Q. Tell us about yourself and your practice.
A. I have been in practice in Los Angeles since 1995. I graduated from Yale University medical school and then did complete General Surgery and then Plastic Surgery residencies at Wayne State University. After that I did additional training at Manhattan Eye Ear and Throat Hospital in New York City and then further training in Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo (University of Sao Paulo) in Brazil.
Q. Please explain the primary procedures performed by your practice.
A. In my office operating room I perform a wide variety of Plastic Surgery procedures from simple scar revisions under local anesthetic, filler (Radiesse, Restylane...) and Botox injections, to more complex body lifts that require general anesthesia, overnight stays in after care facilities and transfusion of self donated blood over the month prior to surgery. Other procedures I perform there include ethnic rhinoplasty (Afro-American, Asian, Indian), facelift, otoplasty, blepharoplasty, liposuction, breast surgery, chest reconstruction, abdominoplasty, body lifts and liposuction. Insurance covered procedures like pilonidal abscesses, hidradenitis etc I perform in the hospital, primarily Cedars Sinai.
Q. What payment options do you offer?
A. My office accepts Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. We offer financing through CareCredit and have worked with them for over 10 years.
Q. Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery?
A. A. Yes & I was recertified in 2006.
Q. Do you have hospital privileges to perform this surgery?
A. A. I have hospital privileges at Cedars Sinai, Olympia and St. Joseph\'s hospitals.
Q. What is liposuction?
A. Liposuction is a procedure that can help sculpt the body by removing unwanted fat from specific areas, including the abdomen,
hips, buttocks, thighs, knees, upper arms, chin, cheeks and neck. It involves the removal of fat via small incisions through which metal cannulae or tubes under negative pressure are inserted. The fat is sucked into the cannulae & out of the body thereby changing body surface contours. Although no type of liposuction is a substitute for dieting and exercise, liposuction can remove stubborn areas of fat that don\'t respond to traditional weight-loss methods. It is the only method that safely and reliably spot reduces specific areas of fat while leaving other areas intact.
Liposuction should not be thought of or used as a means of weight control and attempts to do so can be disastrous.
Q. Who is a good candidate for liposuction?
A. To be a good candidate for liposuction, you must have realistic expectations about what the procedure can do for you. It\'s
important to understand that liposuction can enhance your appearance and self confidence, but it won\'t necessarily change your
looks to match your ideal or cause other people to treat you differently. The best candidates for liposuction are normal-weight people with firm, elastic skin who have pockets of excess fat in certain areas. You should be physically healthy, psychologically stable and realistic in your expectations. Your age is not a major consideration; however, older patients may have diminished skin elasticity and may not achieve the same results as a younger patient with tighter skin.
Q. What are the risks associated with liposuction surgery?
A. The most common risk after liposuction is uneven surface contour or pits. These can be hard or impossible to correct. Other problems that can occur are infection, fluid collections under the skin (seroma), discoloration of the skin and scars at the cannula access sites. These risks are minimized by antibiotics prescribed during and after surgery, standard operating room procedures, after surgery application of compression garments with foam padding, strict adherence to after surgery instructions/care and proper surgical planning/technique.
The properly trained surgeon examines the area to be treated & assesses the contribution of excess fat vs. skin & muscle laxity (the pinch test). A plan for liposuction specific to the individual is then instituted. Extreme caution should be taken in performing liposuction of areas like the inner upper thighs and upper arms. If excess fat is removed the skin surface becomes irregular & the legs then look like they belong to a much older individual. The love handles area on the other hand is very forgiving and that is the area that I am most aggressive with in performing liposuction.
Q. What technique will the surgeon use to perform the liposuction?
A. There are a wide variety of techniques available in performing liposuction. Every couple of months some new device appears on the market promising to revolutionize liposuction surgery. Few if any deliver on those promises.
You can find a detailed analysis of these on my blog
http://aaronstonemd-plasticsurgery.blogspot.com/2008/11/liposuction-and-its-variants-tumescent.html
Q. How long is the recovery period?
A. Healing after liposuction is a gradual process but the patient should start walking around as soon as possible to reduce swelling and to help prevent blood clots from forming in your legs. Patients can return to non-strenuous work within a few days following your surgery. The stitches are removed or dissolve on their own within the first week to 10 days. Although the vast majority of the bruising and swelling usually disappears within three weeks, some swelling may remain for six months or more. Activity that is more strenuous should be avoided for 3 to 4 weeks.
A noticeable difference in the shape of the body is visible right after surgery and again after four to six weeks, when most of the swelling has subsided. After about three months, any persistent mild swelling usually disappears and the final contour will be visible. Unfortunately this is when uneven surface contour and pits appear if the liposuction was too aggressive or too close to the under surface of the skin. The normal skin always has some layer of fat between itself & underlying structures. To remove all the fat under it especially very close to the undersurface can be disastrous. The skin may end up adhering directly to muscle or bone, the skin blood supply can be damaged or the surface contour can become dramatically pitted. The only 2 areas where I have not found this to be a problem are the love handles/flanks & the neck. These naturally concave areas tolerate superficial liposuction very well & pitting in a concave area is very hard to see. The margin for error is much greater than for instance the front of the thighs - a convex surface. Some doctors intentionally scratch or burn the under surface of the skin in misguided attempts to shrink excess skin. This causing scarring more than it does shrinkage.
The end result is more dependent on what is left behind than what is removed. If there is excess lax skin with stretchmarks, it will still be present after liposuction. Elastic normal skin that shrinks to fit the new contour after fat removal obviously gives a better result.
Q. Are the results of liposuction permanent?
A. No cosmetic surgery procedure is permanent. The effects of aging, gravity, activity etc all diminish the results over time in some way. All cosmetic surgery patients maintenance lifestyle changes (healthy diet, regular exercise, sunscreen, no smoking...) in order to maintain their results and extend the life span of their cosmetic surgery results. Fixing a part of your car does not mean you can ignore maintenance on the car.
Q. How much does liposuction surgery cost?
A. The cost depends on the areas undergoing liposuction and the time required to perform the surgery. Removing a liter of fat will cost more than removing 100cc partially because of the time involved especially if repositioning on the operating table is required. In general, small areas of liposuction can be as little as $2000 while more extensive procedures can be as high as $8000 or $10,000. In some cases fat is removed from one area and injected into another to achieve the optimal result. That can add to operating room time and overall costs. |
