Dr. Hootan Daneshmand
Body Contouring in Bakersfield, CA
Body Contouring Orange County
Did you know that Americans spent approximately $247 million on body contouring in 2016? Plastic surgery can build body confidence in both men and women. Additionally, plastic surgery can help patients reach their desired weight and shape. But understanding fat reduction is crucial before undergoing any treatment, surgical or nonsurgical. If you think body contouring or body sculpting is right for you, call an Orange County plastic surgeon at the Silhouette Plastic Surgery Institute at 949-359-8397.
What is Body Contouring?
Body contouring is also called body sculpting. Body contouring or body sculpting procedures can benefit patients by removing excess skin, getting rid of excess fat cells, and reshaping a part of the body that a patient may not like. It’s important to note that most body contouring procedures aren’t a weight loss solution. Instead, it shapes specific parts of the body and eliminates stubborn fat that doesn’t respond to diet and exercise.
Types of Body Sculpting
There are many types of surgical and nonsurgical body contouring procedures that patients can choose from. Nonsurgical body sculpting is minimally invasive, while surgical body sculpting is not.
Non-Surgical Body Contouring
Non-surgical fat reduction treatments are also called lipolysis. There are several different lipolysis procedures to choose from, depending on your aesthetic plastic surgery goals and budget.
- Cryolipolysis, also called CoolSculpting, kills excess fat cells with extremely cold temperatures.
- Injection Lipolysis is a nonsurgical fat reduction procedure that kills fat cells with deoxycholic acid.
- Laser Lipolysis kills fat cells with lasers.
- Radiofrequency Lipolysis, also called TruSculpt, targets stubborn fat pockets with ultrasound waves and heat.
Surgical Body Contouring
Instead of destroying fat cells like nonsurgical fat reduction procedures do, skin removal surgery physically removes loose skin and fat. The most common surgical procedures include:
- Tummy Tucks and Lifts literally remove unwanted fat and skin. Common examples of lifts include a facelift, a thigh lift, and a breast lift.
- Liposuction sucks out excess fat cells in the abdomen, thighs, buttocks, and other body parts. To achieve a sculpted look across the entire body, many people opt for Lipo 360, which covers several areas at once.
- Hip Dip Surgery is a good option for those who have been searching for a way to get rid of hip dips-not love handles. This can be done through fat grafting, BBL surgery or various other methods of body contouring.
Am I a Good Candidate for Surgical or Nonsurgical Fat Reduction Procedures?
Before undergoing surgical or nonsurgical fat reduction treatments, it’s important to talk with your doctor about whether or not the procedure would benefit you. Surgical or nonsurgical body sculpting may benefit you if you:
- Have lots of loose skin from significant weight loss
- Are struggling to reduce fat and lose weight in specific areas of the body
- Have wrinkled and sagging skin from aging
- Are already prioritizing exercise and a healthy diet to maintain an ideal weight
- Don’t smoke
- Don’t have major health conditions
- Are a healthy weight/BMI
Parts of the Body That Frequently Undergo Body Contouring
Almost any part of the body can undergo surgical or nonsurgical body sculpting procedures. The most common body parts that undergo liposuction and other methods include:
- Abdomen
- Love handles
- Buttocks
- Arms
- Thighs
- Back
- Chin and neck
How Surgical Body Contouring Procedures Work
Liposuction and other tucks and lifts generally last much longer than nonsurgical treatments. Depending on which procedure you choose, your plastic surgeons may:
- Write on your skin with markers before the procedure
- Give you local or general anesthesia
- Make multiple incisions
- Remove excess fat or reposition the fat, but only if you’re doing a tuck or lift procedure
- Suck out fat cells, but only if you’re doing liposuction
- Tighten skin and muscles, especially in the stomach area
- Sew up incisions
- Bandage the incisions
How Non-Surgical Body Contouring Procedures Work
Lipolysis procedures, like injection lipolysis, generally take 30 minutes to an hour. During these procedures, your doctor may:
- Give you a gown to wear during the procedure
- Ask you to lay a certain way on a table
- Write on your skin with markers
- Inject deoxycholic acid into a specific area in order to destroy fat cells (only if you chose injection lipolysis)
- Use a paddle or a wand to target fat cells with lasers, ultrasound waves, or freezing temperatures, depending on which noninvasive treatment you chose
What to Do After Body Contouring Procedures
Your after-care instructions will vary depending on the treatment you chose. Generally, your doctor will tell you to do this once you get home:
- Avoid intense exercise for a couple of weeks, but prioritize light movement in order to prevent blood clots
- Rest as much as you can, especially if you had surgery
- Avoid sun exposure
- Change your bandages frequently
- Keep your drains clean (if you had surgery)
- Take NSAIDs for pain
- Use specific ointments to prevent drain or incision infection
Body Sculpting Benefits
There are many benefits to various body contouring, including:
- More aesthetically pleasing body shape
- Appearing thinner and younger
- Increased confidence about body image
- Smoother skin
As stated previously, while these treatments may provide minimal short-term fat loss in various areas, they are not long-term weight loss solutions. Only a healthy lifestyle can lead to long-term weight loss and weight management. To learn more about the weight loss solutions we offer, consult with your doctor about gastric bypass surgery.
Body Sculpting Risks
Every type of surgery and treatment comes with its own set of risks. Listed below are the most common risks that can result from surgical and nonsurgical fat reduction treatments.
- Both sides of the body don’t look the same
- Excess bleeding
- Blood clots
- Loss of hair around surgical sites
- Blood vessel, nerve, muscle, or organ damage
- Improperly healed incisions
- Infection
- Weakness, numbness, or tingling from nerve damage
- Pain that lasts too long following surgery
- Heart or lung issues
- Scarring
- Skin discoloration or redness
- Skin rash
- Unfavorable results that could lead to revision surgery
- Long-term swelling
- Hives on the skin
Symptoms like fever, chest pain, dizziness, excess bleeding, nausea, and vomiting generally indicate a medical emergency. If you experience those symptoms following liposuction or a lipolysis treatment, go to the emergency room.
What is the Recovery Time for Body Contouring?
Body contouring surgery, such as liposuction, will require a much longer healing process compared to a minimally invasive treatment like radiofrequency lipolysis. Surgery patients can expect to recover within a few weeks, but swelling generally takes months to fully go down. Meanwhile, lipolysis patients generally recover within a few days with minimal soreness.
When Will I See Results From Body Contouring Procedures?
The answer to this question depends on whether you chose surgical or nonsurgical body contouring. Surgery generally produces immediate, noticeable results once the swelling goes down and the incisions heal. Meanwhile, non invasive procedures like Cool Sculpting will generally produce gradual results over the course of several sessions.
Surgical vs. Nonsurgical Body Contouring Cost
Treatment costs vary from clinic to clinic. But a nonsurgical treatment will generally be more affordable than surgery. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost of nonsurgical body sculpting was $1,681 in 2016. Meanwhile, the same source claims that the average cost of surgical procedures for fat reduction was $3,200 in 2016. It’s important to note that most health insurance companies won’t cover plastic surgery treatments because they’re voluntary.
Call Silhouette Plastic Surgery Today
At Silhouette Plastic Surgery Institute, we want you to have the body of your dreams, without the stubborn fat deposits. We offer more than just fat reduction procedures. We also provide double chin reductions, neck contouring, breast reductions, and so much more to give you the body shape you want. To schedule an appointment with us, call 949-359-8397 today.