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Liposuction
Offering Liposuction in Pottsville & Hazleton
Despite an overall healthy lifestyle including a well-balanced diet and regular exercise, many individuals remain frustrated with the development of disproportionate contours due to localized fat deposits, known as ‘lipodystrophy.’ These areas may arise due to multiple factors beyond one’s control such as gender, family traits, and hormone balance. In these situations, liposuction may provide the perfect solution. Give Dr. Robert M. Kimmel a call today to learn more or to determine whether you are a candidate for treatment! Dial 570.455.4252 for our Hazleton office, or 570.622.2900 for our Pottsville office.
Liposuction Before & After
How Is Liposuction Performed?
Typically performed under intravenous sedation anesthesia in a State Licensed, Nationally Accredited Ambulatory Surgical Center (see about Keystone Surgery Center), liposuction employs the use of ‘tumescent’ local anesthesia which is a dilute, epinephrine-containing solution that acts to liquefy the fatty tissue. A narrow tube is then passed into this space through a tiny ¼ inch incision to gently and comfortably remove the excess fat while minimizing any bruising or skin surface irregularities. The duration of this procedure and the necessary recovery period is dependent on the number and extent of the areas being treated. Following completion of the treatment, a compression garment is briefly worn to facilitate skin re-draping around the newly created contour.
What Areas Can Liposuction Treat?
Liposuction can be used to slim the hips, thighs, and buttocks, flatten the abdomen, contour the arms and back, shape the knees, calves, and ankles or eliminate a double chin. Men and women of all ages may benefit from this procedure. Ideal candidates for liposuction are within 30% of their ideal body weight and have good skin elasticity.
What Qualifications Should a Surgeon Have For Performing Liposuction?
When considering liposuction, or indeed any cosmetic procedure, be sure to select a qualified, experienced plastic surgeon, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). As a board-certified plastic surgeon with over 15 years of clinical practice experience and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (The Mark of Distinction in Cosmetic Plastic Surgery® ASAPS), Dr. Robert Kimmel welcomes the opportunity to help you achieve your goals and enjoy a happier, more confident lifestyle.
Liposuction Benefits
- One treatment may be enough to reshape a desired area
- Treat more areas—and larger areas—in one procedure
- More consistent and predictable result than noninvasive treatments
Liposuction represents an excellent option for slimming and reshaping certain ‘problem’ areas. This will restore a well-proportioned body, enhancing your appearance and the fit of your clothing, and ultimately, build self-confidence.
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Liposuction FAQs
Who Is a Good Candidate for Liposuction?
There are two things that are important for successful liposuction, unwanted pockets of fat and skin that still has good elasticity. During your consultation, Dr. Kimmel will check for this.
There is a misconception that liposuction is a weight-loss procedure, but this is not the case. In fact, removing too much fat at one time can be dangerous. Liposuction is meant to remove pockets of unwanted fat that are resistant to changes in diet and exercise. Dr. Kimmel wants his liposuction patients to be within 10-15 percent of their ideal body weight before having this procedure.
Good candidates for liposuction need the skin at the treatment sites to have good elasticity. This will allow the skin to tighten down to the new slimmer contour once some of the underlying fat is removed.
Can You Combine Liposuction with Other Procedures?
Liposuction is minimally invasive, but it is still surgery, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to combine it with a treatment in our med spa.
But liposuction is a perfect complement to a couple other surgical procedures. In fact, liposuction is a part of Dr. Kimmel’s mommy makeovers, which are a combination of surgeries to address the changes made to a woman’s figure through pregnancy and breastfeeding. Mommy makeovers are simply a moniker for the combined surgeries of a breast lift (with or without augmentation), a tummy tuck, and liposuction. These surgeries work well as a complement to each other. They create an involved recovery, but it’s only one recovery instead of three.
Is There any Preparation Necessary for Liposuction?
Although liposuction is not an overly invasive procedure compared to what it used to be, patients still need to follow the pre-procedure protocols for surgery. This means not smoking for two weeks prior to your procedure and for at least two weeks after. You’ll need to stop taking aspirin or other medications or supplements that can reduce the ability of your blood to clot. This will limit your bruising. You should prepare your house for a few days of laying low. You’ll be able to walk and get about, but you probably won’t feel like going to the store or doing other chores for a few days.
Is There Much Pain after Liposuction?
When first developed, liposuction was a somewhat violent procedure where the cannula had to be moved back and forth quite aggressively under the skin. This created extensive tissue trauma, blood loss, and subsequent bruising. Those days are over. Thanks to the tumescent solution Dr. Kimmel uses, the fat is easier to remove, blood vessels are constricted, and lidocaine provides local anesthetic. Recovery is not overly painful at all, it’s more of a soreness than can be easily managed with over-the-counter pain medication.
What Should I Do to Maintain My Results after Liposuction?
You’ll love your slimmer, contoured areas where Dr. Kimmel has performed liposuction. And it’s easy to keep them that way by adopting a great nutritional diet long on fruits, vegetables, and proteins, and short on fast food; by making exercise and movement a regular part of your life; and by just getting out there and off the couch. You can’t stop the march of time, but you can fight it.
When Can I Resume Exercising after Liposuction?
The methods used by Dr. Kimmel significantly decrease recovery times over those used just five or so years ago. Still, you’ll have some limitations. You’ll be able to perform light physical activity just one or two days after your procedure. This includes easy walking. Think of maybe 25 percent of your usual pace and intensity.
Light aerobic exercise can start two days after your liposuction, but you’ll need to wait three weeks or so to return to higher impact aerobic activities such as running. Resistance exercise can begin the second week after surgery. Listen to your body and see how it reacts. What you can tolerate is also dependent upon the area or areas you had treated.
Dr. Kimmel will discuss timelines with you during your consultation and after your liposuction is complete.
How Does Liposuction Differ from a Tummy Tuck?
Tummy tucks and liposuction often target the lower abdomen, but they are dramatically different procedures. When a patient has one procedure versus the other often comes down to the elasticity of the skin on the abdomen.
A tummy tuck involves one or two incisions. The first incision stretches from hipbone to hipbone, dipping down so that the scar can be covered by underwear or a bikini bottom. The skin is separated from the underlying muscles and support tissue. Often the stomach muscles have become separated, especially when a woman has been pregnant and had a child or children. These muscles are brought back to the center and sutured together. This slims the contour. Then the skin is pulled downward and excess, sagging skin is trimmed. The incision is then closed. For a full tummy tuck, a second incision is made through the navel or adjacent to it. This allows for similar attention to be given to the area above the navel. Tummy tucks involve large scars and lengthy recovery periods.
Liposuction, although technically still surgery, is almost non-invasive in comparison. The incisions used to introduce the cannula to suction out the fat are tiny and usually don’t even require stitches. Liposuction removes pockets of unwanted fat but doesn’t address separated muscles. It also doesn’t trim away excess sagging skin.
Liposuction is great for patients who only have minimal sagging skin because the skin will need to tighten down to the new slimmer contours. Tummy tucks are better procedures for patients with lots of sagging skin and possibly separated muscles in the abdomen.
Does liposuction produce visible scars? If so, will they fade?
Liposuction has advanced technologically over the 30+ years it has been performed in the U.S. Today, the cannulas used are much smaller, making the incisions necessary to insert them much smaller as well. There may be tiny scars at these insertion points, but they will be barely noticeable, and they will fade to being mostly invisible over time.
What are the risks involved with the procedure?
Liposuction involves the typical risks involved with surgery, such as bleeding, infection, and reaction to the anesthetic, but these are rare with modern liposuction. Complications specific to liposuction are:
- Contour irregularities – The treated area can appear bumpy or wavy. If the patient has inelastic skin, this is more prevalent.
- Numbness – Any numbness in the area is usually temporary, but it can endure.
- Fluid accumulation – Temporary pockets of fluid (called seromas) can form. These may need to be drained.
Overall, liposuction with Dr. Kimmel has proven to be a safe and very satisfying procedure for his patients.
What is a realistic expectation for weight loss with liposuction?
It’s important to not view liposuction as a weight-loss procedure. Liposuction with Dr. Kimmel is a body-contouring procedure intended to remove stubborn pockets of fat in areas such as the lower abdomen and the flanks. Still, there will be fat removed, and if you maintain a healthy lifestyle afterward the pounds removed should stay off. The fat removed in a single liposuction procedure is usually in the 4-5 pound range. Immediately after your procedure, however, you will actually likely weigh more due to the tumescent solution that is injected and the slight swelling that will occur.
Liposuction Before & After
What If I Regain Weight After Liposuction?
Liposuction with Dr. Kimmel should not be considered a repeat event. Patients should have liposuction to remove stubborn pockets of fat once. It shouldn’t be viewed as carte blanche to gain whatever weight you want and go have another round of liposuction. To get the most out of your procedure, you need to adopt healthy eating habits and make exercise a part of your lifestyle. If you do that, you’ll enjoy your slimmer contour for the rest of your life.
Call Dr. Kimmel For Liposuction In Hazleton & Pottsville, PA!
To book a consultation with Dr. Kimmel, please give us a call or submit an online contact form through our website. You can reach our Pottsville office by dialing 570.622.2900, and our Hazleton office by dialing 570.455.4252. At the Keystone Cosmetic Surgery Center, we will answer your questions and provide you with the medical care and guidance you deserve.
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