Excellence in Liposuction

Joseph T Cruise, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon located in Orange County, CA. He has been practicing cosmetic surgery for over ten years. This experience means he knows what most concerns patients, so in these pages, he has taken the time to address the most important information, such as:

• What are the different types of liposuction?
  Learn the basics about the differences between procedures
  – Power assisted liposuction (PAL)
  – Ultrasonic assisted liposuction (UAL)
  – Tumescent liposuction (Wet liposuction)
  – Laser Assisted liposuction (SmartLipo™)
• Am I a good candidate for liposuction?
  What are the different areas that can receive liposuction? What are the results? How long do they last?
• Liposuction compression garments
  What works, what doesn’t, and why
• Is liposuction safe?
  What are some of the potential complications and risks? What will recovery be like?
• How affordable is liposuction?
  What kind of financing is available?

Liposuction of flanks on a 40 year-old male

Overview of Liposuction Surgery

In the last few years, liposuction has become one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures. Many people complain of areas of fat on their bodies that simply will not go away, no matter how much they diet and exercise. Both men and women experience this problem, although for men fat tends to accumulate in the abdomen and the lower back (“love handles”), while for women hips, thighs, buttocks, and sometimes the abs seem to carry the most weight.

Liposuction can be a permanent solution to this concern – it works well to remove fat from these areas of the body, without the threat of the fat coming back, and can be performed on more than one area simultaneously.

Weight and Body Shape Concerns

Liposuction is a permanent treatment because after adolescence, the body loses the ability to make new fat cells, so fat that is removed is gone forever. Cells that are not removed can still expand, and it is important for patients to continue to eat a nutritious diet and exercise regularly in order to prevent new weight gain.

Weight gained in areas that don’t receive liposuction can create a disproportionate body shape. Joseph T Cruise, MD specializes in body contouring that creates a minimal need for additional liposuction, but patients should be aware that other cosmetic surgery procedures, weight loss, or abdominoplasty may be necessary in order to achieve their ultimate desired results.

Some people are not good candidates for liposuction, especially people who are more than 40 pounds over the healthy weight for their height. At his Newport Beach office, Joseph T Cruise, MD meets with each patient individually to determine whether or not liposuction is the appropriate cosmetic surgery to address their concerns and body type.

Cellulite is one of the biggest patient concerns that Joseph T Cruise, MD hears about, and although all liposuction procedures (especially ultrasonic liposuction) have some success with treating it, no treatment can completely eradicate this common complaint.

People with healthy, elastic skin see the best results from liposuction. Skin needs to shrink to accommodate a patient’s new, smaller body size, and people with damaged or less elastic skin may find they are left with excess skin after their surgery. Some people find that having excess skin removed will give them the results they’re looking for, and choose to have an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) in addition to liposuction.

Any area of localized fat is corrected with liposuction, but there are some places that don’t respond as well to it, such as the arms, breasts, calves, knees, and under the chin. The most dramatic liposuction results for both men and women occur around the midsection and back, and in the thighs, hips, and buttocks. See these results in Joseph T Cruise, MD’s gallery of before and after liposuction photos.

Liposuction Procedures

Below are the most common liposuction procedures:

– Power assisted liposuction (PAL)
– Ultrasonic assisted liposuction (UAL)
– Tumescent liposuction (Wet liposuction)
– Laser Assisted liposuction (SmartLipo™)

Joseph T Cruise, MD typically performs tumescent liposuction which has proven track record, predictably good results and safety. First, Joseph T Cruise, MD injects a special fluid into the fat to be removed. Then he makes tiny incisions and inserts the suction cannula. Finally, the fat is suctioned out in a safe, precise manner.

With extensive experience in body contouring and liposuction, the top priority at Joseph T Cruise, MD’s Orange County office is always safety. The American Board of Plastic Surgery recommends limiting the amount of fat removed in liposuction surgery to 5000cc’s, and this is also Joseph T Cruise, MD’s policy. Removing a greater amount of fat puts patients at higher risk; instead, it is better to perform multiple liposuction procedures.

If you are concerned that you will need multiple procedures, talk with Joseph T Cruise, MD during your consultation in his Newport Beach office about the best approach to obtaining the look you want.