Liposculpture is a surgical procedure that removes unwanted fat cells to achieve the body contour a patient desires. Like a liposuction procedure, liposculpture uses a body sculpting technique that contours and removes unwanted fat cells by small cannulas or thin tubes. 

Dr. Applebaum and his assistants pair liposculpture with the tumescent fluid technique, which involves sending large amounts of fluid under the skin to provide local anesthesia, reduce blood loss, and target fat cells, making them easier to remove.

Liposculpture and its cousin, traditional liposuction, are considered minimally invasive cosmetic procedures to achieve the desired body shape. Most people who consider liposculpture or another form of cosmetic surgery have  attempted to maintain a stable weight and have tried lo eating a healthy diet and working out regularly. However, they still aren’t quite seeing the results they desire. 

For many people, stubborn pockets of fat cling to areas like the “love handles,” lower abdominals, and hips no matter how much they change their lifestyle. Liposculpture is a cutting-edge body contouring procedure that can help people achieve their aesthetic goals by redistributing stubborn fat from undesirable areas and performing a fat transfer. 

This means moving them to other body parts where they are preferred, using them for buttocks or breast augmentation. It’s important to point out that liposculpture is not a substitute for weight loss and a committed exercise routine. 

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is critical to achieving long-lasting results. However, liposculpture can help take your progress just a bit further than diet and exercise can on their own.

Body Tite works by applying thermal energy above and under the skin, tightening the network of tissue just under the skin that loses laxity with age. A local anesthetic and epinephrine are injected into the targeted area, allowing fat cells  to be removed more easily. The radiofrequency energy visibly tightens the tissue and liposuction removes the fat, creating much improved results in areas where skin tightening is needed. The BodyTite procedure commonly used on the abdomen, arms, sides, knees, thighs, bra line, and male breasts.

Liposculpture is a plastic surgery procedure that uses very thin metal tubes, called cannulas, to remove and redistribute fat deposits throughout the body. The cannulas are placed into small incisions, and a medical suction pump or syringe is applied to suck the fat  

After the fat is removed, it can be transferred into another body part where more fat is desired, such as the breasts, hips, or buttocks. Liposculpture should only be performed by a highly-skilled, qualified plastic surgeon like Dr. Applebaum, as the procedure requires an artistic eye to create the patient’s desired body contour. 

The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis at Dr. Applebaum’s Beverly Hills in office based surgical center.

While the liposuction technique and liposculpture might sound similar, there are important differences between the two procedures. Liposuction and liposculpture use small cannulas to remove fat from specific body areas. 

However, that’s where the differences between the two procedures begin. While liposuction removes fat from body parts, liposculpture removes the fat and redistributes it, changing the body’s overall shape and contour. 

For example, patients can have excess fat removed from their “love handles” and added to their breasts or removed from their “saddle bags” and added to their buttocks. Thus, liposculpture removes body fat from undesirable areas of the body and redistributes it to desirable areas, whereas liposuction simply removes excess body fat.

Another procedure often paired with liposculpture or liposuction is BodyTite or radio-frequency-assisted liposuction. BodyTite, which Dr. Applebaum often performs in conjunction with liposculpture surgery, is a skin tightening procedure that can help diminish common problem areas with loose skin, like the upper arms and muffin top. 

When combined with liposculpture or liposuction, BodyTite can offer improved outcomes and a more toned appearance with a relatively short recovery period.

If you are considering liposculpture, there are several factors Dr. Applebaum will consider when determining if the procedure is right for you. First, patients considering liposculpture should be at a stable weight with an established diet and exercise routine. 

Patients who plan to lose more weight or who may gain weight in the future (particularly due to pregnancy) should wait to have the procedure until their weight is stable.

Second, patients considering liposculpture should understand their aesthetic goals. Liposuction is a better choice if a patient simply wants excess fat removed from certain body parts. 

If the patient wants to change their overall body contour, liposculpture may be a better fit for their aesthetic goals. Further, patients should consider the degree to which they want the shape of their bodies to change. 

Patients with limited body fat who want to enlarge the size of their breasts considerably, for example, may be better served by breast implants. Dr. Applebaum will speak to each patient during their consultation to learn more about their medical history, current lifestyle, and aesthetic goals before recommending and offering a pricing estimate.

Two major innovations have improved liposuction results over the last twenty years: the use of small cannulas (thin tubes), and the tumescent fluid technique with epinephrine( adrenaline), which involves sending large amounts of fluid under the skin and into the fat  to provide anesthesia, reduced blood loss, and firmness of targeted fat cells, making them easier to remove. Dr. Applebaum has applied these developments to his body sculpting technique, which contours and removes unwanted fat cells, providing incredible results with minimal scarring.  Power Assisted Liposuction or PAL is a technology that Dr. Applebaum utilizes for sculpting area of difficult fat removal. 

One of the most well-known benefits of liposculpture and liposuction is the reduced recovery times compared to other plastic surgery procedures, such as the placement of implants in the body. 

Most patients take a week off of work. Dr. Applebaum recommends limiting most physical activity for about two weeks to minimize complications and ensure that redistributed fat stays in the appropriate location. 

Patients should expect to experience some swelling and bruising that may last for weeks or months, depending on the amount of fat removed and redistributed. Initial results will be noticeable immediately after surgery, but final results may take several months to appear as swelling subsides.

To reduce your risk of experiencing a surgical complication known as a seroma, Dr. Applebaum recommends that most patients wear a postoperative compression garment for several weeks after surgery. 

A seroma is a collection of lymph fluid within a body cavity. When seromas appear after liposculpture or liposuction, fluid fills the cavities where fat used to be. Although seromas are not dangerous, they can contribute to patient dissatisfaction because the areas may still appear full and swollen. 

Wearing compression garments helps to prevent fluid from filling the empty cavities left behind by removing fat.

If you’ve spent any amount of time researching liposuction and its alternatives, you may have come across claims from companies that manufacture laser or ultrasound devices that promise to improve liposuction recovery time and results. However, to date, there have been no studies that demonstrate any benefits of laser or ultrasound for obtaining superior results as compared to Dr. Applebaum’s tumescent fluid technique with small sculpting cannulas.

Liposuction results are measured by an improvement in body contour, such as better fitting clothes or a decrease in dress size, and not in absolute loss of inches

Recovery from liposuction looks a bit different for every patient, so Dr. Applebaum will walk you through your personal recovery plan. Recovery from liposuction often includes wearing a compression garment or elastic bandages over the treated area in order to control swelling and help mold your skin to your new body contours.  In general, your recovery will include less than two weeks of bruising and will require very limited time off from work or exercise, so you’ll be back to your regular routine in no time.