Before and after liposuction of the abdomen, flanks and lower back in a 27 year old woman. She was planning a mastopexy and augmentation and wanted to have some additional body contouring during her procedure. She was physically fit but felt her body did not reflect that. She had stubborn fat in these areas that would not go away regardless of how hard she worked!
Liposuction was done under general anesthesia as an outpatient procedure. Several liters of fat were permanently removed from her upper and lower abdomen, flanks, pubic region and lower back. Postoperatively, she wore compression under her clothes for six weeks. She resumed exercise at three weeks when the bruising had resolved.
Since she has dark skin and had several old scrapes or oven burns that were still brown over a year later, she expected to have darkening of the areas of surgery – this is called “post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation”. This can be seen in her follow up photos, taken at three months after surgery. She still has firm swelling called “edema”. This will continue to be absorbed and soften over the next 3-6 months.
Her liposuction incisions are hidden in natural skin creases. The darker areas on the sides of her body will continue to fade gradually over the next several months, and she understands that avoiding direct sun exposure here (via sun block SPF30 or higher) is vital over the summer months.
Her results have an added benefit: when you decrease your width in the waist and “muffin top” region, your buttocks appear more shapely! Her friends are asking whether she had her buttock augmented, and the answer is not – just strategic fat removal!
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
