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For many of us, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are not enough to banish those frustrating deposits of fat in the waist, hips, thighs, and other areas of the body. Liposuction is a plastic surgery procedure that helps defeat these stubborn fat pockets and create smoother, shapelier body contours. Liposuction at the Herte Center for Cosmetic Surgery is a safe and highly effective figure-sculpting experience that may also boost your self-confidence.

What Is Liposuction?

Liposuction is a plastic surgery procedure that removes excess fat around the body that has proven resistant to diet and exercise, helping to improve overall body contours. The procedure is highly customizable and can reduce localized fat deposits in a variety of body areas, such as the thighs, hips, buttocks, abdomen, flanks, upper arms, and chin area. Liposuction can be done alone or in conjunction with other plastic surgery procedures, such as a facelift or a tummy tuck. If you have lax skin or abdominal muscles following pregnancy or weight loss, liposuction can be performed in combination with tummy tuck surgery to help you enjoy the firmer, flatter abdomen of your dreams.

Who Is A Good Candidate For Liposuction?

The best candidates for liposuction are adults who are close to or at their ideal weight, have good skin elasticity, and good overall physical and emotional health. Perfect situations rarely exist and most patients can enjoy an excellent result as long as their individual goals are reasonable for the specific procedure. A personal consultation with Dr. Herte will help you decide if you are a good candidate for this procedure.

Can I Get Fat Transfer Using Liposuction?

Fat transfer, also known as fat grafting and fat injections, is a procedure that involves liposuction to extract fat from one area of excess, which is then prepared and reinjected into another area to increase volume. Dr. Herte performs facial fat transfer, harvesting fat cells from one area—such as the abdomen—and strategically injecting small amounts into facial areas to subtly enhance contours. This helps to create a more youthful facial aesthetic, restoring volume that may have depleted with age.

Another popular method of fat transfer is the Brazilian butt lift (BBL), which Dr. Herte does not offer. The BBL method can be attractive for those wanting to enhance the natural curve of their buttocks, but reports have shown a relatively high risk of life-threatening complications from this procedure. Due to this fact, Dr. Herte does not believe BBL surgery is worth the dangers it poses to her patients. As an alternative to this procedure, Dr. Herte can create a more desirable shape to the buttocks through buttock lift surgery or the non-surgical options of Sculptra® Aesthetic injections or CoolSculpting® to contour the surrounding areas.

Why Choose Us For Your Liposuction Procedure?

With decades of experience in cosmetic surgery, our board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Mary C. Herte, has advanced skill and expertise with helping patients achieve their body contouring goals through liposuction. Dr. Herte was fortunate to train with French plastic surgeon Dr. Yves Gerard Illouz (the developer of our current liposuction procedure), who shook the cosmetic surgery world with this revolutionary technique that finally made fat removal practical and also possible through very small incisions. Because Dr. Herte is focused on superior results and your safety, as technology has progressed she has continued to incorporate innovative improvements into her surgical techniques. By staying up to date on liposuction advancements, she is able to achieve optimal results for liposuction patients.

In addition to utilizing the “Illouz Method,” Dr. Herte has found external ultrasound-assisted liposuction to add a refinement to her lipo-sculpture procedures. This helps loosen fat cells, which helps remove them and allows Dr. Herte to use smaller liposuction cannulas for more refined results. This ultrasound technique also helps maximize skin tightening for a firmer result.

What Does The Liposuction Procedure Entail?

Prior to the procedure, anesthesia will be administered by a board-certified anesthesia physician to keep you comfortable. Fluid is then injected into the surgical site to infiltrate the area, a technique known as tumescent liposuction which helps to reduce bleeding and separate the fat cells. Dr. Herte then utilizes our innovative ultrasound technology to loosen and liquefy fat cells in the target area, making them easier to remove. A small cannula is then used to make small tunnels through which to remove the excess fat cells.

Is Liposuction Safe?

When performed by a qualified and board-certified plastic surgeon, liposuction is considered to be a safe procedure. Dr. Herte takes great care to ensure surgery is performed with the utmost safety and care, and she will only recommend liposuction if a patient has a low risk of complications. However, as with any major surgery, patients may experience certain side effects after liposuction, such as bleeding, bruising, and swelling. Our team will go over all possible side effects with you prior to your surgery, so you know what to expect and are aware of abnormal changes that should be evaluated.

What Can I Expect In My Liposuction Recovery?

It is common for patients to temporarily have bruising, swelling, and numbness in the treated area after liposuction. You will probably feel sore for the first few days after the procedure. Dr. Herte will provide you with pain management techniques and medication to help alleviate most of the discomfort. You will be advised to wear a supportive garment throughout your recovery (about six weeks) which helps the skin tighten and adhere to its new contour.

Recovery varies for every individual, but the majority of our patients are able to return to work within a week or so after the procedure. Strenuous jobs may require a longer recovery. Prior to having your procedure, Dr. Herte and her staff will provide you with a complete plan for a safe and rapid recovery. This plan will include both pre-operative and post-operative recommendations and instructions.

What Will My Liposuction Results Look Like?

You should notice a difference in size and shape of the treated areas fairly quickly. The results of liposuction will continue to be refined and improved over the course of a few months following the procedure, as residual swelling gradually fades.

How Much Does Liposuction Cost?

The average cost of liposuction is about $3,500, but this can greatly vary for each individual based on the details of their surgical plan, such as the number and size of the body areas being treated. This number only covers the surgeon’s fee, which will depend upon the surgeon’s expertise and their geographic area. Additional factors that can contribute to your total liposuction cost are surgical facility fees, anesthesia, medications, and post-operative garments. Once you and Dr. Herte have discussed your aesthetic goals and established a general plan, our team can provide you with a cost quote to help you plan for your procedure. To find out whether liposuction is right for you and how much you can expect to pay for your customized procedure, a personal consultation with Dr. Herte is required.

Are There Any Alternatives To Liposuction?

If your schedule does not allow time for surgical recovery, or you are not interested in surgical body contouring, we offer the non-surgical fat reduction alternative of CoolSculpting® as a means of freezing away unwanted fat. Although the liposuction process results in instant removal of fat and the ability to blend and contour more accurately many areas in a single procedure, CoolSculpting® is a no-downtime option that can provide a gradual process of fat cell removal.

If you are interested to learn how liposuction body sculpting will benefit your figure and to get personalized answers to your concerns, your next step is to meet with Dr. Herte. So contact our Las Vegas, Nevada cosmetic surgery center today to schedule your personal consultation with Dr. Mary Herte and get started on that sleek new figure.