What Areas Can Be Treated With Liposuction?

You make healthy food choices, work out five times per week and still have pockets of excess fat in places that bother you. You’re at a healthy weight for your height and you have been for months if not years. Since you can’t spot-reduce fat and you don’t have too much excess fat to burn anyway, you may need liposuction at Old Town Med Spa in Chicago, IL. Today, we’re taking a brief look at where it can be used, who it’s right for, and more.

Which Areas Can Be Treated With Liposuction?

Liposuction is a fat removal procedure that has been around since the 1970s, first tested by A. and G. Fischer. Today, it is the most commonly performed aesthetic procedure in the West. This highly effective fat removal procedure can remove fat from virtually anywhere, and can help address pockets of excess fat that won’t respond to a healthy diet and regular exercise. A good general rule of thumb is that you need at least an inch of pinchable fat to be considered a good candidate for the procedure. For this reason, it was most commonly used to remove excess fat from larger regions of the body, like the upper and lower abdomen. However, incredible advances in techniques make this procedure more versatile than ever. It can easily be used to remove excess fat from the:

• Chest
• Lower back
• Bra line
• Chin
• Neck
• Inner and outer thighs
• Hips
• Upper arms

Who Is the Ideal Candidate for This Procedure?

During your initial consultation, we will review your medical history, assess your current health and advise you regarding whether you are a good candidate for this procedure. To be considered a good candidate for this procedure, you must be neither pregnant nor nursing. Since nursing takes such a massive toll on the body, it is recommended that you wait at least six months after you have stopped nursing to consider this procedure. You must also be in fairly good health. This procedure is most commonly performed under general anesthesia, meaning that your heart and lungs must be strong and healthy. If there are any questions or concerns about the health of your heart and lungs, diagnostic tests can be administered. Finally, to be considered a good candidate for this procedure, you should have fairly elastic skin and realistic expectations about the results. It is also good for surgical liposuction candidates to have some sort of support network around them to help them as they recover from this procedure. You may wish to arrange for a friend or family member to come and stay with you in the first few days after surgery to make things easier for you if you are experiencing any tenderness.

What Results Can I Expect?

After a single session that usually lasts between two and four hours, you can expect the permanent removal of roughly 30% of localized fat cells. During your initial consultation, we will assess your body fat distribution in the targeted areas and give you a better idea of how much fat loss you can expect. If you’re at your goal weight and targeting a large area, like your abdomen, you may only lose 26% of localized fat cells. Contrastingly, if you are 29 pounds from your goal weight and are targetting a smaller area, like your underarms, the backs of your knees or the area under your chin, you can expect to lose closer to 80% of the localized fat cells.

How Much Weight Can I Expect to Lose?

How much weight you can expect to lose depends on a multitude of factors, including how much you weigh, how much excess fat you are carrying in your targeted areas, the size of the areas being treated and how many areas are being treated. Men tend to lose five liters, or 11 pounds, of fat during this procedure. Women tend to be smaller than men and may only lose nine or 10 pounds of fat. It’s important to understand that this is a fat removal procedure, not a weight loss procedure. Weight loss procedures, also known as bariatric procedures, are procedures designed to facilitate massive, rapid weight loss by shrinking the stomach. This procedure isn’t designed to help you lose weight, it’s designed to remove excess white fat cells in healthy adults who are at or near their ideal weight and body composition.

How Many Inches Can I Expect to Lose With This Procedure?

How many inches you can expect to lose with this procedure, again, depends on how much excess fat you were carrying in the treatment area. Men and women who are at or within 10 pounds of their goal weight may lose only one clothing size, but healthy adults who are a bit further from their ideal weight can easily lose two sizes, or four inches, from their waist. Keep in mind, two to four inches of circumference reduction is only realistic when targeting large areas, like your buttocks, abdomen, chest or back. If you’re targeting your underarms, you shouldn’t expect to lose several inches of fat, but you will lose around 80% of the localized fat cells, so you will be satisfied with the results of the procedure.

How Long Will My Improved Contours Last?

Although the removal of the localized white fat cells is permanent, you will only maintain your improved contours for as long as you can roughly maintain your weight. Remember, this procedure does not remove every white fat cell in the treated area. When you consume calories in excess, the extra energy is stored in your remaining fat cells. Depending on genetics and a couple of other factors, you may store extra energy in the treated areas. To ensure permanent results, we recommend maintaining your fat mass. In other words, it’s okay to put on muscle mass, but if you put on over 10 pounds of fat, you will probably start to see your contours change. If you’ve lost and gained weight several times throughout your life, we recommend that you talk to a licensed nutritionist to help you develop meal plans you can stick to for life that will help you achieve and maintain your aesthetic goals.

Why Come to Old Town Med Spa?

When it comes to finding the right surgeon to sculpt your ideal body, you need someone with a top-tier education, years of experience and an eye for art. At Old Town Med Spa, all our surgeons are renowned for their attention to detail and the quality of their results. All of our medical personnel are carefully selected for their skills, and their commitment to excellent service and patient care. In addition, each of our surgeons have over a decade of providing the best medical care to clients, performing thousands of aesthetic procedures and delivering great results.

How Should I Prepare for This Procedure?

We will advise you regarding how you should prepare for this procedure during your initial consultation. To summarize succinctly, you must ensure you are as healthy as possible for your procedure and you must avoid taking any medications or supplements that have the potential to cause contraindications with the anesthesia. Here are a few things you should do:

Watch Your Sodium Intake

In the two weeks leading up to your procedure, you should closely monitor your intake of sodium. If you consume too much sodium, you may elevate your blood pressure to the point that it no longer falls within a healthy range. If you have naturally low blood pressure, it is safe to consume up to three grams of sodium daily. If you have normal blood pressure, consume no more than 2,000 mg daily, and consume a maximum of a gram daily if you have high blood pressure. To ensure that you’re not consuming too much sodium, read the labels on everything you eat or drink and keep a log. It’s okay if you don’t have an exact measurement of the portion sizes. If you’re unsure if your blood pressure is too high due to your diet, buy an at-home blood pressure monitor. If you don’t want to track your sodium intake, stay away from processed foods and beverages in the 14 days leading up to your procedure.

Watch Your Caffeine Intake

Another critical step you must take in ensuring your blood pressure is normal on the day of your procedure is to watch your caffeine intake. As a good general rule of thumb, you should consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine if you are a male. Consume no more than 200 mg of caffeine daily if you are a female. Again, read the labels on foods, drinks and medications you consume in the two weeks before your procedure. The amount of caffeine in different types of tea, coffee or energy drinks varies widely. Furthermore, you may be surprised by the amount of caffeine in a couple of servings of dark chocolate or pain medications.

Don’t Take NSAIDs

It is absolutely crucial that you do not take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the 14 days leading up to your procedure. NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, can thin the blood. This is not ideal during any procedure. If you feel any discomfort in the two weeks leading up to your procedure, take Tylenol (acetaminophen). Other medications that can thin your blood include Warfarin and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). MAOIs are medications designed to treat depression, but they can also be prescribed for such conditions as social phobia and panic disorder. If you are taking an MAOI, ask your psychiatrist if it is safe for you to stop taking your medication for a couple of weeks. If you feel like you can’t function without your prescription, see if you can take an alternative.

Drink Plenty of Water

Studies show that an astonishing 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. It is absolutely crucial that you are hydrated when you come in for your procedure because water is lost when the white fat cells are suctioned out of your body. We recommend drinking at least half a gallon of water daily for two weeks.

Request an Appointment Now

If you eat mindfully and exercise regularly, but you still have pockets of stubborn fat, you may be a good candidate for liposuction. If you’d like to learn more about this procedure, call our office today at Old Town Med Spa in Chicago, IL. We speak fluent English, Spanish, Russian and Arabic so you can communicate your goals clearly and we can identify the best plan for you. Our passion is helping our clients restore their self-confidence after weight fluctuations, or achieve a level of self-confidence that they have never felt before. We promise when you walk through the door the first time, you will be welcomed like family. See you soon!