Why Liposuction Should Be Performed ONLY by a Plastic Surgeon?
Liposuction is a strong surgical tool for body contouring; either as the only treatment or as an adjunct to other procedures like tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), arm lift (brachioplasty), thigh lift, face and neck lift, etc.
There are non-plastic surgery physicians and even non-physicians who advertise as “cosmetic surgeon” or even a member of “board of cosmetic surgery” -which is a board made up by non-plastic surgeons who are interested in the cosmetic field, but did not have formal plastic and reconstructive surgery training. This is different from the “Aesthetic Society” - which is the real society of real cosmetic plastic surgeons!
Some of these providers, perform liposuction with no training or some sort of the “weekend course” training, with no underestimating how critical this procedure is and how devastating the complications can get.
Here is an example of liposuction done by a pediatrician in Los Angeles, which resulted in death of a young mother.
But what can go wrong? and why your doctor MUST be a trained and board certified plastic surgeon when some “cosmetic surgeons” or chain companies can do it for cheaper?!
Here is the answer:
Patient selection: Not everyone is a candidate for liposuction and not everyone would have a good outcome after liposuction procedure. Liposuction is NOT a weight loss surgery and can only address the fat underneath the skin on top of the muscle- not the fat inside the belly located under the muscle.
Also, in order to have better results, the amount of excess skin and skin quality should be assessed by the surgeon; if this is not appropriately evaluated, liposuction can actually make you look worse!
Poor patient selection would result in poor outcome.
Your plastic surgery trained surgeon has spent “years of training” and has done “hundreds if not thousands” of these operations to be able to better assess you and see if you are a good candidate or not.
Patient safety: If not done right, liposuction can result in devastating complications such as infection, pulmonary embolism, damage to internal organs and even death. Minor complications like lumps and bumps, irregularities, fluid collection or asymmetry could happen too.
Knowledge of anatomy, special techniques, knowledge of appropriately using tools, operating in high quality and credentialed facilities -which will not allow non-plastic surgeons to perform surgery- are key factors to reduce the risk of these complications.
Surgical Outcome: A pediatrician is trained to treat sick kids, a dentist is trained to fix teeth, a gynecologist is trained to treat women specific health issues, a psychiatrist is trained to address your mental health issues and your plastic surgeon is trained to achieve the best surgical results. It takes years of training to become a doctor and then more years of intense training to become a plastic surgeon (in my case, 22 years!)
In fact, not every plastic surgeon is an expert in hight quality liposuction. In order to get the best cosmetic outcomes, your plastic surgeon must have special interest and training in cosmetic surgery.
I use the most advanced technology in liposuction (VASER) which is an ultrasound assisted liposuction that allows me to perform high definition liposuction and get the best results with the best safety profile.
Before and after HD VASER liposuction
Bottom line is that if you are considering liposuction, make sure whoever is performing this surgery is a board certified plastic surgery trained surgeon and not just a doctor who “learned how to do it” on weekend course and was hired by a franchise company to drain your pocket and make some money as a side gig! The cheaper is not always the better! It may work when you are buying a pair of shoes, but there is only one of YOU and that one, deserves the best!
Your health and your outcome must be the focus of whoever is your surgeon, not just their side gig!
If you are considering this procedure, please contact us today for your free consultation to see if you are a good candidate and if yes, to design your customized operation!
