The best procedure to remove unwanted fat from love handles is a liposuction.
Liposuction is a surgical technique to remove unwanted fat deposits from different areas of body like abdomen, flanks, neck, upper arms, hips, buttocks, knees, calves.
This method allows removing the fat tissue that is not responding to diet and exercise.
The surgery is performed by using a cannula- small instrument attached to a vacuum source which provides the suction to remove the fatty tissue.
The procedure can be done under general or local anesthesia.
The recovery time can take up to 4 weeks but most people are back to work within a couple odf days (Gregory Turowski, MD, PhD, FACS, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)
This area is the best area for liposuction. Usually contouring can be done in supine or lateral position. In prone position a comprehensive plan can be made to remove the love handles, narrow the waist and make the buttocks appear more prominent relative to the surrounding.
Some of the fat removed can be transferred to the buttock for additional enhancement. This is when true sculpting can be done in plastic surgery. An artistic sence is extremely helpful to achieve great results. (Farhad Rafizadeh, MD, Morristown Plastic Surgeon)
Treatment for love handles
Love handles are generally best treated with liposuction used to shape the flanks. That said, it is difficult to determine your specific needs without an examination.
Many women who have had a few children also benefit from some type of tummy tuck procedure in combination with liposuction to maximally contour their waistlines and restore curvature that has been lost by a combination of lax skin, a few extra pounds, and separation of the rectus muscles that happens with pregnancy.
If you are young and otherwise fit and have had no children, liposuction alone will likely do the trick!(B. Aviva Preminger, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
I would advise diet and exercise before jumping to surgery. If you have tried that and they still persist then ultrasonic liposuction (Vaser) would be a good treatment.
If your problem is also loose abdominal musculature and excess abdominal skin then liposuction in conjunction with an abdominoplasty and muscle tightening can improve your waistline. (A. Dean Jabs, MD, PhD, FACS, Bethesda Plastic Surgeon)
The waistline is formed by the 360 degree contour of the abdominal wall along with the overlying fat and skin (including the love handles and belly) and the surrounding rib cage and hip bones.
Treatment options to contour the waist include weight loss, liposuction, tummy tuck, body lift, and Zeltiq.
For the love handles alone, liposuction can work well if there is minimal loose skin. Zeltiq may also be worth considering.
If there is a significant amount of loose skin, than a tuck procedure may also be necessary. (Larry Fan, MD, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon)
Liposuction to this area is great.also this area is very refractory to exercise so lipo sometimes is one’s only hope. (Robert Brueck, MD, Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon)
Handles at the top of the muffin
Wet technique/ power assisted liposuction gives excellent reproducable results in this area, as it has for many years. Other “fad” techniques are sadly more marketing than science- proven in prospective random double blind studies. You have every reason to expect to be satisfied by liposuction. (Richard Sadove, MD, Gainesville Plastic Surgeon)
Love Handle Liposuction As An Enhanced Method Of Waistline Contouring
The waistline is best thought of as near 360 degree structure. While many focus on just the front abdominal problem, the sides and into the back is also important to get the best waistline result. One of the best areas for improvement by liposuction is the love handles.
This is because liposuction can be done very aggressively in this area with less fear of contour problems and irregularities than most other body areas. In fact, the goal of love handle liposuction is to reduce the bulges to a straight line in those with a bigger love handle problem or to take a straight line into an inward curve in a more fit or lean individual.
I prefer the use of Smartlipo for this liposuction surgery due to better skin tightening but traditional liposuction can produce good results as well.
This is a very successful body contouring surgery with minimal downtown other than some persistent soreness for awhile. (Barry L. Eppley, MD, DMD, Indianapolis Plastic Surgeon)
Usually liposuction is best for this type of procedure. However you may a be candidate for Zeltiq as well. (David L. Abramson, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
Usually the best procedure to treat the love handles is to perform liposuction of the area. The down time is minimal and the results are usually excellent. (Steven Wallach, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)
Liposuction is probably the answer for contouring issues of the love handles and waist
Liposuction would provide you with the means to obtain a better, more contoured shape. If there also is skin laxity (which you did not mention), then other procedures may need to be considered.
Your best bet is to obtain one or more consultations with board certified plastic surgeons. (Steven Turkeltaub, MD, Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon)
Tailoring the waist in the area called love handles almost always responds well to one of the many forms of liposuction available. Our own preference is liposuction with ultrasound performed front to back in a circumferential pattern.
The skin should contour well in the love handle and waist, especially if you are young. (Peter E. Johnson, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)
In my opinion and experience I recommend SMART LIPO TRIPLEX operation. More skin tightening noticed. (Darryl J. Blinski, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)
Liposuction is good for love handles but may not be good for straight waistline
A straight waistline maybe just how your body is shaped and that cannot always be changed with lipo. Often times the waist can be made more more shapely by tightening the abdominal muscle fascia. This can make the waist narrower then the hips which will create more of a coca cola bottle curve.
Usually this is part of a tummy tuck, but liposuction can create a better shape as well if the cause is only fatty tissue. (Dev Wali, MD, Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon)
In general love han ( medical term — flanks) are best treated by some form of liposuction. In my practice I use VASER sometimes and the SmartLipo sometimes , depending on the location and the patients own skin and amount of fat present.
For the love handles, Vaser does work extremely well. Of course you should consult in person with a plastic surgeon to get the best advice. (Joshua Korman, MD, Mountain View Plastic Surgeon)
Love Handles
I think that there are two ways to think about getting rid of your love handles, and there are both advantages and disadvantages to each approach. The gold standard of treatment is liposuction. There is no question that in a single procedure you can sculpt your waist to the maximum your body dimensions will allow.
Different surgeons may suggest different forms of liposuction, including smart lipo, vaser, or traditional liposuction and I don’t think that the outcome is likely to be significantly different if any of them is performed well.
The down side to liposuction is that it is a surgical procedure, you will require some form of anesthesia (ranging form sedation to general anesthesia), and you will probably be bruised for several weeks and will be required to wear a compression garment for about a month afterword.
On the other hand you could consider non-surgical fat reduction likely CoolSculpt, but that will probably require more than a single session and may not be able to sculpt you as completely as liposuction. On the other hand there is no anesthesia, and only minimal recovery is required.
In order to make the right decision for you I suggest that you have a consultation with a board Certified Plastic Surgeon who can offer you both surgical and non-surgical options. That way you can both decide and which approach will work best for you. (Isaac Starker, MD, Morristown Plastic Surgeon)
How get rid of love handles?
There are several good methods for getting rid of love handles. All involve removing the fat. The type of machine used probably doesn’t matter as much as the skill of the surgeon using it.
VASER, ultrasonic, power assisted, and regular liposuction will all get the job done. Be wary of someone hyping a particular machine as being superior to all other methods. (Paul W. Loewenstein, MD, Milwaukee Plastic Surgeon)