Revision Liposuction

Approximately 35% of the surgery that I perform fall into that category of revision liposuction where I am improving on a poor result done by another surgeon. A substandard result occurs become of either poor evaluation or poor technique. Fortunately, in most cases, I can make a significant improvement with revision liposuction. In the rare case that I feel that I, unfortunately, cannot make a significant improvement, I will honestly convey this to the patient. Where revision surgery is indicated to improve a less than optimal outcome it is usually for one or more of the following reasons:

1. Disproportion

The surgeon has not paid attention to proper body proportion in his evaluation and has caused the patient to store fat in disproportionate and unbalanced ways. Typically, this is when the surgeon does liposuction on an overweight individual who is perfectly proportionate. This can usually be greatly improved by targeting the imbalance with revision liposuction to create a proportioned and balanced shape.

2. Asymmetry

Excess fullness in one area is usually very easy to improve or fix by targeting the asymmetric side with properly done revision liposuction.

3. Not enough fat taken (too conservative)

This is also quite easy to remedy with subsequent revision. Although, I feel it is very important to achieve the best result the first time when I am doing the surgery. It is better to be more conservative than more aggressive, as it is easier to remedy.

4. Too much taken (too aggressive)

If the surgeon has been overly aggressive, especially in certain parts of the body where skin elasticity is poor, it can be difficult even in an expert’s hands to make things perfect. Usually, I can make significant improvements with a combination of fat grafting and skin tightening procedures and sometimes micro liposuction at the edges of where too much fat was taken to blend the area.

5. Indentations, rippling, and ridging of the skin

This is usually caused by poking, jabbing or rasping the underneath part of the skin during surgery or by being too aggressive in areas with decreased elasticity. It can also be caused by liposuctioning in the wrong direction (ex: horizontally in the upper outer thigh). Depending on the patient, I do revision to the whole area again with a very small spatula canula, perform a fat transfer and or do skin tightening procedures-such as thermage.