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137 Portsmouth Avenue Stratham, NH 03885
(603) 775-7444

Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Skin & Laser Center

March 2009

What Our Patients Are Asking About Liposuction

1. What should I ask my doctor during a liposuction consultation?

  • Is there a safe limit to how much can be removed?
  • How well will my skin respond to the procedure?
  • What are reasonable expectations?

2. Is traditional liposuction outdated? With all of the new lipo procedures out there – tumescent, laser-assisted, ultrasound-assisted, and even fat-dissolving injections – is there still a place for traditional liposuction?

Traditional liposuction is still the gold standard.  Most of the newer techniques  are a variation of or an adjunct to traditional liposuction.  Tumescent simply refers to the amount of numbing fluid that is injected prior to the actual liposuction.  Laser and ultrasonic are enhancements that in most cases don’t alter the final result to any significant degree.  Your choice of surgeon is definitely more important than your choice of technique. His or her results should speak for themselves.

3.  Does liposuction in one body area make another get fatter?The Mayo clinic posted the statement that “It’s possible that if you remove fat cells from one area with liposuction, you may gain less weight in that area, but you’ll gain more in another area of your body.” Have you seen this with your patients? Please explain!!

Fat cells don’t move around.  They simply get larger or smaller with your body’s fluctuations.  The distribution or number of fat cells in different areas of your body give you your shape.  By removing fat (cells) from specific areas, we are deliberately altering your shape.  Weight gain following liposuction means that fat cells enlarge according to this new (hopefully better) distribution.

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