There are lots of reasons why people desire a flatter stomach these days, and cosmetic surgery offers a range of options for you to consider. Two of the most popular procedures done by Dr. Mark A. Schusterman are liposuction and abdominoplasty (tummy tucks).
But whether you’re a new mother seeking to reshape your midsection after childbirth or someone who has lost a lot of weight but has been left with an excess of abdominal skin, you probably want to know which procedure is best for you. Let’s try answering these three questions to see which treatment most suits your needs.
Do You Simply Want to Remove Excess Fat?
When stubborn pockets of body fat are proving too hard to eliminate through exercise or diet, the best choice of treatment is often liposuction. Perfect for spot reduction, Houston lipoplasty will remove fat cells in just one procedure and can be applied to numerous parts of your body, including your hips, thighs, back, legs and buttocks.
Although liposuction is a surgical procedure, the time it takes to recover from a typical operation is relatively short, and far less complicated than many other cosmetic interventions. The vast majority of patients will be back to work within days and typically have made a full recovery only a couple of weeks later.
Do You Have Concerns Over Loose Skin or Issues Surrounding Stretched Abdominal Muscles (Especially After Childbirth)?
Excessively loose skin can be a problem for individuals who have lost significant amounts of weight through dieting or for new mothers after they have given birth. In these instances, liposuction on its own is often not enough to rectify these issues. Additionally, some patients may have weakened or stretched abdominal muscles that need to be tightened — again, something that liposuction is not intended to treat.
Fortunately, a tummy tuck, or “abdominoplasty,” is a treatment intended to alleviate these symptoms and ultimately restore the firmness and shape to your stomach region once again.
In contrast to liposuction, abdominoplasty is a more invasive procedure and will leave more significant scarring after your operation. It will also take longer to recovery after a tummy tuck — usually a matter of months, rather than weeks. However, a tummy tuck is much more effective for removing excessive skin and prominent stretch marks, and in combination with liposuction is often the preferred choice for those requiring post-childbirth abdominal remodeling.
Do You Just Need to Lose Weight?
Despite some very common perceptions to the contrary, liposuction and tummy tucks are not particularly effective for those needing to lose significant amounts of weight. Body contouring interventions like liposuction will not result in a large loss of fat tissue from your body and will certainly not rival the amount of fat that can be lost simply through a sensible diet and exercise plan.
As mentioned above, liposuction is excellent for those difficult-to-remove deposits of fat that often hang around despite your best efforts to remove them. If you’re at the start of your fat-loss journey, stick with diet and exercise until you’re within about 10 percent of your desired body weight, then reassess your cosmetic options at a more appropriate time.
So, to summarize:
- Liposuction is perfect for spot-reducing body fat.
- Tummy tucks are great for those with excess skin and impaired abdominal muscles.
- Liposuction is less invasive than abdominoplasty.
- Liposuction and abdominoplasty can be combined in the same procedure.
- Weight loss is best dealt with via diet, exercise and lifestyle changes.
If you’d like further information on these and other treatments, please visit us today at alwaysyouthful.com to find out more.
