You seem like a fairly good candidate for Liposuction. The results from this procedure are dependent primarily unto variables. The first is the patient’s candidacy for the procedure. Generally speaking, the best candidates for Liposuction are individuals who have thick layers of undesirable, subcutaneous fat, and no other issues. This would generally mean young chubby people with tight skin who don’t have access, visceral, fat, pregnancy related changes and the especially don’t have skin laxity. To assess the thickness of your subcutaneous fat simply pull your skin, slightly snug and press your finger against your skin until you feel the underlying muscle wall. You can do it over your rib cage first and then do it just below the rib cage on your torso. My best guess is your subcutaneous fat layer is about 1.25 inches around mid abdomen. Well done, Liposuction should be able to remove 75% of that. Being completely flat is relative and also depends on if you have a flat abdominal wall. There are two reasons someone can have a bulging abdominal wall. The first and most common is previous pregnancies, causing muscle separation, and the second reason that would be caring slightly excessive amounts of visceral or intra-abdominal fat. Visceral fat can only be reduced with weight loss. The contour of your skin or how smooth your skin will be after the procedure is completely dependent on the skill of the provider. The device has very little to do with what your outcome is going to look like. VASER Includes a pre-treatment using an ultrasound probe before regular. Liposuction removes the fat. Using the ultrasound device a.k.a. using VASER can potentially remove more fat in less time. That may be advantageous to some people. It doesn’t mean that VASER can ultimately remove more fat nor get better results. it is a fairly aggressive device that has proven record of having increased complication rates. It’s not better or worse. It is simply an aggressive device. In the hands of less experienced providers VASER can lead to more severe disfiguring. Think of it as a car with 800 hp. If driven correctly there’s nothing wrong with having excessive power in your car. An 800 hp car may however not be a good learning vehicle for someone getting their drivers license. When I see people who have been Severely disfigured with almost all the fat removed. These cases were often done using VASER. At the same time, some of the most talented Liposuction experts in the country, prefer this device and find it to be better than other instruments. In the end, any plastic surgeon can get any outcome using any device. The goal is to remove subcutaneous fat and that can be done with any form of Liposuction. It doesn’t have to be done fast. The second variable in regards to Liposuction outcomes is the skill of the provider. There isn’t much patience, can do regarding their own candidacy For the procedure. Which patients do you have control over is provider selection. Delivering consistent quality lip selection results is more difficult than most people realize. The number of plastic surgeons and mastering Liposuction is in reality quite small. Most plastic surgeons think they’re better at Liposuction than they actually are. There are substantial differences in skill and experience among different providers, despite having similar qualifications. Being board-certified in plastic surgery, with years of experience and collection of positive reviews does not mean somebody is good at Liposuction. I recommend patients not select providers based on what equipment they use and specifically avoid providers who promote their practice based on equipment or technology. Instead, choose providers based on them, having a proven track record, delivering consistent quality, liposuction results, and previous patients who had similar body characteristics to your own. To do that I recommend patients have multiple in person consultations with local plastic surgeons who seem to have extensive liposuction experience. Always bring pictures of your body, taking the same way plastic surgeons take before and after pictures as reference during the consultation. This is especially true when reviewing before, and after pictures. Do not go by memory or looking in the mirror for reference when reviewing before and after pictures. During consultation, ask provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before and after pictures of previous patients were very similar body characteristics to your own. This means they were approximately the same age had similar characteristics similar thickness of subcutaneous, fat, etc., etc. Highly experienced plastic surgeons should’ve access to 100s or preferably thousands of before, and after pictures to choose from. In my opinion, a properly experience provider should have no difficulty showing you the before, and after pictures of at least 50 previous patients for commonly perform procedures. It’s important that they select previous cases of patients who look as similar to you as possible. In each case review exactly what areas were treated and what areas were not treated and look carefully at transition zones between treated and untreated areas. Personally, I view the torso as a single and atomic unit and generally prefer to treat the entire torso when doing liposuction on the midsection. a full torso, technically includes upper abdomen, lower abdomen, love handles, waist, full back and under arms(arm pits) all the way to the side of the breast. On some individuals, it may also include lower back, pubic areas, and front bra rolls. By treating the torso as a single anatomic unit, patients are not left with transition zones between treated and untreated areas. The entire torso is left thin consistently throughout. To make sure you don’t end up with permanent irreversible, skin, contour, irregularities, or deformity you need to confirm the provider has to skill an experience to deliver quality outcomes. Do this by insisting on seeing enough before, and after pictures of previous patients who look similar to you do to reinforce that knowledge. As I mentioned previously, there are substantial differences among well, credentialed board-certified plastic surgeons when it comes to Liposuction. For this reason, I recommend patients have numerous consultations before contemplating selecting a provider. This process is time-consuming and can Potentially include financial outlay. Considering that Liposuction is a permanent irreversible procedure that can leave people disfigured. I think the time spent properly vetting providers is more than justified. You’ll be reminded every day you put your clothes on what the outcome looks like. Unfortunately, there are a substantial number of well intended well trained plastic surgeons, who simply aren’t good at Liposuction. As I mentioned earlier doing this procedure well on a consistent basis is in reality much more difficult than most people realize. Considering all of this, I think it’s reasonable to start the process by having 3 to 5 consultations before considering selecting a provider. Most people do not have a lot of experiencing consulting with plastic surgeons. To be an astute, consumer requires knowing how to vet plastic surgeons correctly. This may seem intimidating and overwhelming at first. People get better at the process with practice. Recognize that plastic surgeons have given thousands of consultations and are usually quite good at it from their perspective. You are in reality hiring someone to do a service for you. It is your responsibility to vet that provider regarding competence. Take careful notes during each consultation. Take notes about the overall thoroughness, if all points were discussed, and especially regarding the quality and quantity of before and after pictures. I would be particularly cautious with people who are promoting the equipment they use as being some sort of major advantage. If VASER was truly better than all other forms of Liposuction then we would all be using the same equipment. If you feel overwhelmed and confused during the process, simply go back to the two variables that matter, which is understanding you on candidacy for the procedure and provider selection. Best, Mats Hagstrom MD