A Look at CoolSculpting and Liposuction in Santa Barbara

leg-liposuction-santa-barbaraWe are certainly enjoying beautiful Spring weather in Santa Barbara, California, even though we should be in the middle of winter. With beach or pool outings on the mind, this is one of the most popular times for people to inquire about sculpting their body for the upcoming summer and beyond.
The idea of wearing swim suits, shorts, and skirts, brings many people into my office who are interested in losing inches around their thighs. As a Santa Barbara plastic surgeon, I know that outer and inner thigh fat can be the most stubborn fat on a person’s body. I have seen people who exercise regularly, have a healthy diet, and maintain a normal weight, and still are unable to shed the fat on their inner thighs and/or their outer thigh/hip area (often referred to as “saddlebags”). I recommend Liposuction to improve the contours of the legs (and arms, torso and/or breasts).Recently, I have noticed people inquiring about CoolSculpting – a non-surgical treatment to remove unwanted fat – that is being advertised in town. In light of this, I will share with you information about CoolSculpting and Liposuction.

What is CoolSculpting?
The biggest “draw” to CoolSculpting is that it is done without surgery or downtime for recovery. As the name implies, the procedure freezes fat cells that are resistant to diet and exercise. The cold that the cells are subjected to causes an “injury” to the fat cells and encourages apoptosis – death of the cells. As the cells die – which happens over a period of weeks – they are eliminated from the body. People experience tugging, pinching, pulling, and numbness. Following the treatment, as the cells die, there may be more numbness, swelling, bruising, stinging, or pain.

The optimum result is a 20% reduction. Keep in mind that this is not a guarantee. More than 1 treatment may be necessary to see the full 20% reduction and the results may not be seen for 2 to 3 months.

What is Liposuction?
Almost everyone is familiar with Liposuction. It is a surgical procedure that removes excess fat deposits from “problem” areas on the body. If necessary, skin removal can be done during the procedure to remove excess skin that is too loose.

Liposuction is not what it used to be in the “old” days. Many people are surprised to find out that they do not have to go under general anesthesia for the procedure. We use a combination of local anesthesia, oral and intravenous sedation that provides comfort and amnesia throughout the procedure.

Liposuction only needs to be done once and has guaranteed results to improve body contours and proportion dramatically. I feel it is important to stress that liposuction is not a weight loss procedure but instead it is used to improve body contours.

What procedure is right for you?
This depends on how much improvement you are looking for:

  • CoolSculpting may improve contours but the improvement may be minimal and not noticeable to other people.
  • Liposuction is only done once and will give you a dramatic result.
If you are interested in body contouring liposuction in Santa Barbara, I invite you to call my Cosmetic Surgery Center practice (805-563-0000) to schedule a consultation today. 

 

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