Liposuction: Info, Prices, Photos, Reviews, Q&A

There have been various non-surgical alternatives to liposuction that are hyped up as the latest and greatest, only to fizzle and go away when they are shown to be less than effective when actually put to the test.

One treatment that has stayed is Coolsculpt. It has been shown to be effective when the proper number of treatments are performed. That may require hours of treatment time sitting with the suction apparatus on your body.

By the time you are satisfied with the results, you may have performed enough treatments to surpass the cost of surgery, but it does work, has no other downtime, and is non-surgical. Of course, treatment areas are limited to what can be sucked into the chamber.

It is uncomfortable for the first few minutes and cannot contour the treatment area as specifically or as customized as liposuction. Kybella is a newly approved injectable medication to reduce the fat pad under your chin.

It will soon be in widespread use around the country, but currently is only FDA-approved for the chin fat pad. But like all the other non-surgical treatments, you will likely need multiple treatments to get close to your desired result.

The take-home information is that while there are effective non-surgical treatments available, nothing gives you as dramatic a result as surgical liposuction. (Gabriel Chiu, DO, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)

There are many ‘non-surgical’ alternatives to liposuction, however, in response to your primary concern regarding risk and cost, the big questions are

1: do they work, and 2: does it represent a savings, 3. are these alternatives without risk, and 4. (and most important!) am I a candidate for either?

Presuming you are a good candidate for either procedure, most of the non-surgical options require multiple treatment sessions, and frequently end up have a cost profile similar to liposuction.

Your outcome is more predictable with liposuction, as the technique has been around for a long time and reached a level of refinement and predictability that these newer techniques have simply not had a chance to demonstrate yet.

Lastly, regarding risk, do not mistake ‘non-surgical’ as meaning ‘without risk’! These procedures absolutely have their own risk profile and be wary of any practicioner (as often these procedures are performed by non plastic surgeons, and even non-physicians) who does not discuss this with you.

I would suggest obtaining a consultation from a plastic surgeon who has these technologies available – he or she will then be able to design a treatment plan that will help you achieve your goals at a price point and risk-profile that is acceptable to you. (Bryan Correa, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

In general, liposuction is not particularly painful as you describe above. Non-invasive methods will cost about half of what surgery costs, but the results are modest. Consult in-person for best advice. (Francisco Canales, MD, Santa Rosa Plastic Surgeon)

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably won’t work. In fact, I have found that most of these alternative treatments are very expensive, painful and yet still don’t work. Liposuction is an excellent procedure with predictable results.

Coolsculpt Treatment

In the end, it is about the outcomes. If you are committed to a new shape, then liposuction is your best alternative. (Gary Lawton, MD, FACS, San Antonio Plastic Surgeon)

There are number of technologies that have come to the market with the intent of removing fat without surgery. Currently there are only two FDA approved noninvasive fat reduction devices. One is cool sculpting and the other is LIPOSONIX.

I perform LIPOSONIX in my office with no sedation, and the patient experiences minimal downtime. the technology works through high intensity focused ultrasound to selectively destroy fat in the subcutaneous tissue. Studies show that patients can lose 1 inch off the waistline with one session.

While this is not a replacement for liposuction, it is a alternative treatment that has successful outcomes. (Christopher Khorsandi, MD, Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon)

There are frequently new innovations that promise great results with no downtime or risks. Unfortunately this is often too good to be true. There may be very modest results with some of these techniques, but I frequently see patients that have tried these techniques and have seen no results — or worse, bad results.

If it sounds too good to be true it often is. Fortunately the downtime necessary for many liposuction procedures is minimal despite many misconceptions about liposuction. (John K. Wakelin III, MD, FACS, Columbus Plastic Surgeon)

SmartLIpo (laser-assisted) liposuction is a great alternative to traditional liposuction in that is has a reduced recovery time, you do not need general anesthesia and it is not has hard on your body. Definitely look into it and go in for a consultation.

You might be surprised to find out this is just what you’re looking to do. (David Dellinger, DO, FACOS, Austin Plastic Surgeon)

Non invasive liposuction

According to real self the average cost for liposuction is about $6000. With that said costs will vary significantly based on many factors. How many areas are treated, whether or not you are getting general anesthesia, what type of facility it is being done in all influential final cost.

My best advice is that you get what you pay for. Don’t be mislead by cheap lip or non-invasive liposuction. Let me ask you would it make sense that something cheap and with little down time would be as effective as standard liposuction.

In my practice i use adjuncts to standard liposuction ( smart lip/ laser lip) because I can get better results with it. Additionally I have seen that the recovery is much easier for most people. Always look to make sure your surgeon is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the work is being done in an accredited facility. (John Mancoll, MD, Virginia Beach Plastic Surgeon)

liposuction is very effective procedure for fat removal. it works less for skin tone. Sometimes combination of lipo and skin removal gives the best results. Having said so, the cheapest alternative to liposuction is loosing weight.

excercisse can help by increasing muscle volume to re-strech slightly the loose skin.other alternatives with topical treatment of fat removal are controversial and end up more expensive than the surgery at the long run. (Jacques Haddad, MD, Montreal Plastic Surgeon)

There is no good alternative to proper liposuction. Most of the alternatives cost as much or more, can be quite painful, do not truly work, and are not worth your time and investment.

The risks of liposuction (depending on how much fat is to be removed) are minimal. The cost is comparable to the other options. The most important part of all this is that you see a board certified plastic surgeon, and get her or his assessment.

To be frank…if you have no interest in undergoing a full liposuction procedure…then don’t, and feel okay about it. There are no other options that serve as a replacement, and spending your time and money on the alternatives will likely not be rewarding for you.

If there were truly a great alternative to liposuction…we’d all be doing it. (Barbara L. Persons, MD, FACS, Bay Area Plastic Surgeon)

There are various options out there for body contouring with different levels of invasiveness and different typical lengths of incisions. We offer Cool Sculpting, which is a non-invasive means of shaping by way of “freezing” the fat to cause it to diminish in size and improve the appearance without incisions or anesthesia, and with essentially no downtime.

We also use SmartLipo, which is laser liposuction and is a minimally invasive technique that uses very small incisions to remove the fat, with minimal downtime. This can be used in conjuction with regular liposuction or even with, for instance, a tummy tuck depending on the patient and what he or she is desiring.

When I meet with a patient in consultation, then I can more specifically go over the options for her or him and come up with the right plan together. Take care,Dr. Howell. (Hampton Alexander Howell, MD, Winston Salem Plastic Surgeon)

IMHO the cost, pain, recovery, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE RESULTS, are all much better with Liposuction! Don’t fall for the Hype and Advertising campaigns!

I would recommend you seeing an experienced Surgeon Certified by The American Board Of Plastic Surgery [ABPS] and a member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) for a consult. (Kevin Dieffenbach, MD, Oahu Island Plastic Surgeon)

Diet and Exercise are currently the best alternatives to liposuction for large areas

If you have no interest in surgery, then there plenty of options advertised out there that will no doubt look very appealing.

There is a lot of publicity about these techniques because the companies that manufacture these devices spend a lot of resources promoting them, and physicians who purchase them often feel compelled to advertise heavily since they cost a significant amount of money (sometimes over $100,000) to have in the office.

I have to admit, every time a new, non-invasive (meaning no incisions) technique is developed I get very excited about the possibility of it working for my patients. Liposuction requires a fair amount of physical exertion, and swelling can last for several months after surgery.

If there was a non-surgical technique that worked as well as liposuction, I’d abandon liposuction in an instant. The problem is most patients do not get any visible benefit from non-invasive methods unless it’s for a very small area (like under the chin).

Multiple technologies involving heating or cooling of the fat are being developed now, and although I do believe there is significant promise, I personally have not seen one patient that has been satisfied with a non-invasive technique.

In fact, many of them are in the office to discuss traditional liposuction after trying (and wasting money) on non-invasive techniques. The device with the most promise currently is CoolSculpt, but only time will tell if liposuction will ever be replaced. (Dana Goldberg, MD, Jupiter Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction is the standard method of removing unwanted fat from areas where the skin tone is adequate to “snap back” however other alternatives are available. CoolSculpting is very effective for areas where the technology can be applied (abdomen, inner thighs, bra fat, love handles).

The treatment is effective (especially if two treatments 30 days apart are done), cost effective and has no down time. The primary limitation to this modality is that it cannot yet be applied to areas to which the device cannot be applied (lateral thighs).

VaserShape is another technology that can assist in shaping areas using ultrasound. This requires multiple treatments and can be used on multiple areas. (Janet Turkle, MD, Indianapolis Plastic Surgeon)

There are alternatives such as Cool Lipo or Slim Lipo where cold therapy is applied to the area. They work to some degree but they are not cheap and their results are variable. You might not be making a good investment in the long run if you are one of the patients that does not get a good response from the therapy. (Mel T. Ortega, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)

alternatives to liposuction depends on a person’s expectation and goals. There are no true alternative to liposuction in a person who has not been able to get to their ideal shape and size despite exercise and weight loss.

tummy tuck is a preferred procedure for those who have had loose skin. (Sean Younai, MD, FACS, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)

There are a few alternatives to liposuction and they are not inexpensive Liposonix and Cool Sculpting. (Jhonny Salomon, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)

There are a handful of ways to reduce fat. Weight loss is of course the natural and best way of doing so. Liposuction (all types) directly removes fat via a small cannula. Resection of fat and skin in a tightening procedure (such as a tummy tuck).

As well as non-invasive fat reduction technologies which you are probably most interested in. The most common and widely used alternative to liposuction is CoolSculpting. It uses a freezing technology and reduces the amount of fat in the treatment area by 20%. (Remus Repta, MD, Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon)