Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure that removes unwanted fat from specific areas of the body such as the abdomen, thighs, flanks, or upper arms. It’s the ideal solution when you’ve tried everything, including diet and exercise, and nothing seems to work against those remaining fat cells.
The biggest reason patients choose liposuction is to enhance their appearance. When you work hard to maintain a healthy weight and toned physique, you want something to show for it. Unfortunately, sometimes, even with the most diligent workout plan and diet, fat won’t budge.
In these situations, liposuction may be the only effective solution. Fat can be removed from specific areas of the body in just the right amount to create a smooth, toned appearance.
Finally, with an improved appearance comes a flood of self-confidence. If excess weight on your abdomen has made you feel uncomfortable in a bathing suit, or “love handles” have kept you in loose and baggy sweatshirts and tops, you deserve a boost in confidence.
Liposuction is a safe, simple, and highly-effective solution for small pockets of unwanted fat on the body. It’s a great way to give your confidence a boost and reinvent a more positive self-image.
Liposuction is a permanent solution to excess fat. While it’s certainly important to maintain a steady weight after the procedure, most patients are able to keep their liposuction weight off effectively.
Board-certified plastic surgeon in Portland Liposuction expert, Dr. Aric Aghayan, is proud to offer advanced cosmetic procedures and treatments for Portland area men and women at Après Plastic Surgery.
Trained in general and plastic surgery at Oregon Health & Science University, Dr. Aghayan also spent years serving as a medical officer in the Navy. With years of experience and training, Dr. Aghayan performs plastic surgery with an artistic eye and scientific precision so his patients get beautiful, natural-looking results.
Meet Dr. AghayanIdeal candidates for liposuction are within 10-15 lbs. of their goal weight but still have hard to treat areas of subcutaneous fat. Ideal candidates also don’t have a significant amount of skin laxity or overhanging skin. Additionally, it’s important to have realistic expectations about liposuction surgery. While liposuction can help you drop a few pounds of noticeable excess fat, it is not a weight loss procedure.
Preparation for your Portland liposuction procedure begins with booking a consultation appointment. At your appointment, Dr. Aghayan will speak with you about your medical history and desired results.
He’ll also perform a physical exam and propose the best course of action for your upcoming procedure. In some cases, you may be instructed to stop or change certain medications or supplements before surgery. It’s also important to stop smoking and drinking alcohol at least one to two weeks beforehand. Dr. Aghayan will provide you with specific instructions as your Portland liposuction procedure date nears.
Liposuction is an outpatient procedure, which means you’ll be able to go home on the same day as your surgery. In general, all liposuction surgeries follow the same pattern:
Another unique benefit offered by Après Plastic Surgery is our unique option of undergoing liposuction while awake with oral sedation. Oral sedation is a great option that allows for a speedier postoperative recovery for the majority of patients. It’s also ideal for patients who may have anxiety about going under with full anesthesia.
Very few centers or surgeons specialize in awake liposuction, and those that do often do not present patients with any other option. Of course, although the majority of patients do very well with awake liposuction, it’s not the best option for all patients. We tailor each procedure to the individual, so if general anesthesia is preferable to you, we’re happy to accommodate that as well. Dr. Aghayan has performed over 1400 Awake Lipo procedures at Sono Bello in Portland, OR and offers the procedure in his office.
The vast majority of patients who undergo liposuction do not have issues with their recovery. It is an extremely common procedure. Still, as with any surgery, there are some risks and complications that all patients should be aware of. These include:
After undergoing liposuction Portland patients will be carefully monitored and screened before being discharged. Once this happens, you’ll need to have a trustworthy friend or family member ready to take you home.
You should expect significant swelling initially, which will considerably improve over the following six weeks. To help with the swelling and discomfort, patients will be directed to wear a compression garment for four weeks post-op continuously. It will take an average of three months before patients will be able to assess their true results.
Liposuction is often combined with procedures such as:
A tummy tuck is performed when excess skin is present on the abdomen. Tummy tucks and liposuction work in tandem because the presence of excess skin often means the presence of excess fat as well (and vice versa).
Body lift procedures, such as lower body lifts and thigh lifts, usually utilize liposuction to remove excess fat from target areas
Brazilian butt lifts are fat transfer procedures that always involve the use of liposuction. To perform a Brazilian butt lift, a small amount of unwanted fat is removed from one part of the body via liposuction. It is then transferred to the buttocks where it is used to create a rounder, more proportional profile.
Mommy makeovers are combination-procedures designed to help mothers who are done having children regain their pre-baby bodies. Issues such as sagging abdominal skin, excess fat, and drooping breasts are targeted.
Mommy makeovers are tailored to the individual, so they may include any variety of cosmetic procedures. Liposuction, however, is nearly always a key component of mommy makeovers.
Generally speaking, liposuction for the body can start at $8,000 and up depending on areas treated . However, this price may be more or less depending on your unique circumstances. The biggest cost-determining factor for liposuction is the number of areas being treated and extra add on procedures like Renuvion. For example, liposuction for the abdomen, back, and upper arms will be decidedly more expensive than liposuction for the abdomen alone. Additional factors influencing liposuction cost in Portland, OR include:
Both your surgeon and your anesthesiologist will charge their own fees. Naturally, your surgeon’s fees will be higher as they will not only perform your procedure, but they’ll also be meeting with you before and after your surgery. The more experienced and well-trained your surgeon is, the higher you can expect their fees to be.
You’ll have to pay for the use of the hospital or surgical facility where you’re having your surgery. They will charge for the use of their staff, materials, equipment, services, and location in general.
Just as a more qualified surgeon may charge more, a more expensive geographic location may be more expensive for having surgery. Places like New York City and Los Angeles tend to charge the most.
Technically, yes. That’s because the liposuction procedure is effectively removing physical fat from unwanted areas. On the other hand, it’s important to note that there are limits to what liposuction can do. Generally speaking, liposuction will only help you lose between one and 10 lbs. of fat.
The real key to liposuction’s great results is that the procedure allows you to target where that fat gets taken from. That is, if you were to lose 10 lbs. solely from lifestyle changes, the effects would happen all over your body and would not be as noticeable as the effects of liposuction.
This depends. If you have 20 to 30 lbs. to lose, for example, you may want to lose some of this weight naturally (through diet and exercise) before getting liposuction. This will help you reach a more stable weight that you’ll be able to maintain post-surgery.
If you’re simply trying to drop some vanity weight (five to 10 lbs., for example), the liposuction process may be able to take care of this for you.
Essentially, it’s helpful to be within or close to a healthy body weight range before getting liposuction. Ideally, this should be a weight that you feel comfortable being able to maintain after your procedure so that your results will last.
Dr. Aghayan will give you unique instructions on how to prepare before your liposuction surgery. In general, you’ll want to make sure you take time off from work or school, and have someone lined up to take you home after surgery. You may want to arrange for childcare as well.
Additionally, speak with Dr. Aghayan about any medications or supplements you are taking. He may ask that you stop or alter them leading up to surgery.
Neither one is better. Rather, they are two very different procedures, which target different pain points and offer different results.
Liposuctions reduce small amounts of excess fat in trouble areas such as the flanks, abdomen, and thighs. Tummy tucks, on the other hand, target excess skin on the abdomen.
Often, both liposuction and a tummy tuck are performed within the same surgery. This is common in patients who have recently lost a significant amount of weight, for example. It is also common in procedures such as mommy makeovers.
Liposuction is a common, simple, and highly-effective procedure. Although it is invasive, it does not require as much downtime as many other procedures. Results can be achieved on varied areas of the body, so the procedure is catered to your unique needs.
On the other hand, as with any surgery, there are some health risks associated with liposuction. Additionally, although the downtime is minimal, it will require you to take some time off from work or school, and inevitably, you will have scars (though they are likely to be very faint and discreet).
For most patients, liposuction is permanent, and the results are permanent. The procedure itself removes fat cells from the target areas forever.
However, the permanence of your liposuction results will also depend on how well you maintain your weight after surgery. While gaining a few extra lbs. (5-10, for example) shouldn’t ruin your results, gaining more than that may cause fat cells to plump up in the targeted areas, and this can alter your physique again. If this happens, it’s important to try to lose the weight you’ve regained naturally.
Liposuction only takes care of pockets of excess fat. If you struggle with loose skin as a result of pregnancy or weight loss, for example, this will need to be addressed with a different procedure — namely, a tummy tuck or lift procedure.
Often these procedures can be performed together so that you only require one surgery to take care of both excess fat and excess skin. At your consultation appointment with Dr. Aghayan, be sure to mention all of your concerns, including excess skin if that is something you would like to address.
As with any invasive surgery involving incisions and sutures, liposuction does leave some scars. It’s important to remember, however, that Dr. Aghayan is highly-skilled at locating incisions in discreet areas such as within your body’s natural folds. Additionally, each incision used for liposuction will be as small and thin as possible.
Lastly, after your surgery, you’ll receive detailed instructions on how to correctly care for your incision scars. Diligently treating your incision sites according to these instructions will help your scars heal and fade properly.
When it comes to liposuction surgery, your consultation appointment is an important first step. At this appointment, it’s important to be forthright and honest with Dr. Aghayan about your hopes and desires for surgery.
Dr. Aghayan will want to know your desired results, and he’ll have questions for you regarding your medical history. To be prepared, bring with you a list of any medications or supplements you are currently taking as well as information about any medical treatments, surgeries, or illnesses you’ve undergone or are currently undergoing.
You should also come prepared with a list of any questions or concerns you have. Jot these down in your phone or on a notepad so you don’t forget them.
In most cases, yes. Still, it’s far better to slim your trouble areas with just one liposuction procedure.
That’s because, even though liposuction is a permanent procedure and the fat removed is removed forever, it is still possible to gain weight after your procedure. The good news is that for most people, gaining a few pounds after liposuction won’t change your results. Usually, the additional weight will appear evenly over your whole body instead of flooding to the area targeted by liposuction.
A significant weight gain, however, could result in fat returning to the treated areas. It isn’t that new fat cells will be created, but rather that the remaining fat cells may grow larger. If you are unable to lose this extra weight naturally through diet and exercise or if you decide to target a different area of the body, a second liposuction procedure may be possible.
Enjoy the pinnacle of cosmetic surgery expertise with board-certified Portland Plastic Surgeon Dr. Aric Aghayan at Après Plastic Surgery. With a legacy of over 1600 successful body contouring procedures, Dr. Aghayan stands as the foremost specialist in advanced body contouring technology and treatment options. Take the next big step on your beauty journey by scheduling a comprehensive plastic surgery consultation with Dr. Aghayan today.