Welcome to the San Diego Liposuction Center
Modern era of liposuction plastic surgery in San Diego, CA
Liposuction VS. Liposculpture
Liposuction should be more than just about removing fat cells and fat. Liposculpture is a form of liposuction. They are often used synonymously, but Liposuction strictly means to remove fat cells from a certain area by debulking large areas of fat. On the other hand, liposculpture is a technique designed to sculpt the body. A good example of liposculpture would be where the surgeon carves out the waist to provied a woman with a very defined waistline with a sexy hourglass curve or and defining the rectus abdominis muscle to reveal the "6 pack" or "washboard abs".
Despite the nuance of liposuction vs. liposculpture, a plastic surgeon should always have the overall cosmetic outcome as a priority. Taking out the maximum amounts of fat does not often equate to maximal aesthetic results. A real expert surgeon in liposuction knows that the body needs to be treated as a whole. Blending adjacent areas is important for a natural symmetrical and balanced appearance.
In our accredited Beverly Hills office we always mark the areas to be treated on our patients while they are standing..... before they even go back to the OR to prepare for their procedure. This allows us to see how the body naturally falls with regard to the fat and the skin.
SmartlipoTM Treatment VS. Liposuction
Using the laser device with SmartlipoTM further smooths treatment areas providing a more natural look. It also will tighten the skin so that the patient will defintely have less loose skin after the procedure than before the procedure. The laser also cauterizes the tissues to reduce any excessive bleeding and so speeds up healing and recovery.
It is rare that a cosmetic doctor would perform SmartlipoTM by itself unles skin tightening was the main goal. The laser can melt an ice cube size piece of fat in about 20 minutes so it is impractical for reducing large areas of fat. However, after liposuction to reduce the large volumes of fat is completed the laser is used to finely detail the area and to improve the ultimate results and to speed up recovery as well as reduce potential side effects.
The combination of the two procedures together makes a dynamic combo that has had a 94% patient satisfaction rate since 2007. By adding the laser lipo to the micro-liposuction we can increase the overall quality of the procedure to its highest level obtainable by today's science.
Even the ever elusive cellulite treatment is now available with the new laser technology. Patients can see dramatic results with just one treatment. No more wasted time and money on creams and other treatments that don't work. See for yourself how you can use SmartlipoTM as your ultimate cellulite treatment option.
What Can Be Treated
Liposuction with or without SmartlipoTM can be used to treat many areas of the body and face. Generally, 3-4 areas can be treated in the average patient in 1 liposuction/SmartlipoTM session which would cover the abdomen, love handles and flanks.
The California state recommendation (not absolute limit) of 5 liters may be a imiting factor if the patient has very large areas of fat (BMI >30). However, often the amount of local anesthetic of lidocaine tumescent solution to anesthetize the areas becomes the limiting factor.
Since you want to stay under 55 mg/kg lidocaine concentration; and on a thin patient, it still takes a lot of lidocaine to anesthetize multiple areas, so you may only get 2 liters of fat out and still maxed out the anesthesthetic dose. Whereas a large patient may get 6 liters of fat out of the abdomen alone and still be under the lidocaine maximum. Your doctor will be able to let you know what is safe for your body size and number of areas to be liposuctioned.
It is better to be safe and do 5-6 areas over 2 surgeries about a week apart than to try to overdo it all in only 1 surgery. There will be an extra charge if your procedure needs to be spread across 2 days.