or face down results are going to suffer.
I’ve seen too many poorly done liposuction results done in conjunction with a tummy tuck where the surgeon never bothered to turn the patient.
You can always go back to your surgeon and ask her but before you choose to let anyone do liposuction you should vet the surgeon and get a comparison to see who does the best quality liposuction work in your community. Do that by having multiple in person consultations. During each consultation ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures.
Some providers may be reluctant to do this and may prefer to simply show you their pre-selected pictures which most likely represent the best results of their entire career. This is however completely insufficient for you to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider. this is why patients need to push providers to open up their portfolio and start showing more pictures and a variety of outcomes.
Ask the surgeons to show you as many pictures as possible of patients who have similar body characteristics to your own. You should also ask them to show you the results that are excellent, average and results they may not be so proud of. we all have a variety of results and there’s nothing wrong with asking to see a variety of outcomes. You should talk to the surgeon about their policy in regards to revisions and ask what the revision rate is for Liposuction.
All plastic surgeons do revisions from time to time or at least all plastic surgeons should do revisions from time to time.
A healthy revision rate is probably around 5%.
Never doing revisions means someone is not willing to go the extra effort to get patients the very best results. No one gets a perfect outcome every single time and sometimes results can be improved with a small touchup.
Asked to see examples of previous patients who had revision work and see what that look like.
When reviewing Liposuction pictures look very carefully at all areas treated to make sure there are no skin contour irregularities anywhere on the treated areas. Ask the surgeon to review the pictures with you and have them point out what areas for treated and what areas were not treated then look carefully at transition zones between treated and untreated areas.
And experience provider should have no difficulty showing you at least 50 sets of before and after pictures of commonly performed procedures like liposuction of the torso. highly experienced surgeons well I have hundreds or even thousands of before and after pictures of commonly performed procedures.
I recognize that your Liposuction is an afterthought so it may seem a little excessive to schedule a multitude of in person consultations.
As I mentioned earlier delivering consistent quality in Liposuction results is more difficult than most people believe. Liposuction results are permanent and irreversible. If done poorly they can leave patients disfigured and correcting these type of outcomes is nearly impossible.
This is not to say patients shouldn’t have liposuction but I cannot emphasize enough the importance of properly vetting providers and making sure they are competent at the procedure by seeing enough results that you have a good idea of what average results look like.
Finally it’s not a bad idea to read all the reviews on various physician review websites. I recommend avoiding providers for the any excessive number of justified negative reviews. The absence of justified negative reviews is more important and more telling than having an abundance of positive reviews.
Continue having consultations until you feel quite confident you found the right provider for you.
On a final note I view the torso as a single anatomic units and when it comes to Liposuction I prefer to treat the entire torso to leave patience with a natural even thin the fat distribution that’s consistent from one area to the next. The best analogy I can give you is painting a house. It makes a little sense to paint two walls of a house but instead a good painter will recognize that if the house is going to be painted you should paint all the walls so that they match. there are of course exceptions and one of those if someone Who has had previous surgery like a tummy tuck.
A full torso includes upper abdomen, lower abdomen, love handles, waist, full back and under arms all the way to the side of the breast.
The impact or transition from untreated to untreated areas may be quite subtle in those with thin fat layers but in those who have substantial amounts of fat not including an adjacent area can look very much like someone has had inappropriate Liposuction.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD