When we evaluate whether liposuction is right for you, we start by looking at your current body composition. This treatment works best if you’re within about 30% of your ideal weight. If you’re still actively working toward weight loss, we may recommend waiting until you’ve reached a stable point. We also look at your skin’s elasticity. If your skin is firm and bounces back well, you’re more likely to see smooth, even results. Good underlying muscle tone can also help define your contours once the fat is removed. If your skin is very loose or sagging, we might talk about whether combining liposuction with a skin-tightening surgery, such as a tummy tuck, makes more sense for your goals.

You will need to be in good health to be a good candidate for liposuction. You should have no uncontrolled chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease. If you’re on medications, we’ll review them with you and coordinate with your prescribing doctor if needed. We also want to be sure there are no active infections or immune conditions that could slow down your recovery. During your consultation, we go over your full medical history and any recent lab results to make sure everything looks safe. If there’s something we need to adjust or monitor, we’ll talk through it with you first.

We ask all liposuction patients to stop smoking for a few weeks before and after treatment. Smoking affects your circulation and can slow healing, so quitting temporarily, or for good, gives you a better outcome. We also look at your long-term habits. While liposuction can contour the body, it doesn’t stop fat from returning if your weight increases. Patients who maintain a steady diet and exercise routine tend to keep their results longer. If you’re committed to staying active and making healthy choices, you’re more likely to get lasting benefits from treatment.

In some cases also repurpose the fat that we remove. After we perform a liposuction procedure, we can process the extracted fat and transfer it to other areas of your body that could use more volume or shape. This is often called fat grafting, and it allows us to enhance one area while contouring another.

We start by collecting fat from common areas like the abdomen, flanks, or thighs. Once we purify the fat, we re-inject it into targeted areas using careful layering techniques for a natural look and feel. Common areas for fat transfer include:

Buttocks: This is known as a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL), where we use your own fat to enhance shape and projection.
Breasts: For subtle volume or to correct asymmetry without implants, fat transfer can offer a natural option.
Face: Small amounts of fat can restore volume to the cheeks, under the eyes, or along the jawline.

Tummy Tuck

If your main concern is abdominal fullness, we’ll look closely at whether it’s mostly excess fat, loose skin, or weakened abdominal muscles. When skin has stretched from weight changes or pregnancy, removing fat alone may not give you the smooth contour you want. In this case, we may recommend combining liposuction with a tummy tuck. During surgery, we remove fat through liposuction and then surgically tighten the muscles and remove excess skin.

Facial Procedures

Facial sculpting is another area where we might combine treatments. If you have fullness under the chin or along the jawline, liposuction can help sharpen your profile. For some patients, we pair it with procedures like a facelift or neck lift to treat sagging skin and address deeper signs of aging.

Arm Lifts

The upper arms are a common area for stubborn fat, but it can be challenging when there is loose skin. We often combine liposuction with an arm lift. After sculpting the area with liposuction, we remove extra skin and reshape the upper arm for a tighter appearance. This is especially helpful for patients who’ve lost a significant amount of weight or have age-related skin laxity.