subject: Can Liposuction Give Me A Six-pack? [print this page] Every man has seen and envied the washboard abs of the movie stars. Unfortunately, the typical American midriff doesn't bear much resemblance to what we see on the silver screen. Most men have heard of liposuction (also called lipoplasty and suction lipectomy), and they wonder whether the procedure could help them to a firmer and more chiseled abdomen.
Lipoplasty is a surgery which removes excess and unwanted fat from specific target areas on a person's body. It typically is performed under local anesthesia. The surgery uses special hollow needles called cannulas to break up and suction out the unwanted fat. The abdomen is the most popular area for lipoplasty, among both men and women.
The surgery can help a lot of people to trim their tummies by removing excess fat. In some specialized cases, though, it can even create the appearance of six-pack abs. A high precision liposuction procedure called abdominal etching removes fat in specific patterns to accentuate and reveal the structure and outline of the underlying abdominal muscles.
According to some estimates, the surgery typically costs somewhere between $4,000 and $7,000, which makes it pricier than most lipectomies.
The requirements for surgery are also stricter than in most lipoplasties. In addition to the normal health requirements, patients must fit into a relatively small golden window of stomach fat. If a patient has either too much or too little fat, the surgery will not be able to adequately reveal the muscle. One to two centimeters of pinchable abdominal fat tends to be ideal.
Patients who have more or less fat than this will probably not be able to see good results. Similarly, patients who are not already relatively fit or who have too much excess abdominal skin may not be able to undergo the procedure.
People who are considering the surgery should be aware that there is the possibility of having complications. A study regarding thirty two patients found that six experienced seromas (buildups of fluid), three experienced relatively severe scarring and two needed a second procedure to touch up and correct aspects of the first one. However, all in all, the procedure had around an 85% satisfaction rate.
If you're interested in undergoing a surgery like this, you might consider meeting with a surgeon in your area for a free consultation. Your surgeon should be able to tell you what sort of procedure would best match your own personal goals.
