Weight loss is tough. It takes months or years of making tough decisions and sacrifices. At eSSe Plastic Surgery in Fort Lauderdale, FL, we understand how disappointed you may be after countless good decisions and hours in the gym. That’s why we offer several body contouring procedures. Here’s what you need to know about this type of procedure, including whether it can work for you.
Yes. Body contouring, also known as body sculpting, really works. If you are between the ages of 18 and 65, there is an excellent chance that we offer a body sculpting procedure that can help you achieve the contours you have worked so hard for over so many months. If you just have loose or excess skin, a thigh lift, arm lift, tummy tuck or breast lift may be appropriate for you.
If you are concerned about the appearance of excess fat, and you’re close enough to your goal weight, liposuction can definitely work for you. Liposuction may also be used to perfect contours in areas with loose or excess skin and a significant amount of excess fat. We will discuss whether one of these procedures can work for you in a minute. For now, let’s take a look at some of your body sculpting options.
We offer several types of body sculpting procedures to help you achieve your ideal contours. Among the most popular are liposuction, abdominoplasty, arm lift, thigh lift and breast lift. During your initial consultation, we will assess your skin and the contours you wish to improve to determine the appropriate combination of body sculpting procedures to help you achieve your goals.
Before your body sculpting procedure begins, we will clean the treatment area. Then, we will administer anesthesia to ensure your comfort. If the procedure will be short and simple, we will administer local anesthesia and sedation. If the procedure will be long and complex, we will administer general anesthesia, a medication that simultaneously numbs the body and causes sedation. Here’s what you can expect based on the procedure performed.
Liposuction is the gold standard in fat removal. There are now alternatives to this procedure, but they don’t have a candle to this procedure, approved by the FDA in the 1970s. This incredibly effective fat removal procedure can easily remove a quarter of localized fat cells and is often combined with other body sculpting procedures to further enhance the problem contours. In some cases, it can remove up to 80% of localized fat cells.
During liposuction, a tiny incision is made and a cannula is inserted into the incision. A cannula is a very fine tube that passes through blood vessels. Running through the cannula is a suction device that removes localized fat efficiently and effectively. Once the excess fat is suctioned out, the cannula is removed and the incision is closed. If liposuction is being used in conjunction with another body sculpting procedure, there is no need for a lipo-specific incision.
Abdominoplasty, know colloquially as a tummy tuck, is a procedure designed to improve the appearance of the stomach region. There are three types of tummy tuck available, a full tuck, a mini tuck and an extended tuck. Each variant of the procedure has a different scope, but they each achieve the goal of correcting concerns with the appearance of the abdominal region.
A full tummy tuck is the most common variant of abdominoplasty. The scope of this variation is to address excess fat and skin above and below the belly button and tighten loose abdominal skin and muscles.
Once your skin is sanitized and we have ensured your comfort, an incision is made between your navel and pelvis from hip to hip. Excess skin and fat are excised with a scalpel, loose skin is tightened and the belly button may be moved upward.
While a full tummy tuck may be perfect for someone concerned with his or her upper and lower abdomen, a mini tummy tuck may be more appropriate for you if you are content with the appearance of your upper abdomen. During a mini tummy tuck, a small incision is made just above the pubic region. Then, excess fat is excised from the lower abdomen with a scalpel. If there is a significant amount of lower abdominal fat, liposuction may also be performed.
It’s important to note that a mini tuck will not work for an individual with certain medical conditions, such as lordosis, a ventral hernia or stress urinary incontinence. These conditions can only be treated during a full or extended tuck. To correct these conditions, the abdominal walls must be tightened, and a mini tuck does not involve muscle tightening.
The scope of an extended tuck is pretty similar to the scope of a full tuck. It addresses fat and skin concerns both above and beneath the navel. The navel may be lifted during the procedure, and the abdominal walls will be tightened. If they are separated due to trauma, they will be sewn back together.
The difference between an extended tuck and a full tuck is that an extended tuck makes many more improvements to the contours of your trunk. During an extended tuck, excess back fat and skin are removed, and excess tissue is removed from the hips and sides. This procedure works best for people with concerns about their entire core.
An arm lift, also known as brachioplasty, is an incredibly simple body sculpting procedure. Once the upper arm is cleaned and you are numbed, a small incision is made from the underarm to the elbow. If there is still excess fat in the area, that will be excised during the procedure. Then, we will remove any excess skin that hangs from the area. Finally, the remaining skin is tightened, and the incision is closed.
During an inner thigh lift, we will make an incision that starts at the groin, extends downward and wraps around the back of the thigh. If you’re only concerned about the appearance of your upper inner thigh, the incision may only be made in the groin area.
If you’re looking for an outer thigh lift, we will make an extremely discrete incision that extends from your groin around the hip. As with other lifts, excess skin and fat are excised and the skin is tightened.
There are several breast lift techniques that can be used. The appropriate technique depends on several factors, including how much excess skin you have and whether the procedure is being combined with another one, like a breast reduction or augmentation. When we discuss your aesthetic goals during your first appointment, we will determine the technique that will make this procedure work most effectively for you.
During a breast lift, an incision will be made around the areola and down the breast, around the areola, down the breast and across the crease of the breast or only around the areola. Once the incisions are made, we will lift and reshape your breast tissue, including fat and breast tissue. Then, the nipple and areola will be repositioned to make your breasts look younger. If necessary, we will remove excess areola skin. Finally, we will remove excess breast skin.
When you come in for your consultation, we will review your medical history and discuss your current health to determine if you are healthy enough for any body sculpting procedure. If we determine that you are healthy enough, we will discuss your aesthetic goals to determine which body sculpting procedures will help you reach your contouring goals. We’ll discuss this more in-depth when you come in, but here’s a brief overview.
Liposuction is likely to work for you if you are within 30 pounds of your goal weight. However, this procedure works best for individuals who are within 10 pounds of their goal weight. This is because the less excess fat you have, the more dramatic the results of the procedure will be. This procedure will also work the best for you if you have fairly elastic skin. If your skin is inelastic, you may need a skin tightening procedure in conjunction with your fat removal.
A tummy tuck is very likely to work for you if you are concerned about loose, sagging abdominal skin, a bit of excess abdominal fat, excess abdominal skin and loose abdominal muscles. This procedure won’t work for you if you have very tight abdominal skin; there needs to be a little “give” for an effective incision to be made. However, if you want to recontour your abdomen, there’s a good chance that your skin is loose enough for you to be a candidate.
The best candidate for an arm lift is an individual with excess or loose upper arm skin and a bit of stubborn fat that will not budge despite a healthy diet and diligent exercise routine. This procedure works the best for individuals who have decent tricep definition beneath their excess fat. If you have well-defined triceps under your excess fat and loose skin, the results will be incredibly dramatic and nearly immediate.
Much like a good candidate for an arm lift, the ideal candidate for a thigh lift already has decent muscle definition. The contours of your thighs will be improved with a thigh lift even without decent muscle definition. However, you will be even more pleased with the results of removing excess skin and fat and tightening skin if excellent muscle tone is revealed.
Getting within 10 pounds of your ideal weight can be incredibly disappointing. Your clothes fit better, but you have sagging skin. Depending on how much excess weight you lost, you may even have excess skin. Body contouring can help. To discover if you are a good candidate for an arm lift, thigh lift or other recontouring procedure, please contact us now at eSSe Plastic Surgery in Fort Lauderdale, FL to schedule your initial consultation. We can’t wait to help you.
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