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Patients with chronic
medical conditions should avoid liposuction, especially
in the case of heart or kidney disease. During your
consultation with the doctor, he or she should examine
you thoroughly, especially in the areas to be treated.
You should tell your doctor if you have a hernia as
it may be punctured during the operation.
Liposuction for men varies
in several ways from female liposuction. Men tend to
accumulate fat in the torso (chest and back), abdomen
(belly) and flanks (love handles), while women's fat
accumulates primarily in the hips, buttocks, and thighs.
(Of course, there are many exceptions to this rule.
Some women gain weight more in their abdomen and have
thin legs, and some men gain weight in their legs and
not in their abdomen).
The tissues of the back, flanks (love handles), and
chest where men tend to retain fat are more fibrous
than other areas of the body, and therefore may be more
difficult to remove. Some surgeons have found that using
a powered, vibrating handpiece (see power assisted liposuction),
eases the surgery and hastens the removal of fat in
male liposuction.
Men also may develop or accumulate fat in the chest,
giving the appearance of breasts, referred to as psuedo-gynecomastia.
When an over abundance of breast tissue is present,
this is referred to as true gynecomastia. Whether the
enlarged breasts are from fat or breast tissue, male
liposuction may help. (In some cases, the breast tissue
will need to be cut out through a larger incision rather
than with liposuction).
Some areas of the body
are better suited to liposuction than others. The regions
that usually produce the best results are the hips,
abdomen, outer thighs, and neck. Possibly the area most
prone to rippling, dimpling and other contour deformities
is the buttocks, and liposuction in that area may not
result in an aesthetically pleasing post-operative appearance.
In the case of abdominal
fat, the fat is located both within the abdomen itself
around the organs ("deep fat"), and between
the abdominal muscles and the skin (subcutaneous fat).
Liposuction can only remove subcutaneous fat, but many
people, especially men, have most of their abdominal
fat stored as "deep fat" behind the abdominal
muscles. These patients will not experience as much
of an improvement with liposuction as patients with
most abdominal fat stored subcutaneously.
"Cellulite"
is a condition characterized by dimpling of the skin
over fat that is referred to as "cottage cheese"
skin. It is most common on the thighs, buttocks, and
hips. Cellulite is caused by fibrous bands of connective
tissue that are connected to the undersurface of the
skin. Cellulite is not improved significantly by liposuction,
and liposuction may sometimes make cellulite appear
worse, especially in older invidivuals.
Mechanical rollers
that stretch out the connecting bands may help. Brand
names of these machines are Silhouette and Endermologie.
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