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Dr. John LeRoy Answers Your Questions About Tummy Tucks

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belly-being-marked-for-surgeryThe abdomen is an incredibly common “trouble area” for adults. When I say “trouble area”, I mean a portion of the body that is most in need of aesthetic rejuvenation for people as the years go on. Excess skin, stubborn fat, and damaged abdominal muscles that create the appearance of a belly “pooch” are common sources of frustration for people. Thankfully, tummy tuck surgery is designed to address all of these concerns and create a flatter and more healthy-looking abdomen for women and men. Today, I wanted to answer a few common questions about tummy tuck surgery and how it can help my patients.

Question #1: What is the difference between a tummy tuck and liposuction?

While these are both common body contouring procedures, they help patients in very different ways. During a tummy tuck, the focus is on repairing the abdominal muscle, as well as removing loose, stretched skin and tissue that has become lax over time. While fat removal is sometimes part of the procedure, that is not always the case. Liposuction on the other hand, is only intended to address excess fat and cannot help patients who need loose skin and tissue treated (as well as those who experience damaged abdominal muscles).

Question #2: Is there a less invasive version of the tummy tuck available?

I offer a minimally invasive tummy tuck variation known as my signature Band Aid Tummy Tuck. This alternative can be extremely helpful for patients who are within 5-10 pounds of their ideal body weight and experience excess fat deposits and/or mild to moderately sagging skin in the lower abdomen area. During the procedure, I am able to remove small amounts of excess skin and then refine the contour of the abdomen with liposuction (if needed). This option is performed in-office with gentle numbing.

Question #3: Is it true that a tummy tuck can improve my posture?

It is. In addition to the wonderful cosmetic benefits that it’s most known for, undergoing a tummy tuck can provide additional medical benefits like improved posture and reduced back pain as well. By correcting a protruding abdomen and tightening separated abdominal muscles, posture issues can often be addressed.

As a board-certified plastic surgeon, it’s important to me tha I be able to answer questions like this and guide my patients toward the best-possible surgical choices and outcomes for their unique needs. For more information about tummy tuck surgery, or any other cosmetic surgery procedure that I perform, contact me, Dr. John L. LeRoy, to schedule a plastic surgery consultation today. You can also follow along with me on Facebook for additional tips, practice news, and much more.

Your Top Liposuction Questions Answered

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woman-slim-bellyLiposuction is a plastic surgery that speaks to an extremely common frustration: unwanted fat. Many people look in the mirror and see select areas that they wish were slimmer, whether it’s their abdomen, “double chin,” thighs, upper arms, or other areas. To help you gain a better understanding of liposuction and whether it may be able to give you the body contours you prefer, I’m answering some of the most common questions I receive about liposuction as a double board-certified plastic surgeon.

After Liposuction, Will the Fat Return?

This is an important question, and the answer is that it depends on your lifestyle choices. You are generally born with a set number of fat cells and when you gain weight, you don’t develop new fat cells; your fat cells just get larger. Liposuction works by removing fat cells from a precise area. While those fat cells won’t return, you will still have some fat cells in the area, and those can get larger if you’re taking in excess calories. This means you can gain weight in the treated area, although you will typically gain weight more slowly in this area because there are fewer fat cells here than in other areas.

Will I Have Scars After Liposuction?

Every surgery leaves scarring, but fortunately, liposuction scars are very minimal. The incisions I use for liposuction are very small, so your scars will be small and usually difficult to see. Additionally, I do everything I can to place these very small incisions in the natural creases of your body which makes them even more difficult to spot. This is especially true for my minimally invasive Band Aid Liposuction, a procedure I perform in-office with gentle numbing rather than general anesthesia.

Can Liposuction Be Part of a Weight Loss Journey?

Liposuction can play a part in weight loss, but in a different way than most people think. Liposuction is not an “easier” way to lose weight. In fact, your weight will barely drop after liposuction. This surgery is designed not for removing a considerable amount of fat but for refining your curves and contours by addressing small, specific bulges of fat.

For this reason, liposuction is a popular choice for people who have lost weight through other means and reached their goal weight, but who have some stubborn areas remaining and want to enhance their results. It’s important to be at or near your goal weight before considering liposuction.

How Much Time Should I Take Off Work for Liposuction?

The good news is that liposuction tends to have a shorter recovery period than many other plastic surgeries. The bad news is that it’s not possible to know exactly how long your recovery will be. There are many factors that affect your healing period, such as the details of your procedure, your pre-surgery and post-surgery care, your health, and more. It will also depend on the work you do because you’ll be ready for desk work before you will be ready to do work that is more physically demanding. Most people will be able to return to desk work within one week of their liposuction surgery, but we will discuss your recovery in more detail during your pre-surgical consultation.

What Areas Can I Treat with Liposuction?

Liposuction is an incredibly versatile surgery that can be used for nearly any area of your body where you have unwanted fat. Some of the most common areas include the abdomen, upper arms, hips, back, “double chin,” and thighs, as well as the chest and flanks for men. For particularly small areas of excess fat, my minimally invasive Band Aid Liposuction may be an option.

If you’re considering liposuction, the first step is to schedule a liposuction consultation at my Atlanta office to discuss your specific needs and what you can expect. Call me, plastic surgeon Dr. John LeRoy, to schedule your consultation today. Follow me on Facebook for more cosmetic surgery tips and insights.

Am I a Good Candidate for Liposuction?

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Liposuction is a highly popular plastic surgery, and this doesn’t come as a surprise to most people. After all, one look at any movie, TV show, or magazine makes it clear that our society’s beauty standard emphasizes slimmer physiques.

While liposuction can be a fantastic way to help you achieve the shape you’ve been working toward for your body, it’s important to know if this surgery truly is the right choice. As a double board-certified plastic surgeon, I have spent decades helping patients achieve their cosmetic goals, and that includes determining the best way to treat each patient’s needs. To find out if you may be a candidate for liposuction, begin by asking yourself the questions below.

What Area Do You Want to Improve?

What part of your appearance do you most want to improve? Fortunately, liposuction is a versatile procedure that I can perform for nearly any area of the body, including the abdomen, thighs, upper arms, hips, “double chin” area above the neck, and more. However, it’s important to note that liposuction is designed to treat only one or a few smaller problem areas at a time. If you want to slim down your entire body, it’s best to lose weight first and use liposuction to fine-tune your results.

What Results Do You Expect?

Like any plastic surgery, liposuction has specific uses and limitations. This procedure exclusively removes excess fat. It does not tighten your skin, nor does it reduce cellulite.

Take time to truly examine the area you are considering for liposuction. How firm is your skin in the area? Is it the size of the area that you dislike, or is it actually the quality of the skin? If you want to tighten the skin, you may be a better candidate for a different procedure like an arm lift, for example, or a combination of liposuction and a skin-tightening procedure.

Are You Healthy?

Cosmetic surgery is low-risk when it is performed by an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon. Part of the reason for this is because well-trained surgeons know how to evaluate a patient’s health to look for factors that could increase your surgical risks. This includes medical conditions that could impair your healing after surgery. At your pre-surgical consultation, we’ll discuss your medical history to look for potential risk factors and you’ll receive a medical evaluation before your surgery as well.

Are You Prepared for Your Recovery?

Liposuction may be cosmetic, but it’s still a surgery, so it will require a recovery period. To be a candidate for liposuction, you need to be prepared to take time off work and to follow all of your post-surgical care instructions. It is particularly important that you can avoid tobacco or nicotine use for several weeks before and after your procedure. All of this and more will be discussed at your consultation and pre-surgery appointment.

Fortunately, though, your recovery may be shorter than you expect. Some liposuction candidates may also be candidates for my Band Aid Liposuction, a minimally invasive surgery that I perform in-office with gentle numbing rather than general anesthesia. While this procedure still achieves fantastic results, you’ll have about half the recovery time you would have from traditional liposuction.

What Are Your Future Cosmetic Goals?

Liposuction is designed to artfully contour your physique, much in the way that a sculptor precisely shapes a sculpture. If you gain or lose a significant amount of weight after your surgery, it will affect your results. This is why ideal candidates for liposuction have a stable weight that they plan to maintain in the long term.

While these questions can serve as helpful guides, the only way to know for certain whether you are a candidate for liposuction is to schedule a liposuction consultation. Call my Atlanta office today to schedule your consultation. Follow me as well on Facebook and Twitter for more cosmetic surgery tips and insights.

How Liposuction Has Changed Over the Years

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How Liposuction Has Changed Over the Years
Hand on belly isolated on white background

In 2020, liposuction was the #1 most popular plastic surgery in the US according to The Aesthetic Society. The procedure is an exceptional way to contour precise areas of your physique and fine-tune the work you’ve already done with exercising and eating healthy. Today, it’s often performed as a minimally invasive surgery, so you get the contouring you want with minimal recovery time.

Like any medical procedure, though, liposuction surgery has come a long way from its beginnings. To give you a better understanding of this surgery and how advanced it has become, let’s take a journey back through the history and evolution of liposuction.

 

The Early Days

The idea of surgical fat removal was first introduced in the 1920s by a French surgeon named Charles Dujarier. The procedure was unreliable, though, so it didn’t begin growing in popularity until the 1970s when Drs. Arpad and Giorgio Fischer, working in Italy at the time, developed more modern and reliable techniques for the procedure.

Using Fluid in Liposuction

In 1982, a French surgeon named Dr. Yves-Gerard Illouz introduced what he called the “Illouz Method” for liposuction. This was the first version of the surgery that involved injecting fluid into the treatment area to make it easier to break up and remove the fat cells. This was one more step toward the manageable version of liposuction surgery that we have today.

Tumescent Liposuction

Most liposuction procedures today use a method called tumescent liposuction, which was developed and introduced by a California surgeon named Dr. Jeffrey Klein. The procedure involves injecting fluid into the treatment area as in the Illouz Method, but it uses a more advanced fluid called tumescent fluid.

Tumescent fluid is a mixture of lidocaine, saline, and epinephrine. While it plumps and firms the fat to make it easier to remove, this fluid also improves your post-surgery comfort in addition to constricting your blood vessels in the area to reduce bleeding. Overall, tumescent fluid makes liposuction easier to perform with consistently strong results and it makes your recovery time easier.

Band Aid Liposuction

As a double board-certified plastic surgeon, I have a passion for creating exceptional cosmetic results for my patients while keeping recovery time to a minimum. With that goal, I created my unique Band Aid Liposuction.

Band Aid Liposuction uses minimally invasive techniques to remove small bulges of unwanted fat in-office using gentle numbing rather than general anesthesia. The recovery time is about half of what it would be for traditional liposuction, getting you back on your feet and enjoying your results more quickly.

Getting Your Body Contouring Results with Less Recovery Time

If you have small areas of unwanted fat you want to remove, whether they’re on your arms, legs, flanks, abdomen, “double chin,” or other areas, schedule a liposuction consultation today with me, Dr. John LeRoy, to learn more about my Band Aid Liposuction surgery. In the meantime, enjoy more plastic surgery news and tips when you follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Three Things to Consider Before Undergoing a Tummy Tuck

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laying-out--surgery-on-bellyAs our bodies experience normal physical changes from causes such as childbirth, the aging process and weight fluctuations, we may notice that excess fat and skin start to accumulate in the midsection. However, even with vigorous exercise and a strict diet, eliminating excess fat in the abdominal area can be difficult. Since it can be difficult to lose this stubborn fat, an abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck, is a great way to repair separated muscles and eliminate excess fat while toning and contouring the surrounding skin in the stomach area.

Doing research before undergoing a plastic surgery procedure is something that I, Dr. John L. LeRoy, always recommend to my patients. Before you undergo a tummy tuck, you should consider and learn more about the intricacies of the procedure to find out if it’s right for you.

1. Plan to be at a stable weight before your tummy tuck
It’s important to note that a tummy tuck is not a substitute for dieting and exercise. You should plan to follow a healthy lifestyle both before and after your procedure to help maintain your results. In the six to twelve months leading up to your surgery, you should be about 10-15 pounds away from your desired weight. After your procedure, you should keep in mind that any major weight loss or gain can undo and alter the toned look achieved from your surgery.

2. Learn about the different types of tummy tucks
There are many types of tummy tuck procedures that I perform and each one has different expected results. However, my most popular procedure is my signature Band Aid Tummy Tuck.

This treatment uses gentle numbing, is less invasive than a traditional tummy tuck and is designed for patients who are a healthy weight and want to lose excess skin and fat. Additionally, I use smaller incisions that only target the areas that need the most attention. By analyzing your unique situation and concerns, I can help you decide which tummy tuck procedure would work best for you.

3. A tummy tuck will leave a scar
Over the years, there have been plenty of innovations in the way that a tummy tuck is performed, however, scarring is still an inevitable part of the procedure. Patients should expect a scar to form along their horizontal incision line that runs from hip to hip, right above the pubic bone. The scar will fade over time, but is easily concealed below under garments. I work to make sure any visible scarring is as minimal as possible. I also strategically place any incisions I make in areas that can be easily hidden with clothing and swimwear.

If you’re interested in learning more about tummy tucks and how this procedure could work for you, book a consultation with double board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. John L. LeRoy in Atlanta today. Also, give me a follow on Facebook and YouTube to stay updated on my services and latest specials.

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