Las Vegas Liposuction - Ask Dr. Garcia Library - Page 12

NOTICE: Las Vegas Liposuction: Ask Dr. Garcia is intended for educational and discussion purposes only. It does not constitute a formal medical evaluation nor consultation. No doctor-patient relationship has been formalized by this communication. If you desire such, please feel free to call and schedule an appointment. Otherwise, please be advised that all information that has been given here should be cleared with your primary care physician before changing or instituting any therapy. Explanation of off-label use of substances may be discussed here in but does not reflect an endorsement nor promotion of such off-label use. All responses regarding Las Vegas Liposuction are done personally by Julio Garcia.

• I am a 37 year old male interested in facial fat grafting. However, I have had (a few years ago) a liposuction in my trunk. Although there were no incisons into my buttocks, the surgeon did slightly liposuction into the buttocks are through the trunk incisons. My question is: Does this mean that it will be difficult to get donor fat for facial fat grafting, as it is my understanding that a liposuctioned area is unsuitable for obtaining donor fat?

  Answer:  that is correct, yes. JG 4.15.08

• Thanks dr. garcia for answering my questions so quickly. I`m a little nervous now that you say don`t believe in smartlipo. You don`t believe it`s effective at all. I meant to mentin visceral fat could that be the reason for my sisters abdomen to poke out after having to garment off. I`m really nervous about my sister inner arms b/c they have deep hard dimples in them. with your procedure after a person wears the compression garment does that happen to there arms? She also keeps having build up of fluid on her arms that the doctor has to keep removing with a needle. have you heard of what i`m describing to you happening to patients wrinkling of the skin and fluid? We both are new to this all and was sold on the down time from work.

  Answer:  I think it is not as effective as more traditional methods, they use a small cannula and claim the fat is disolved with the laser, it in essence is a smaller incision tecnique but that can lead to lesser results. I think it can remove fat, but it cannot remove large areas and is more tedious and slower to remove the same amount of fat compared to otheer liposuction techniques. If the patiens was not a good candiate to begin with for liposuction, they can have wrinkled skin. It sounds like your sister was likely not a good candidate for liposuction and any method would have given her the same problem, it is just thast with the lure of good skin retraction with SmartLipo, the doctor tried it and now finds out that she was not a candidate for it, from what you are describing. Fluid accumulations can occur with any type of liposuction but I must say that it is not common in the arms. JG 4.14.08

• Hi doctor, should after 4weeks of having smartlipo on my arms, should i be able to get ina shirt that once was too tight around my arms without the compression garment on, b/c at this point i can`t and i`m feeling a little discourage, my doctors keeps telling me inflammation but i don`t think so. how much longer for i can say it`s know longer inflammation he just didn`t take enough out.

  Answer:  by 4 weeks there should be a good amount of decrease is size, yes. with any liposuction technique. JG 4.14.08

• Hello Dr. my sister is 4 weeks out of surgery (smartlipo) and she feels when she out of her garment for hours her stomach pokes back out, she doesn`t feel that her abd. is flat like the doctor assured her. What could be the cause of this not enough fat removed, inflammation, etc. I`m only 2 weeks out and my abd feels jiggly and not as flat, what are your thougts, I hope i`m explaining were you are able to understand. What meds do you give to your patients for sedation and pain when performing smartlipo.

  Answer:  it could be because the diagnosis of subcutaneous fat, which could be treated with any type of liposuction, was incorrect and she had intra-abdominal fat which is treated by no liposcution technique. Yes, she might still have fat from a very mild small fat rmoval too and if that is the case, then more liposuction would be indicated. I am sorry but I do not use SmartLipo as I feel the claims the company and their docotrs make are inflated and meant to lead patients to believe that the machine is better than other older tried and true methods and it is not, it is a lot of hype for little to no improvement over older well-established techniques. JG 4.14.08

• Dr.Garcia. what are your thoughts on post cirm.liposuction..with lymphatic massage? Is one more prone to clots post op with this, and do you do this with your post lipo pts? thank you so much terry

  Answer:  I think it is a good idea, it will not cause blood clots. We do suggest it for our patients after surgery. JG 4.14.08

• Hey Dr. Garcia. Jennifer here again. Just curious on about your professional opinon on what is the best technique to perform Liposuction? Do you think the Tumescent techique is better or the ultrasound technique? have you ever heard of the ultra sound technique? Ive been hearing about a lot of drs. using it. My dr. did the Tumescent technique. I was just curious to know what you think is best and what you use? Thanks Dr. Garcia.

  Answer:  I start with general anesthesia, we then inject tumescent fluid to disrupt the fat cells, we then use ultrasound, and then evacuate with traditional liposuction. I have been using ultrasound technology for liposuction for over 10 years. JG 4.13.08

• Even when I`m really thin, I have these scary legs that belong on a 300+ lb. woman. When I`ve dieted and exercised to the point where I have no breasts and my ribs show, I still have extremely fat legs. This is not just the thigh area, but hips to heels. Is there a liposuction procedure that can help something like that? If so, approximately how much down time would be involved? I don`t know if you give price info online, but I haven`t priced costmetic surgery in many years, so I don`t have a clue how much it would be. Also, I had a botched lipo in `89 and it left a whole bunch of broken veins. Is that typical? The botched part isn`t so much the veins as the concave/convex new shape it gave to my thighs. I`m assuming if I had lipo top to bottom, that can be corrected.

  Answer:  liposuction can be done there, the swelling persists in the legs much longer and the final result will likely take a full year, especially low on the ankle area Prices vary and you need to decide on your surgeon as that will determine the fees. Broken blood vessels can occur after liposuction in some cases, yes. It is not due to anything being done wrong though. Further liposuction on the areas around the depression might bring the surrounding areas down and make the difference less noticable. JG 4.11.08

• Dr. Garcia its Jennifer again, thank you again for your answers about my liposuction question. Sorry to bother you again but, last night I felt that my garment was so tight I wasnt getting any circumlation and i felt the bottom of my garment was digging into the back of my knees. I took a shower and slept last night without my garment, I also came to work today without wearing it but its in my bag. I ordered a different garment online yesterday and i am having it overnighted so it should be here by today. I think the one i had was too small for me. The zipper area was indenting in my thighs and it wouldnt even pull all the way up to the top so I felt like the top of my thighs were not getting compressed. Is it bad that I slept for a night without the garment? It was just one night and this morning but I am going to put the new one on as soon as it gets here. Also dr. I picked up this medicine at the vitamin store called body mend Its a small bottle of liquid with a dropper. It has Arnica mont in it, Belladonna, other ingreiients and its 20% ethanol. Its supposed to be for the aid in recovery of surgeries. have you ever heard of this before or somethign like this? Is it ok that I am taking it? Also should i stop taking it 2 weeks before my next surgery which is May 1st. Thanks again for helping me with these questions.

  Answer:  being out of the garment like that should not be a problem. I have never used the liquid drops you have bought but althouh I think Arnica will help with the swelling and bruising, the belladona will make you sleepy. If you want to take it I would do so only at night. I would stop it 2 weeks before the next surgery, yes. Best of luck. JG 4.11.08

• please accept my apology on not being clear on previous tt question. am due for cirf.lipo in june due to the fat shifting fron 11 months out tt.a roll has developed below bra when sit;as was told lipo should have been done first to thin out underneath to be able to pull more skin. again so sorry for the previous confusing email. i appreciate the thoughts you give. thank you again DR, Garcia....terry

  Answer:  no problem, I just wanted to make sure I could answer your question. Firstly, fat does not shift, it gets bigger or smaller, but it does not move. If you gained weight after the surgery, since some areas were removed, you will gain fat in the fat cells that remain, so some areas might get bigger. In many cases,I agree that doing liposuction first yields a better result as it thins the skin and gives a better contour. It might lead to more skin tightening, but the main reason to do it is for better contour, less thick skin. JG 4.10.08

• Dr Garcia its Jennifer again. Thank you so much for clearing the circumfrential liposuction question up for me. My 2nd surgery is booked May 1st. I am getting my whole stomach, hips, flank and back done. Is one month between surgies safe enough? Also will healing my stomach and hips be faster than healing my legs? I heard legs are the worst to heal from? Also I am still leaking some fluid through my wounds by my knees. The color is an orange color, doesnt smell but is still leaking. Is this normal? Let me know, thanks again.

  Answer:  if your energy level is fine, it is OK. Upper on the body heals faster than legs, yes. Soem leaking is not unusual, the color is ornage because there is a little blood and serum in it. JG 4.10.08

• Hello Dr Garcia. My name is Jennifer I messaged you about a month ago letting you know about my circumfrential of the thighs and knees liposuction surgery. I had the surgery done on April 3rd. I am on quiet a bit of pain and am very swollen and bruised. How much brusing is normal? I feel like the back of my knees and the sides are solid purple. my ankles are very swollen. I feel at times my compression garment might be too tight. My legs also feel warms when I touch them. I finished my antibiotics and my steroids. I just wanted to ask you with your circumfriental of the thighs liposuction paitients, how much brusing and swelling is normal? Do you schedule massages for them? I am scheduled for 1 massage a week at my drs office. How tight should the compression garment be? Is it normal that I am in this much pain after a week of surgery. My bruising is very severe I think I have blue, green, yellow and purple bruises all over. My dr. said thats fine because he was very aggresive on me, They removed 5 liters of fat. Is that safe? I would really appreciate your opinon on this. Thanks Dr. Garcia

  Answer:  the swelling and bruising can be substanial, as can the discomfort too. We start the massages after one week and try to keep the legs elevated as much as possible to help with all of that for the first month. I think what they removed is likely safe and your issues are common. Best of luck. JG 4.10.08

• 2nd part to lower question. weight has remained the same. and am healthy.otherwise. previous ps stated could not answer me as to why this fat shift happend. agian thank you for the forum it is very helpful and much appreciated ter

  Answer:  fat does not shift, but weight or fat gain will go to other areas not treated. Most people think if they weigh the same after liposcution that then the fat should not have grown, that is not correct. If you have had liposuction, there should be a decrease in bodyweight. If you weigh the same after liposuction, then you have, by definition, gained weight. JG 4.10.08

• thoughts on circumf.lipo?ter in pa.post tt i yr ago.donut roll below bra due to no lipo prior to tt.this is to be done in june.told only need ten days off. is lipo this advanced.is it rx just like a lap.chole?this ps has exper.in cal,with wt loss,srgy,&burns came back to pa thanks alot for your in put...very satisfied with this one. due to previous ps. approach not so great or wouldnt need this... lipo for the donut roll above umbilicus.. thoughts?

  Answer:  your question is difficult to understand, I do perform circumferential liposuction in some isolated cases, but it cannot be done on all cases. JG 4.10.08

• I had breast reduction and upper and lower abdominal liposuction approximately one year ago. My questions are: why does the lower abdominal area have the overall appearance of linear type depressions surrounded by fat depositions It almost looks like you can visually trace the cannula suction lines which appear depressed while the surrounding tissue is raised?? Is this a normal result? And if do, does it eventually disappear or is there a way of reducing this appearance? Also, on either side of both breasts{armpit side) there remains a fold of tissue. Since the reduction also lifted the breasts, these folds looks very strange. Can this be removed or is this a tendon?? Thank you again for your time and expertise.

  Answer:  I am afriad what you are describing is exactly due to what you think. It can happen but is not a normal result. Might need a little more surgery to remove the fat that remains. As to the breast, it is just tissue and can be removed, no tendon in that area. JG 4.7.08

• Hello Dr.-What type of procedure would you suggest for the fat that hangs over sleeveless tops in front of my arm pit? Thank you.

  Answer:  migth try liposuction if small and the skin is in good shape, or it would need to be cut out and leave a scar. JG 4.6.08

• Dear Dr. How are you??? I am a 38 yr old woman and I have had excess belly fat for a long long time..I`ve never had kids and i do some walking like twice a week, but i can`t seem to get rid of this belly fat and it bothers me, do u recommend i keep up with my crunches or have some kind of lipo procedure done?? I`m scared of the side effects and after surgery effects..what exactly would you recommend? will I have a flatter belly after the lipo?? please help me..what are your consultation fees??

  Answer:  well, liposuction should not be done for weight loss, but if the fat is above the muscles and below the skin, it might be an option for you. Our consultation fees are $50.JG 4.5.08

• I`m confursed about smart lipo..would you reccomend it? will I see a huge difference in my problem areas? Waht do you recc?traditional lipo or smart lipo for optimal results? thank you!

  Answer:  I am not confused about SmartLipo, it is essentially no different than other forms of liposuction and there is no evidence it can remove fat any better nor cause skin to shrink any better than other more studied techniques. JG 4.3.08

• I wanted to ask what you thought of smart lipo? after having a baby. is it better than traditional lipo and if not what is it for?

  Answer:  I do not think it offers any advantage over other methods of liposuction. JG 4.3.08

• hi, I want to know what is liposculture and how does that work.

  Answer:  it is merely an attempt to make liposuction sound new, they use slightly smaller cannulas or tubes to remove the fat and they claim to be doing smaller amounts to acheive shape, it is what we have been doing for 20 years in different forms. JG 4.1.08

• Is there anything that helps with cellulite? Have you heard of the Lumicell touch for cellulite? Also I had liposuction on my arms 3 years ago and I have some irregularities that I can not stand. What will help with this?. Smartlipo? I am not at all over weight so losing weight won`t help. Cellulite plus irregulatirities seems that it would be hard to treat. Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

  Answer:  nothing reliable or predictable. VelaSmooth treatments help but only as long as you continue the treatments.The irregularities might be helped with more small lipo but it can also be made worse. I do not think SmartLipo offers any benefit over other methods. JG 3.6.08

• Dear Dr Garcia. Its Jennifer again. Thanks for helping me out with all these liposuction questions, its helping me understand my procedure and risks a lot better. I will let you know what happens. As of now I have 2 surgery dates. One for April 3rd for the Circumferential lipo on my thighs and knees. And then May 1st I am having lipo on my hips, flank, and lower abdomen. Total cost of procedure after discount is 14000. One more question Dr Garcia if you dont mind. Is it better to do Circumferential in 2 different surgeries? I heard from some people it is but my doctor said he doesnt want to swell up that area twice. So were doing the circumferential one day and my hips lower abs and flank another. I was just curious how do you perform Circumferential lipo of the thighs on your patients?

  Answer:  when I do the circumferential I do it all together on one day, best of luck. JG 2.29.08

• Dear Dr. Garcia. Its Jennifer again in regards to the Circumference liposuction. I see what you are saying about the sagging skin. Is it safe to say if the right amount of fat is removed I wont have sagging skin? What is the benefit of this surgery if there is a risk of sagging skin? I dont see why people would get it then. I dont want to have to go and get skin cut off. I am hoping this will be the only procedure I need. When I go in for my pre-op I will ask all these questions we have been discussing.

  Answer:  yes, but there is no way to know what the right amount is, if too little is removed, you will not be happy and if too much is removed, you might not be happy, unless you are prepared and willing to have a thigh lift.Technically, liposuction is meant for spot reduction of fat, its use has expanded to treat larger areas, but that is not what it is meant or best at, so what is being suggested, although possible and done frequently, is a compromise to what it really is meant to be used for. JG 2.29.08

• Dr. Garcia, its Jennifer again, thank you for answering my question in regards to the stand up liposuction. As for the skin sagging he told me that it is a risk that he just wanted to let me know about but he also let me know that my skin tone is very good and tight. The technique they do is Tumescent Liposuction first. If he says my skin is toned do you think it will still sage? I workout a lot and eat right. I have another question I hope you could answer for me, have you seen people that get the circumference and it turns out ok? or is that bad to do? In your professional dr. opinon would you do and have you done a circumference of the thighs for a patient? I value your opinon and thank you again.

  Answer:  well, even toned skin can sag if enough subcutaneous fat is removed. Becasue although many connections from the skin to the muscle are maintianed, some are lost with liposuction and can therefore sag. Working out does not help skin to shrink though. I always tell my circumferential thigh liposuction patients that loose skin might arise and might need to have skin removed which can leave visible scars from the medial thigh lift. JG 2.29.08

• Hello Dr. Garcia. My name is Jennifer. Im 24 years old I am from and currently live in New York City. and im having liposuction done on April 3rd of this year. I am getting it all around my thighs and my knees. Its always been a problem area of mine. No matter how much weight I lose Ive always been trim on the top but very bottom heavy in my legs and behind. So I wanted to ask you a couple of questions if thats alright. Ive had some plastic surgery already, breast augmentation about 4 years ago. But i cant help but be nervous about this operation since Ive heard so many horror stories from people. The procedure im getting is Liposculpture and Cool Lipo also knows as Smart lipo. My procedure price is 8500. I found out from the dr. that he does the procedure while I am laying down on a table, Im not alseep but I am sedated. Ive heard that getting liposuction is better if you stand up while doing the procedure. Do you agree? I really want the best possible technique done that will help me recover as soon as possible. I also heard that when you lay down during the procedure your more likely to have to go back for touch ups. If your wondering the amount of fat that is being removed I believe he said a few liters. Should I look for a different doctor that does stand up lipo, or is it ok to lay down? Thank you for your time, I look foward to hearing from you.

  Answer:  in 20 years I have never done liposuction on anyone while standing up, that is all a marketing ploy and as to Cool Lipo and SmartLipo, the only smart one is the doctor which is selling you something alledgedly new, it is not, and making it sound better than other techniques, which it is not, and making you promises of better skin tightening, which it can`t. I will also say that circumferential liposuction of the thighs is done but it is not uncommon for the skin of the thighs to sag if any appreciable amount is removed, I cannot say how much could be removed safely and avoid sagging without seeing you in person though. All the best. JG 2.29.08

• Hi Dr., How do you feel about breast reduction by liposuction?

  Answer:  good option to avoid scars but will leave most women pretty saggy if enough fat is removed. JG 2.21.08