Skin Elasticity and
Cellulite
The aesthetic risk common to all liposuction modalities is the creation of undesirable skin and contour irregularities. For the result to be aesthetic, fat must be contoured evenly and the skin surface must adapt itself smoothly to the reduced fat volume. The challenge in liposculpture is not to suction out as much fat as possible, but to find an aesthetic compromise between fat removal and skin retraction. The more fat is removed, the more skin needs to contract. Many patients considering lipocontouring surgery do not have optimal skin elasticity or contour. When skin elasticity is poor, only a conservative amount of fat can be removed in order to allow the skin to adapt to the underlying volume reduction. No liposculpture tool can tighten loose non-elastic skin to create an aesthetic appearance. Therefore, patients must have realistic expectations.
Liposuction versus Body (Thigh, Hip, Buttock) Lifts
Liposuction removes fat. This requires good skin elasticity. By
removing fat from underneath the skin, the skin looses support.
This can make the skin look older. Liposuction does not
rejuvenate the appearance of the skin, it actually can worsen it.
Liposuction improves contour i.e. it reduces the size and shape
of the body - it does not rejuvenate the skin appearance.
If skin is loose or
flaccid, then any liposuction modality will only make it looser
even though the contour can be improved. To tighten loose skin, a
lifting procedure has to be done - a patient in her 50's or 60's
with facial aging knows not to request facial liposuction but a
facelift. A body lift is to the body what a facelift is to the
face. Click on Lower
Body Lift for more information.
Cellulite
There are two types of cellulite. The first is congenital and can
be seen at a young age. It may improve with liposuction. The
other is the appearance of the skin as it ages and looses
elasticity. This much more common type gets worse with age. This
type cannot be improved with liposuction but could be worsened as
flaccid skin after liposuction can end up more flaccid. The
cellulite of aging can only be predictably and dramatically
improved with a body lifting procedure.
'Endermologie' and Cellulite Creams
Cellulite is a concern for many women. Since the frustration of
this market is very high and since women are always looking for a
'cure' for their cellulite, there will always be a supply of
'easy' fixes, as one can easily surmise from Sunday morning
infomercials and throw-away newspapers. The current wave of
'cures' includes 'Endermologie'. Even though I keep a very close
eye on advances in plastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology, to
this day I have not seen any convincing scientific evidence of
the effectiveness of 'Endermologie'. Neither do I find it easy to
understand the mechanism of purported action of this tool.
Rolling and sucking the skin up at the same time to my simplistic
thinking can only help to further stretch out already compromised
skin. A lack of circulation at the skin surface also is difficult
to understand when one sees profuse bleeding from even a minor
superficial skin laceration. The 'results' alleged by the
somewhat amazing before and after pictures one sees from the
manufacturer are difficult to believe and photographic techniques
do appear to play a role. Perhaps any improvement could be
related to dietary and lifestyle changes when one is paying close
to $ 100 per session for some twenty sessions. However, hope
springs eternal. If life could just be that easy.