One of the most problematic areas to treat are the excessive fat deposits of the outer thighs. These are the pockets of fat found in the hip, buttock, and thighs and may persist even after rigorous exercise and a healthy diet.  Also known as “saddle bags,” this area defines the width of the lower half of the body. Many patients who come in for outer thigh liposuction are not particularly overweight, but have thighs that are disproportionate to the rest of the body. Fortunately, even the slightest contouring of the outer thighs can make significant improvements to a woman’s silhouette. When done properly, outer thigh liposuction can slim the thighs and give the buttocks a smaller, rounder shape.  Particularly with outer thigh liposuction, I can choose to remove more fat in this area, because the skin is thicker. Technique-wise, it is important to approach this area vertically, otherwise horizontal bands can result and cause a rippling look to the skin. The surgeon must be careful to not be overly aggressive otherwise a masculine or indented shape may result. It is extremely important to pay attention to symmetry in this area, as it defines the feminine silhouette.

If routine exercise and a healthy diet still do not minimize the appearance of saddle bags, liposuction may be the only solution to contour the outer thighs and create a toned, more proportionate appearance. Dr. David Amron provides outer thigh liposuction for women who are frustrated or embarrassed by their legs. In no time, your saddle bags will be a thing of the past and you will be able to wear shorts or a bathing suit in confidence.

A recent study has determined that liposuction has beat out breast augmentation to become the most common type of plastic surgery in the United States.  The study, by The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) also revealed that more plastic surgery procedures are performed in the United States than any other country.

Liposuction today makes up 18.8 percent of plastic surgery procedures in the United States, followed by breast augmentation with 17 percent, and eyelid lifts with 13.5 percent.

ISAPS says that for the past 10 years, breast augmentation was the most popular plastic surgery procedure, but in 2009, liposuction procedures boomed across the nation.

With the rising popularity of liposuction, it is important to discuss common misconceptions and possible risks regarding the procedure to ensure the best possible outcome. As obesity becomes one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States, many people may opt for surgical alternatives for weight loss. Liposuction, however, is not intended for weight loss. Rather, it is a procedure to restore proportion in the body through removal of fat in localized areas. Those seeking a quick and easy way to lose weight may end up with disproportion and may require revision liposuction to reverse the effects.

By being candid with the surgeon about your procedure and by doing research on liposuction and surgeons, you can achieve optimal results. Remember, liposuction is not a quick fix for weight loss and cannot replace diet and exercise.

Liposuction in Beverly Hills has become an increasingly common procedure. Although it is not a quick fix for weight loss and it is definitely not a replacement for a healthy lifestyle, liposuction in Beverly Hills allows patients to reduce stubborn fat areas, sculpt their bodies and regain self-confidence. Liposuction is about balancing the proportion of the body as well as removing genetically disproportionate areas of fat storage.

Dr. David Amron will begin with an initial consultation to determine whether you are a good candidate for liposuction in Beverly Hills. Liposuction is not a procedure reserved only for the overweight, and not all overweight patients are good candidates. A person who has a thin build can be an excellent candidate if he or she is disproportionate. If the patient diets and exercises and still has stubborn areas that do not go away, e.g., the love handles, thighs, or abdominal fat, then liposuction may be an option. Dr. Amron is strongly against performing surgery on a person who is simply overweight but is proportionate, as it can yield undesirable results.

Most patients report feeling a pinching sensation during the surgery. The surgery is not about removing all the fat in the treated area. Rather, the doctor will shape and sculpt the body to look more proportional to the body. Too much fat removal can cause the body to look distorted.

After liposuction in Beverly Hills, the patient is awake and able to move around. Doctors, like Dr. Amron, will ask the patient to take a two mile walk the day following the surgery to increase blood flow and speed healing. In addition, the patient will need to wear compression garments, which will reduce swelling and also speed healing. Most patients are able to return to work in a couple of days and get back to their normal exercise routine within a week.

Swelling and bruising will start to subside within a few days, with full results visible in six to twelve months. If the patient gains weight, the weight will not distribute on the treated area as fat cells have been removed.

During most liposuction procedures, I remove anywhere between 1L and 2.5L of fat. This equates to approximately 2 ½ pounds to 6 pounds of fat but bear in mind that we are talking about pure fat from localized areas. This does not equate to 2 ½ to 6 pounds of weight loss as the patient would have to lose significantly much more to remove 2 ½ to 6 pounds from localized areas. There are many cases when I’m simply removing 300 to 400 cc of fat which can make a huge difference in terms of improving a patient’s contour. The safe upper limit of fat is 5L at any one time which is 12 ½ pounds of pure fat. Most patients want as much fat removed as possible during liposuction, but this is not the important thing. What is most important is the right amount is removed from the right areas in the correct way to achieve a beautiful result.

It is important that your liposuction surgeon is not too aggressive during the procedure. Patients nor doctors should not view liposuction surgery as a procedure to remove as much as possible, but as a technique to remove as much fat required to achieve a proportional and desired end result. Swelling post-liposuction is typical after the surgery and the final outcome will not surface until at least 6-12 months.

There are two ways to approach the abdomen through abdominal liposuction, through the central abdomen and through the upper, lower abdomen, waist and flanks. The central abdomen consists of the upper and lower abdomen, and they need to be done as a unit to ensure evenness and tightness. When doing abdominal liposuction at his Beverly Hills office, Dr. Amron achieves the best result by evaluating his patients carefully. For instance, with patients with less skin elasticity, he approaches the deeper fat levels to avoid jabbing the skin, which may cause irregularities and dimpling. Irregularities can also be avoided by making more than one incision point, which promotes evenness.  The second area includes the waist and flanks. It is important to define the waist and not just tighten the abdominals. This waist sculpting provides a perfect example of why tumescent procedures where the patient is awake are more desirable. The patient can position themselves in an optimal way to allow the surgeon to sculpt perfectly. In regards to pregnancies and liposuction, Dr. Amron prefers to do abdominal liposuction in Los Angeles prior to pregnancy to capitalize on better skin elasticity.

With regard to drinking alcohol prior to liposuction, you will get different guidelines by different surgeons. The common answer is you should avoid any blood-thinning substances such as aspirin, Advil, vitamin E or alcohol for two weeks prior to surgery.

In my practice, I tell patients to avoid aspirin for two weeks prior to liposuction surgery. Regarding alcohol consumption, my recommendation is to cease drinking alcohol for two days before the surgery.

The reason you want to avoid blood-thinning substances is that it prevents excessive bleeding and thus, bruising post-surgery. It means a more comfortable and faster healing time.

Regarding birth control, I do not ask for my patients to stop their birth control pill routine. Because birth control can affect clot formation, surgeons will sometimes ask patients to stop taking the pills before going under general anesthesia. However, with pure tumescent liposuction under local anesthesia, the clot formation risk is greatly reduced. These patients are allowed to move on the table and walk around almost immediately after surgery, reducing the risk of clots.

Again, it depends on your surgery, anesthesia, health history and your surgeon’s recommendations.

This is a common perception that the fat comes back in areas and it is debatable. However, I feel that the fat tissue itself that you removed from liposuction surgery, if it is removed properly, does not come back in that area. If there is fullness occurring in that area after liposuction, it is usually from it being not removed enough or possibly fullness occurring for other reasons. Let’s take the abdomen for example. Many times patients feel there is still fat remaining because their abdomen is so full after liposuction surgery and it could be due to the fact that there is intra-abdominal fullness with fat around the viscera or organs that cannot be targeted with liposuction surgery or that the patient maybe has lost muscle tone and fullness that has occurred because of reduced muscle tone in that area and they’re confusing this with fat. It is something that I call flab which is just loose tissue and it’s not necessarily fat returning after liposuction.

There are a variety of ways of placing the incisions in the skin with liposuction surgery. To begin with, where the liposuction incisions are placed strategically is an extremely important point in terms of optimizing a result. It is nice to be able to hide the incisions but usually, if they’re done properly, they heal beautifully and are essentially unnoticeable. For this reason the liposuction surgeon should not compromise the result of an area by only trying to hide the incisions in places that may not be the best strategic places to achieve the best result. To give an example of this, there are many surgeons that prefer the belly button incision for their abdominal liposuction surgery. I find that this is one of the worst places to place an incision to get an even result in the abdomen and it is better to approach the abdomen from outside the periphery of where the liposuction surgery is being done to get an even, smooth complete result. The different types of incisions are a small linear incision in the skin, usually 2 to 3 mm in the skin, which is what I prefer, placed in a direction that is along what we call the natural skin tension lines which usually heal imperceptibly. Some surgeons make a crisscross cut in the skin which I find tends to leave a more noticeable mark and some surgeons prefer to cut small holes in the skin called audits. But once again if the liposuction incisions are small and done properly, with respect to the scars they usually heal imperceptibly. In patients that are more pigment prone such as darker skin patients, the worst thing that usually happens is a slight discoloration for several weeks or months which usually lightens up with either lightening creams or laser treatment.

There are differing opinions regarding exercising after liposuction, and recommendations vary from doctor to doctor. Generally, I believe in as much activity as possible after liposuction. I find that it actually tends to promote the healing, reduces swelling and is fine for the patient. I want my patients walking the day liposuction is done and I instruct them to take a two mile walk the day after surgery. Typically, patients can go back to work two days after the procedure. But, with regards to exercise, I tell them to use common sense and to do what feels ok; which can varies from patient to patient. If you are going to go back into a gym and do some exercise, be it sit-ups or weights, and it hurts, or is still very sore, then I would advise you to wait several days or possibly even a couple weeks until going back to the gym. I do not feel that working out is going to adversely affect the results. It would just temporarily cause more swelling. My feelings are that there is really very little if anything after liposuction from an exercise or weight training standpoint that can permanently affect the results. Usually the majority of my liposuction patients, waiting a few days or a couple of weeks is sufficient to get back to your regular workout routine.

If you have any questions regarding exercising post-liposuction, contact me at my Beverly Hills office and I will be more than happy to discuss this with you.

Each surgeon has his or her preference and philosophy in regards to wearing compression garments after a liposuction procedure. Dr. David Amron prefers his post-liposuction patients wear compression garments full-time, 24 hours a day, for the first 10 days, followed by 12 to 16 hours a day for the subsequent 10 days. After these 10 days, it may not be necessary to continue wearing them. The purpose of wearing a compression garment after your liposuction procedure is to allow it to heal and to minimize chances of swelling during the recovery process. During his patient consultation before and after liposuction in Los Angeles, Dr. David Amron will discuss the benefits to wearing a compression garment and would strongly advise you to wear a compression garment after the surgery. In the first 24 to 48 hours, it does help to reduce any bleeding and decrease bruising.

Thereafter, wearing a compression garment does give support to the skin and allow it to adhere in a better way during that process where the skin is settling back. With regards to taping, Dr. David Amron has never used taping when he performs liposuction in Los Angeles. Some surgeons prefer to use them, but Dr. Amron does not believe taping will help the area retract any more efficiently. In most cases, simply wearing the compression garment is sufficient in allowing the area to heal post-liposuction.