Body Plastic Surgery
Liposuction for Women
Liposuction removes undesirable, subcutaneous fat in isolated areas that do not respond to diet and exercise. These areas include the hips, thighs, abdomen, knees, ankles, face, neck, and arms. Liposuction is most successful in people with good skin tone who are near normal weight, but have localized fatty deposits. It is not a treatment for obesity. It is intended to produce a more flattering figure by improving contours and proportions.
The procedure involves multiple small incisions through which a cannula or hollow tube is inserted. This tube is used to break up and remove the fat beneath the skin. Several areas can be suctioned at one operative setting, although your surgeon may limit the amount that can be removed safely at one time. Postoperatively patients will be bruised and swollen and this will likely last few weeks. A compression garment is worn for several weeks to minimize fluid accumulation and facilitate skin settling.
Abdominoplasty
Abdominoplasty, or a “tummy tuck,” is designed to correct a protruding abdomen resulting from weak abdominal muscles, weight gain or pregnancy. Excess skin and stretched abdominal muscles typically don’t respond to exercise. In this procedure, the abdominal wall muscles are tightened and excess fatty tissue and skin are removed to improve the body contour. The goal is a narrower, flatter abdomen. It can be done in combination with liposuction to further define areas such as the flanks, hips and lower back. An abdominoplasty is not a substitute for weight loss.
The surgery takes 2-3 hours under general anesthesia and involves an incision that goes from one hip to the other and can be well hidden in the underwear or the swim suit. Drains are placed and left in for one week. Recovery time is 1-2 weeks but patients need to refrain from strenuous exercise and heavy lifting for one month.
Arm lift
An arm lift, or brachioplasty, is a procedure to remove excess fat and skin of the upper arm. Loose, sagging skin is often the result of aging or dramatic weight fluctuation such as after gastric bypass surgery. In some cases, this extra skin is merely the result of natural aging or one’s genetic makeup.
The procedure is done under general anesthesia. It can incorporate liposuction as well as skin removal. The incision is somewhat conspicuous, as it extends from the armpit region to the elbow. Patients are advised to wear a compression garment after surgery and avoid strenuous upper body activity. Modern arm lift technique, offer smaller incisions hidden in the arm pit, in combination liposuction. The doctor can determinate if you are a good candidate for this procedure.
Body Contouring
Significant weight loss or gastric bypass surgery can leave excess skin. A circumferential body lift can eliminate this skin redundancy and improve contours in the abdomen, buttock, thighs and back. The surgery involves removal of the excess skin rolls to leave an area smoother and flatter.
A body lift is performed under general anesthesia and involves rather lengthy scars to address all areas adequately. Skin removal from the abdomen will tighten and flatten this area. By positioning the patient from side to side, additional skin removal from the sides and back, will lift the outer thighs and buttock and eliminate back rolls.
Depending on the length and extent of the surgery, your surgeon and the anesthesiologist may recommend one or two nights of overnight recovery in a hospital. Many patients who undergo a body lift procedure will elect to undergo arm, thigh and breast lifts as well to more specifically address those areas.
Buttock Lift
When diet and exercise fail to reshape the buttocks maybe the solution is buttock augmentation or buttock lift.
The butt augmentation is performed two ways. With the patient’s own fat (liposculpture or Brazilian lift) or if the patient does not have enough fat tissue with silicone implants.
The fat transfer is the most preferred method in our time. It can reshape nicely and mostly naturally the area without scars and violation of the anatomy. Can be done in an outpatient setting, has small recovery compare with the other procedures. The patient has to wear a compression garment for about a month and resume exercise in about that time. In some occasions the procedure needs to be performed again so fat can be added for higher volumes.
Silicone implants are not so commonly used due to higher degree of complications. They usually are placed either under the gluteus muscle or under the fascia of the same muscle. They are mostly preserved for body builders or patients with almost no fat deposits.
The surgical buttock lift which reshapes the buttock area is a surgical procedure that is usually ideal for patients that they have lost a lot of weight and skin is sagging and needs to be removed. It is done under general anaesthesia and requires one night minimum in the clinic. The incision is long, carefully designed in the line of the smallest underwear. Most of the time an “auto” augmentation can be done by using the extra tissue to tuck it into the buttocks for a total new look which includes lift and augmentation at the same time.
Liposuction for men
Liposuction is considered lately a procedure that can be performed not only to women but to male population as well. Nowadays there many men who undergo liposuction in order to remove undesirable, subcutaneous fat, in isolated areas that do not respond to diet and exercise. These areas include the hips, thighs, abdomen, chest, and flanks (lateral abdominal wall). Liposuction removes only subcutaneous fat but cannot remove fat that surrounds your internal organs. It is not a treatment for obesity and does not replace diet and exercise. It is most successful in people with good skin tone who are near normal weight, but have localized fatty deposits and is intended to produce a more flattering figure by improving contours and proportions.
The procedure involves multiple small incisions through which a cannula or hollow tube is inserted. This tube is used to break up and remove the fat beneath the skin. Several areas can be suctioned at one operative setting, although your surgeon may limit the amount that can be removed safely at one time. Postoperatively patients will be bruised and swollen and this will likely last few weeks. A compression garment, specially designed for men, is worn for several weeks to minimize fluid accumulation and facilitate skin settling. The garment is easily covered under the clothes.
Abdominoplasty post partum
Plastic surgery nowadays collaborates closely with obstetrics – gynecology to reconstruct the abdominal area post partum. Reconstruction can be done directly, after c-section is done by the obstetrician and delivery is completed.
The plastic surgeon can correct the diastases that abdominal muscles have undergone during the night months of pregnancy. In addition, the c-section is sutured in layers, in order to achieve a fine aesthetic result. In case a woman has completed her family, and no other pregnancies are planned, the plastic surgeon then can excise excess skin and subcutaneous fat from the abdomen, accelerating the abdominal area reconstruction.Abdominal wall reconstruction can also be performed later, months post partum, when breast feeding is completed, extra weight has been lost and skin has been restored to its primary condition. In this case, especially when the patient has undergone other pregnancies, sagging skin of abdominal wall is persistent and is almost impossible to correct it with daily exercise.
Postoperatively patients are advised to wear a specific designed body compression garment for several weeks and to refrain from strenuous exercise and heavy lifting for one month. Wound healing is closely observed with often visits to the office and sometimes silicone sheeting over the wound is suggested. In case pregnancy has caused stretch marks in abdominal area or in other areas of the body due to weight fluctuations, these can be addressed with Fraxel sessions, a laser designed specific to smoothen and discolour skin and subcutaneous tissue changes.
Thigh lift
Dramatic weight loss is the usual cause of extensive redundancy of skin in the inner thigh area. This skin is often flabby and dimpled in appearance. A thigh lift removes this loose skin creating a tighter and more attractive thigh.
This procedure uses incisions that parallel the groin crease. The thigh lift is usually performed on the inner surface of the thighs, but can include the outer thigh area and buttock if indicated. It is performed under general anesthesia and requires wearing a compression garment for few weeks after surgery.
Labiaplasty (labia reduction)
A growing number of women seek labiaplasty for different reasons. Most of them want an aesthetic improvement because the appearance of the labia affects their self esteem and their erotic behaviour. Some have functional problems like discomfort during intercourse or certain activities, hygiene and odour issues, ability to wear certain clothing but mainly is the frustration because of being held back from spontaneous living!
The surgery is straight forward, is done in an outpatient base and has quick recovery. Usually involves the aesthetically designed reduction of labia minora, so they do not protrude past the labia majora. It can be combined with cosmetic improvement of the labia majora, depending of the problem. Fat can be injected so the labia majora look more “full” and youthful or can be also reduced if they are too long and “hanging”.
Most of the time we prefer to combine the procedure with small liposuction of the pubic area for a total rejuvenation of the female genitalia. If the patient desires also vaginal rejuvenation (vaginal tuck) we combine the procedure along with our gynaecology team.