1. What are the common side effects of liposuction?

There are really no common side effects other than the fact that you may gain a little water weight immediately after surgery, but you will lose this within a few days. Occasionally with laser assisted liposuction or ultrasound assisted liposuction, patients will have prolonged numbness in the area treated, but this usually resolves within a few weeks or months. There may be contour deformities because liposuction is not an exact science and some patients do develop ridges or divots.


2. What are the benefits of liposuction?

Giving you your shape back. Whether it' s flattening your tummy, removing your love handles, removing the fat pad under your chin or on the back of your upper arms or inside thighs, there are many places where you have accumulated more fat than you would like and liposuction allows you to reshape yourself to the figure that you desire.


3. When should I expect to see positive results following theliposuction procedure?

You can expect to see positive results in five months.


4. How do I find an experienced liposuction surgeon?

The best place is the plasticsurgery.org website. You want an experienced plastic surgeon to perform your surgery area. In Houston, where I practice, there are family practice doctors, obstetricians, emergency room physicians, dermatologists, even cardiologists performing liposuction in their office. It' s important to talk with your physician, ask for photos of before and after results, and even speak with former patients before you make a decision. I have been doing liposuction for 27 years and have performed the procedure on over 3000 patients. Nothing beats experience, especially in a field like liposuction.


5. How does the Tumescent technique result in better and smoother results?

Everyone has used the tumescent technique for the last 20 years. Fluid containing an anesthetic and epinephrine, which shrinks the blood vessels, allows for smoother liposuction which is more painless and less bloody.


6. What is high definition liposuction (6-pack etching)?

This is using either ultrasonic assisted liposuction or laser assisted liposuction with low power settings and small cannulas to the section close to the underside of the skin and the upper layers of fat. This allows the surgeon to get better definition and cause overlying skin contraction.


7. What is the new waistline reduction method with the Silhouette Corset Sutures?

These are small plastic devices that are placed into the anterior layer overlying the muscles in the center of your abdomen. These devices are then cinched down to help flatten the abdomen. They don' t tighten the overlying skin, but if the patient doesn' t have significant looseness of the skin they will enhance the waistline.