Male Liposuction Houston
There can be a lot of pressure to have a toned physique with the importance given to body image in today’s society. Intense exercise routines, weight gainers, muscle-building supplements and special diets all come and go.
Liposuction appeals to a wide variety of men with different problem areas. It can be used on all different parts of the body to sculpt and contour. Liposuction is an outpatient procedure, creates only minor scarring and requires minimal downtime & recovery.
WHAT IS LIPOSUCTION?
Even extremely fit individuals often have stubborn areas of fat that they cannot get rid of no matter how much they work out. Liposuction is an excellent choice for these situations. However, mens liposuction is not a generalized weight loss tool, and you should be at a stable healthy weight before considering it.
Also, liposuction for men alone is not an appropriate choice for a patient with extra skin as it will tend to only make the skin looser. These situations generally require some type of skin removal as well. Often liposuction can be combined with other procedures to optimize results, and, if appropriate, the fat removed can also be reinjected into different parts of the body like the chest or buttocks. Before surgery, we will ask you to purchase a compression garment.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING SURGERY?
Before your procedure, the areas of fat to be removed will be marked. The procedure is done under general anesthesia. First, several small incisions are made as access points. Then the area to be treated is filled with something called “tumescent fluid”. The fluid has lidocaine in it to help with pain, as well as epinephrine to decrease the risk of bleeding from the trauma of the liposuction. Some of this fluid will be sucked out, some will be absorbed, and some will drain from your incisions.
Then, fat is removed using something called a cannula. A cannula is a hollow metal tube that can have different sizes and shapes depending on the area being treated. The cannula is connected to plastic tubing which is connected to a container that collects the fat, and this is all connected to a vacuum that applies suction to the system. The cannula is passed back and forth under the skin and above the muscle to remove the necessary amount of fat. Sometimes ultrasound or lasers are also added to help liquefy the fat and tighten the overlying skin. After the desired amount of fat is removed, the incisions are sutured closed, gauze is placed over the incisions to control drainage, and you are placed in a compression garment.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
Though we take every precaution to prevent it, it is possible to have some contour irregularities after surgery where the cannula passes under the skin.
Fixing them may require injecting some fat back into the area to smooth it. You should realize that liposuction can help tighten the overlying skin to a certain degree after surgery, but, if your skin tone is poor or you have extra skin, liposuction may actually make your skin look looser or more “emptied out”. If this is the case, you may also need an additional procedure to remove and tighten this extra skin.
WHAT WILL MY RECOVERY BE LIKE?
If more than 5 liters of fat and fluid are removed, you must stay overnight in the hospital for monitoring. Otherwise, you are able to go home after the procedure, and start showering the next day. You should expect that you will have some drainage of fluid from the incision sites for several days as your body gets rid of extra fluid.
You should plan to use gauze pads to absorb the drainage and prevent the soiling of your clothes. Post-operatively, you will have some discomfort, swelling and bruising, but it is usually not significantly painful. You must wear a compression garment at all times (other than showering) for the first 6 weeks to limit swelling and improve your results. No vigorous exercise or activity is allowed for the first few weeks after surgery to limit swelling, but you may otherwise resume your normal activity right away. Expect that it will take several months for your swelling to completely resolve before you see your final results.
Questions? Book a Consultation Now.
Contact Houston / Webster, Texas Plastic Surgeon Shitel D. Patel, MD at Lift Plastic Surgery.
For more information on cosmetic procedures and treatments provided please schedule a consultation.
Serving patients in Houston Texas, Webster, League City, Pearland, Galveston, Kemah, Seabrook and all other surrounding Greater Houston, Texas communities and more.