Liposuction Surgery in Miami - Lipoaspiration & Lipoplasty

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You have loose, sagging skin and extra fat in your buttocks. You recently experienced significant weight loss and are close to your ideal weight. Your buttocks move up and down and swing to the sides too much when you exercise. You are ok with having some scars in your upper buttock rather than a flabby and very loose butt. Your self-confidence would improve from such a procedure.

Rivera Plastic Surgery offers the only “Full Tech” liposuction service in Miami and South Florida. By “Full Tech”, we describe our practice approach that offers all the State-of-the-Art technologies for liposuction and body contouring, including the ones used in Colombia, where Dr. Rivera has learned many of his techniques used in his practice in Miami

A “Full Tech” liposuction or body contouring case involves using most of the following technologies during the actual liposuction:

1. Microaire®  Power Assisted Liposuction (PAL), for fat extraction

2. Vaser® ultrasound, for fat separation

3. Radiofrequency with Retraction® SmartLipo for Skin Tightening

4. Radiofrequency with Renuvion®  J Plasma® for Skin Tightening

5. Laser lipolysis for Skin Tightening

In addition, Dr, Rivera-Serrano is an expert in Awake liposuction, or liposuction done without general anesthesia, which may even involve skin removal (“tummy tuck alternative”).

The concept or High Definition Liposuction or abdominal etching was developed in Colombia, South America. The idea behind the concept is to liposuction some areas more than others, in order to highlight the muscular anatomy and create the illusion of a more athletic body. Dr. Rivera applies the high definition concept on every single liposuction case, as he believes everyone will benefit of some degree of definition. The definition can be soft or subtle, moderate, or athletic.

It is very important to understand that liposuction is not a weight loss solution or a diet and exercise replacement. In fact, people often weigh more in the first weeks after liposuction than before surgery due to water retention. Any weight loss thereafter is not very significant compared to before surgery. A good diet and exercise regimen is fundamental post-operatively for a good and long-lasting result. If good diet regimens are not followed, the results will not last, and you are better off not doing surgery. After liposuction, a compression garment is temporarily used to help the skin contract, decrease swelling and recovery time, and decrease the chances of seromas (collections of fluid).

The procedure can be carried out under local anesthesia and the person awake in the majority of the cases, and Dr. Rivera-Serrano has vast experience in these field. Not many surgeons have experience with major liposuction under local anesthesia. Doing the procedure under local anesthesia significantly improves the recovery after surgery, in addition to make it safer due to avoiding potential risks of general anesthetics.

A critically important concept to know is that the result of liposuction ultimately relies on having skin with good elasticity. If the elasticity is good, the skin is going to contract, redrape, and take the shape of a new sculpted area. On the other hand, if the elasticity is not good, the fat will be mostly gone, but the skin may hang loose and may form folds. The degree of skin contraction depends primarily on your genetics. For instance, you may know a woman who has been pregnant and some months after delivery her abdomen looks flawless and flat. On the other hand, you may know a woman with a similar age and body type that after delivery her abdomen has excess skin, folds and stretch marks. Why does this happen in one person and not the other one? Primarily from the individual’s genetics. Some people have genetical characteristics that produce skin with more elasticity and resiliency to stretch marks. A similar situation is why some friends with similar lifestyles tend to age more than others. Some technology we use such a Renuvion® J Plasma or Retraction® RarioFrequency help to tighten the skin during the liposuction procedure. Please check our “FULL TECH Lipo” (link) approach.

When someone already has excess skin, in addition to the liposuction, some of the extra skin should be ideally removed to avoid further redundancy, like for instance doing an abdominoplasty. To further make the point, liposuction tends to create skin redundancy giving fat is removed (deflates the area), which creates more relative excess of skin. If the amount of liposuction is minor, the quality of skin is good and the individual has good genetics, the results will likely be excellent. If the amount of liposuction required is large, the quality of the skin is poor and person is older and/or does not have good genetics, the results will not be as good.

In summary, when there is excess skin and a liposuction is carried out, you have to pick between two compromises. The first is to accept some residual skin after surgery, of the second is to accept a scar from the consequence of removing the extra skin. Despite some times these scars can be long, fortunately most people heal very well and are happy with their decision. Therefore,
women after childbearing that have abundant stretch marks or both men and women after significant weight loss, are typically not good candidates for liposuction. This is because when the skin has stretched too much in the past, it makes it unable to contract later in life fully.

Age is also an important factor. The older we get, the less ideal candidates for liposuction we become. This is because we lose skin elasticity when we age. An example that I give to patients is the following, at almost opposite extremes in age: Think about the result of a chubby and overweight adolescent losing weight versus a similar person in his 70s. You can probably imagine that the chubby young person has a much better chance of looking normal or nearly normal compared to the older one, whose skin has almost a 100% chance of hanging and becoming loose. The younger and the more skin elasticity you have (based on your genetics, independent of the age), the better candidate for liposuction you are. Good nutrition is also extremely important. For older patients, some technology we use such a Renuvion® J Plasma or Retraction® RarioFrequency help to tighten the skin during the liposuction procedure. Please check our “FULL TECH Lipo” approach.

Most people see results immediately. However, It is important to understand that the results in cases where liposuction is carried out may not be visible until about six months after surgery when most (but not all) of the swelling has disappeared. However, most people see an improvement almost immediately or 3 months after surgery. In case o re-operations or revisions, is best to wait 9-12 months after the initial surgery.
As you see, liposuction results are dependent on many factors (“multifactorial”). Lastly, there is a limit of the amount of liposuction in the outpatient setting in the state of Florida, which is 4 liters. Nevertheless, surgery may be terminated before reaching this number due to several factors, such as the amount of blood being retrieved in the liposuction aspirate. A personal consultation will determine what is best for you.

You have localized areas of unwanted fat that are resistant to diet and exercise, disproportionate to the rest of your body, and you have good skin elasticity. You want better proportions, sleeker contours, and have good skin elasticity.