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

There are many liposuction alternatives on the market and every surgeon will have their own alternative preference. In my practice, Cool Sculpting is employed for patients who do not have the ability to take even a single day off from work or who are adamantly opposed to any surgical procedure.

While Cool Sculpting results for most patients are quite impressive, it would be foolish to say that any of these non-surgical alternatives are as effective as liposuction is. For example, Cool Sculpting removes up to 20-25% of fat cells in the areas treated per treatment and requires that your body recognizes these necrotic or frozen fat cells and breaks them down over time.

Liposuction, on the other hand, is a permanent and physical removal of fat cells in the areas treated.

With advancements in liposuction technology, specifically the laser assisted liposuction approach that most surgeons use today, patient recovery is quite fast with very little downtime and even less discomfort.

In fact in my practice, most patients return to work after a liposuction procedure within 24-48 hours. What this comes down to is what kind of a result will make you happy, how much excess fat you have to lose and how long does a patient want to wait to see their results.

Do you want a permanent removal of fat cells in the areas of concern or are you just looking for a reduction?

For these reasons, I would recommend consulting with a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in surgical and non-surgical fat reduction procedures.

Once you have had a thorough discussion of your goals and expectations and a physical exam, your surgeon will be better able to guide you and make a recommendation. (Stephen T. Greenberg, MD, Woodbury Plastic Surgeon)

Learning about the various options for achieving your cosmetic goals is a great first step. While traditional liposuction has proven to be a successful and rather low-risk procedure over the years, it’s understandable that this is not for everyone, and fortunately, there are some alternatives.

In particular, for my patients who don’t need traditional liposuction, I offer a minimally invasive option called Band Aid Liposuction. While this is still a surgical procedure, it is performed in-office with gentle numbing rather than general anesthesia, and for those with only a small amount of fat they would like to remove, Band Aid Liposuction can be a way to achieve surgically effective results with less downtime and cost than the more comprehensive alternative.

My advice would be to schedule a consultation with one or more board-certified plastic surgeons, because while there are several minimally invasive and non-surgical fat reduction methods, you may or may not be a candidate for them.

Finding out what options you actually have can help you narrow down your decision and find out all the details you need to know before choosing a procedure. in your journey toward feeling confident in your appearance! (John L. LeRoy, MD, FACS, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

There are many alternatives to liposuction but nothing removes the fat cells as well as liposuction does. Before considering liposuction, all patient should attempt to contour their body through appropriate diet and exercise. If that fails, non-surgical options such as UltraShape can be used.

These methods use non-invasive modalities to break up the fat cells and release their content so that the body can use that fat as fuel or discard it. (Mariusz Sapijaszko, MD, FRCPC, Edmonton Dermatologic Surgeon)

Alternatives to Liposuction

Liposonix Non-invasive Fat Reduction

I wish there were good alternatives to liposuction. Currently, there are 2 main alternatives to liposuction: freezing your fat (Cryolypolisis) vs heating your fat (Laser)

Downtime: This is really the only advantage to liposuction alternatives.

Fat Removal: Liposuction alternatives right now can remove maybe 1 inch from your waistline. Unfortunately, this is not from 1 treatment. This would require at least 4 separate treatments. Liposuction, on the other hand, can transform your entire shape.

Treatment Time: Surgery is a small commitment. Unfortunately, neither are the liposuction alternatives. The most popular alternative on the market right now requires around 4 hours of your time per treatment and you will likely need at least 4 treatments.

Cost: The cost per treatment is about half of liposuction. However, when you factor in at least 4 treatments the cost is now twice as much as liposuction.

Complications: Surgery has potential rare significant complications. The more common complications i.e. fat hardening, fat firmness, skin discoloration can also happen from the alternative liposuction treatments.

In addition, a burn to the skin can and on occasion does happen from the alternative liposuction treatments. I think the alternative liposuctions have a role, a very small role, in treatment options to patients.

I think the ideal patient is one that has minimal excess fat that is in a very accessible location. Outside of that, I think you are making a lot of sacrifices by choosing a liposuction alternative to surgical liposuction. (Matthew J. Nykiel, MD, Ontario Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction vs non-invasive fat reduction

Tumescent liposuction is the gold standard still in reducing areas of excess fat. Generally, it is well tolerated with minimal side effects. Although it is a surgical procedure, it is minimally invasive with patients returning to work in as little as 2 days and back to exercise in as little as a week.

There are some downsides such as swelling, wearing of compression garments, numbness, and delay in achieving final results which may take 6-12 months. Versus non-invasive techniques, liposuction tends to be better for larger areas, better for contouring and shaping, and has a long-term track record of results lasting.

Non-invasive fat reduction has grown tremendously over the past 6 years. There are now numerous devices and treatments that may help with fat reduction. Coolsculpting is the most popular treatment using cold temperature to spot reduce fat.

Patients generally need multiple treatments in multiple areas. Ultrashape / liposonix use ultrasound waves to break down fat; results tend to take multiple treaments and work best on thinner patients. Several radiofrequency devices are available that may reduce fat; however, results tend to vary dramatically from person to person.

Recently, a new injectable has become available for reducing fat under the chin, Kybella. Several injections are needed in most patients for best results. Non-invasive techniques and devices usually have less downtime and fewer side-effects.

The draw back is they generally work on smaller areas and take multiple treatments. (Kyle Coleman, MD, New Orleans Dermatologic Surgeon)

There is simply no noninvasive procedure (at this time) that can achieve the results that properly applied liposuction in the hands of an experienced plastic surgeon is capable of.

Basically, all techniques of liposuction (traditional, tumescent, wet, super wet, ultrasound assisted, power assisted, laser assisted) are probably equivalent as far as results are concerned for the patient.

As far as noninvasive alternatives, cryolipolysis is probably the most effective and documented effective approach. It has the benefit of no anesthesia and generally lower cost (but not cheap), and can yield visible results in carefully selected patients (but substantially less than liposuction, in most cases). (Jeffrey D. Wagner, MD, Indianapolis Plastic Surgeon)

Liposuction, by the tumescent technique, is THE safest way of performing liposuction, and has the fastest recovery -you can be back at a desk job in 3 days, and the best results.

Pain after the procedure feels like muscle soreness – like when resuming exercise after a period of not exercising. There is no pain when you are resting but you will be aware of it with certain movements.

It is well-controlled with oral pan medication for the first 2-3 days after which you will ned Tylenol alone. Pain is also lessened by wearing a compression garment after the procedure. I hope this reassures you and makes you feel comfortable in having liposuction by the tumescent technique.

The procedure can be performed in an office setting, avoiding the cost of a surgery center and anesthesia. This is really the best approach, in my opinion. Other additions such as a laser (for laser lipolysis, aka Smartlipo) do not improve upon the results and recovery from tumescent liposuction but do add to the cost (of adding a laser) and the risk of complications specific to the laser.

Ultrasonic liposuction also increases the total cost of the procedure, by adding the cost of utilizing ultrasound, without improving the results that are obtained by the tumescent technique of liposuction. Non-invasive fat reduction techniques are not as effective and entail multiple treatments.

Non-invasive techniques such as cryolipolysis are limited by the size and shape of applicators available. Applicators are not available for every area of the body. Thus cryolipolysis is best reserved for small areas in limited areas.

Other non-invasive treatments include Liposonix ( non-invasive ultrasound), Zerona (laser), and Kybella ( FDA approved injections for fat reduction in the double chin). All these provide fat reduction of limited areas and contour improvement. Repeat treatments will add to the total cost of the procedure.

I hope this sheds some light on the options you have heard of. (Renuka Diwan, MD, Cleveland Dermatologic Surgeon)