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As a woman, you want to have curves in all the right places. Finesse liposculpture, a recent innovation in surgical body contouring, now makes it possible for you to have that gender-specific silhouette you desire.

Here is the sequence of approaches that has led to this development.

Traditional Liposuction

Traditional liposuction (called suction-assisted lipoplasty, or SAL) has been popular for the past 15 years in helping patients achieve a more attractive body contour. SAL, however, is not as effective as desired in small liposuction areas as well as areas that are more fibrous, such as the back and buttocks. Neither is it optimal in revision cases, where previous liposuction has been performed. The powerful vacuum required by SAL makes the removal of fat somewhat unpredictable.

Ultrasound-assisted Liposuction (UAL)

In only the past five years, a newer technique called ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) has helped overcome some of the problems of SAL. With this way of removing fat, high-frequency sound waves are transmitted through the suction wand (called a cannula). UAL melts the fat located extremely close to the cannula, allowing the tissue to be suctioned out of the body more gently. The surgeon becomes more of a sculptor, able to shape the body with this �airbrush� and achieve a more predictable and more uniform result.

More than a third of plastic surgeons use UAL as part of their everyday practice. It is a much more sophisticated operation than SAL and requires the purchase of some expensive equipment, so not all offer it. Once they learn the technique and have the experience of truly sculpting the human body, very few go back to using only traditional liposuction.

Circumferential Liposuction

Even with UAL, however, a woman sometimes winds up with a straighter, male-like silhouette. That’s because fat deposits are removed mainly from specific problem areas of the body. Bulges of fat may be gone, but a shapely figure does not necessarily result.

Only a couple of years ago we developed a new technique called circumferential liposuction that builds on previous technology to produce a highly attractive result. In the past, liposuction surgeons almost always avoided suctioning fat from certain locations, such as the front and inner thigh, buttock, and back areas. They were reluctant to operate on these areas where the fat layer might be thinner and harder to suction. They believed it was not as safe to operate there and feared cosmetic complications such as irregular contouring would result.

The introduction of UAL enables the surgeon to work almost effortlessly in the middle fat layer of these areas. The middle fat layer is where most liposuction should be performed. It really is a surgical layer, not so deep that other body tissues are threatened and not so shallow that cosmetic irregularities will show up. It is a safe zone for liposuction. A couple of years ago we discovered that surgeons could safely use UAL all the way around the thighs, hips, abdomen, flanks and calfs, in fact, around almost every part of the body into which a cannula could be inserted. No one previously had advocated this circumferential approach; in routine liposuction I feel that this technique is essential in order to obtain uniform, excellent results for body contouring. UAL makes it not only feasible and safe, but also allows for improved results in experienced hands. A major key is for the surgeon to be trained to recognize what layer of fat is being operated on and to recognize the appropriate point to quit operating in that area.

The combination of UAL and SAL with the circumferential technique has resulted in what we call finesse liposculpture. This technique now has totally changed how we perform body contouring surgery. We are now in the process of training large numbers of doctors in this new way of looking at body silhouette surgery.

Body Contouring Cycle

Liposuction of any kind is not a treatment for obesity or weight loss. Liposuction truly is a body-sculpting procedure. It produces or re-creates an improved body silhouette. You should not fall for the myth or marketing promises that it will take pounds off your weight. Of course the fat you lose with liposuction has a certain amount of weight, but it will not stay off without your sticking to all aspects of the body contouring cycle.

The cycle includes:

• Diet and exercise. You can defeat your new body silhouette if you don’t adopt a healthy diet and a prudent exercise plan.
• Lifestyle changes. Eliminate tobacco, drink plenty of water, keep your skin moisturized, and get plenty of sleep.
• Liposuction and other body contouring procedures. This may include tummy tucks and other operations.

Safety Issues

Liposuction performed correctly in a healthy, normal patient carries no excessive risk. The key is to choose your surgeon wisely. Make sure he or she is board-certified and operates in an accredited hospital (or in an accredited outpatient surgical facility with operating privileges at a nearby hospital). An anesthesiologist or certified registered nurse anesthetist should be in attendance.

People often seem to take safety for granted. But with the proliferation of doctors advertising themselves as liposuction specialists, you must ask those questions directly. Any hesitancy on the part of the doctor to address these concerns should be a red flag for you.

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