Who Is a Good Candidate for Liposuction?
Liposuction is the surgical removal of stubborn pockets of body fat. This procedure can help you achieve your desired physique, especially if you’ve been working to lose weight but are struggling with shedding the last few pounds. Although, not everyone is the perfect candidate for liposuction. If you’re considering the procedure, you and your physician should assess whether the surgery is right for you. Here are criteria you should meet to be a candidate for liposuction.
Stubborn Deposits of Body Fat
Liposuction is typically used to target the stubborn pockets of fat that won’t go away with diet and exercise. Even if you’ve achieved weight loss or are maintaining a healthy weight, you might struggle to shed excess body fat in certain areas. Some of the most common areas of concern include the lower abdomen, upper arms, and thighs. Liposuction may only remove a couple pounds of fat from each of the targeted areas, but the results for your physique can be dramatic.
Close to Target Body Weight
Liposuction is not a weight loss surgery. If you’re significantly above your healthy weight range or intend to lose a lot of weight, liposuction may not be the correct treatment for you. The purpose of liposuction is to remove smaller pockets of fat, and this might not be effective or successful for people who are obese. Your doctor may recommend that you wait to explore liposuction until you’re closer to your ideal weight. You may also be a candidate for treatment with semiglutide for weight loss prior to surgery. If you are interested then talk to your physician about that option to help you get closer to your goal weight.
Realistic Expectations
With all cosmetic procedures, it’s important that you have realistic expectations for your results. Liposuction can have great results for your figure, but you and your surgeon must be in agreement on what is or isn’t possible. Going into the treatment with unrealistic expectations can result in you being dissatisfied or struggling with your body image after the surgery.
Healthy Skin
Ideal candidates for liposuction have healthy, firm, and elastic skin. Because the surgery removes body fat, your skin needs to be able to tighten up around the targeted area. If your skin lacks elasticity, it might look loose or saggy after the surgery. For lose skin, a resection of skin may be recommended with a tummy tuck or brachioplasty for example. Another option would be to improve skin laxity with a treatment called Renuvion that can help with skin tightening. Building up muscle tone in the targeted area may help to improve your results, too.
Good Overall Health
Liposuction is usually an outpatient surgery, but it’s still a (remove major) procedure that puts your body under stress. You need to be in good overall health to tolerate the anesthesia and to have a swift recovery. Additionally, slow healing and infection is higher risk if you smoke so many surgeons will not offer elective cosmetic surgery to active smokers. During your consultation, it’s important to be very clear and thorough when explaining your medical history. If you have underlying medical conditions, your doctor may advise against liposuction.
Schedule a Consultation
Melanie L. Aya-ay, M.D. Plastic Surgery, P.L. offers liposuction and other cosmetic procedures to patients in and around Tampa, FL. If you’re interested in learning more about liposuction, contact us to schedule a consultation (remove with us) today.
