Does Traditional Liposuction Always Leave Fibrous Scar Tissue and Bruising?

Question

I had liposuction of the inner and outer thighs in January 2011 and the end result is not so good. I have uneven scar tissue on both outer thighs but the left outer thigh is worst. My inner thighs still have bruising every now and then. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Do I need more surgery or would a laser help smooth out the lumps? Not sure what can be done about the bruising.

William Ting, MD · Answer

Tumescent liposuction is a controlled micro-traumatic event to permanently remove fat pads by your experienced core board-certified aesthetic physician. Fibrous changes can be expected and is normal part of inflammatory process after tumescent liposuction that can take up to a year for the scar tissue to remodel. The more aggressive the tumescent liposuction, the greater the risk of prolonged fibrous inflammatory changes. We typically perform Vaser Shape (external Ultrasound) to facilitate resolution of fibrous inflammatory changes associated with liposuction. To minimize bruising, one should consider Smartlipo Triplex which utilizes combination of 3 different wavelengths to significantly minimize post-op bruising and to maximize skin tightening.

Peter Lee, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello and thank you for your question. Regarding bruising 8 years post op, I’m not sure that there’s a connection to your surgery. Careful evaluation of the actual problem, deciding whether it’s been overresected, underresected, or a combination, or whether it’s loose skin requiring surgical excision. I’m not sure laser therapy alone offers any real improvement. You should see a plastic surgeon so they can review your options.

Jaime Perez, MD · Answer

All liposuction will leave scar tissue and bruising to some degree. There is a tradeoff between a more aggressive approach with better results and a less aggressive approach with worse results and a lower degree of scarring. Normally, the lumpiness will smooth out significantly nine months to a year after surgery. After this amount of time, as with your case, the patient should meet with their board certified plastic surgeon to discuss possible revision surgeries such as fat grafting or correction liposuction.

	
	Jaime Perez, MD
	Liposuction Specialist
	Plastic Surgery Center of Tampa

Aaron Stone, MD · Answer

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. It sounds like you had regular liposuction without lasers etc. Although you are unhappy with the result you need to know that you would have been as likely to be unhappy if laser, ultrasound etc were employed at the surgery. It is the surgeon and patient that make the difference not the machine just like its the tennis player more than it is the tennis racquet that wins at Wimbledon. If the main problem is scarring in the fat layer that may be softened with endermology but since you are over a year out from surgery that may be less effective.
	
	My response to your question/post does not represent formal medical advice or constitute a doctor patient relationship. You need to consult with i.e. personally see a board certified plastic surgeon in order to receive a formal evaluation and develop a doctor patient relationship.

Stuart B. Kincaid, MD, FACS (in memoriam) · Answer

Having Liposuction you do have a great chance of getting scar tissue. You have a few options, getting revisional surgery as to Vaser Assisted liposuction. It might be to late but you can also message the areas, a deep tissue message to break down the scar tissue. You should see a PS so they can review your options.

Does Traditional Liposuction Always Leave Fibrous Scar Tissue and Bruising?

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Does Traditional Liposuction Always Leave Fibrous Scar Tissue and Bruising?

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