Liposculpture,
3. Creating a beautiful liposculpture
2
Gentle Curves In the hum an body there are no straight lines - a liposculpture should create slender curves that accentuate the sense of slimness and follow the natural flow and shape of the silhouette. The female figure has an hour-glass shape, broader across the torso, slender at the waist, and curving gently over the hips and outer thighs following the natural line of the underlying muscles. The male figure, by contrast, is more angular. Wide across the shoulder, a sloping V from the chest, an abdominal six pack, a narrow waist and slim hips. In sculpting a m ale or female figure, the surgeon should accentuate these features and blend them with the bodys natural curves.
3
Balance and Harmony This requires artistic skill and an understanding of how the proportions of the silhouette impact on each other, to enhance or detract from the overall attractiveness of the patient's figure. For a curvaceous woman, liposculpting the hips alone may reduce the contrast between the waist and hips, with the effect of making the waist appear thick and squaring the torso. In this instance, it would be important to treat the waist at the sam e time or to produce a less significant reduction of the hips. In treating the legs, liposculpting the outer thigh may reduce the patient's width on silhouette. However, additional sculpture of the inner thighs and knees m ay be significantly more beneficial in achieving shapeliness of the legs and to provide the illusion of making the legs appear longer . Sculpting the outer aspects of the arms will have the effect of reducing the width of the upper body silhouette, but by contrast, m ay also make the hips appear wider. By studying the patient's figure and carefully planning the liposculpture, an artistic surgeon can create a beautifully proportioned and attractive figure.
4
Areas for Body Sculpturing Virtually all areas of the body can be liposculptured, including the neck, arms, breasts, back, tummy, waist, hips, buttocks, thighs, knees and ankles. Some areas require significantly m ore skill than others. A well-trained and experienced liposculpture surgeon will be able to treat the necessary areas required to achieve a harmonious and wellproportioned figure.
5
Smoothness and Evenness Achieving smooth and even results requires a high degree of technical skill from the surgeon. For smooth results to be achieved the liposculpture must be performed very evenly and the maximum amount of skin contraction must be elicited. The use of micro cannular instruments increases the precision and control with which the surgeon can sculpt and, used properly, can greatly increase the smoothness of the sculpture that can be created. Techniques such as the four handed method for the abdomen, and the long cannula methodfor the inner thigh, further increase the ability to create smooth results in difficult cases. Enhancing skin contraction is extremely important in patients with stretch m arks, loose skin and of larger size, particularly those beyond their thirties where the elastin content of the skin is reducing. The use of specialised superficial undermining techniques has greatly enhanced the degree of skin retraction possible and greatly improves the quality of liposculpture results for these patients.
6
The Patient The liposculpture result created is also dependent on the patient, both by the areas of the figure they choose to have sculptured and the body they present to the surgeon. The patient's skin tone, size of the fat reduction required and underlying muscle and skeletal contours all influence the sculpture that is achieved. It is important that patient expectations are discussed thoroughly prior to surgery. Massage is often a vital part of the postoperative care and how much attention the patient pays to this can effect how smooth their results are.
7
The Surgeon The surgeon is undoubtably the most important factor in creating a beautiful liposculpture. He or she must be both an artist and a surgeon. Different surgeons have different talents and different areas of expertise. Some surgeons, while excellent at other procedures, m ay not have the necessary set of skills to create consistently beautiful liposculpture. In choosing your surgeon, seek someone with specific training in liposculpture, someone with a reputation for beautiful liposculpture, someone whom you feel has the necessary artistic and technical skill to achieve the results you require, also someone who you feel will listen and understands your desires. Make sure you see lots of before and after photographs. This is the best indication of the surgeons capabilities and unless you are very comfortable with the surgeon, seek m ore than one opinion. Liposculpture today is a very refined procedure and with the right combination of surgeon, patient and technique, beautiful liposculptures can be created. ACSM '>Several elements are involved in the ultimate creation of a beautiful liposculpture. Sydney cosmetic surgeon DR ANOOP RASTOGI discusses these elements and how they interrelate .
1
The first of these is the seemingly simple question: For whom do you create a beautiful liposculpture? The answer to this question, however, requires a quantum leap in understanding on the part of the surgeon. The answer must be "for the patient. This means the surgeon must know and understand the patient's hopes and desires for the result that they wish to achieve. This requires the surgeon to spend tim e listening in the at consultation and allowing his patient to feel comfortable to express their desires and fears about their surgical result and what they see as beautiful.
2
Gentle Curves In the hum an body there are no straight lines - a liposculpture should create slender curves that accentuate the sense of slimness and follow the natural flow and shape of the silhouette. The female figure has an hour-glass shape, broader across the torso, slender at the waist, and curving gently over the hips and outer thighs following the natural line of the underlying muscles. The male figure, by contrast, is more angular. Wide across the shoulder, a sloping V from the chest, an abdominal six pack, a narrow waist and slim hips. In sculpting a m ale or female figure, the surgeon should accentuate these features and blend them with the bodys natural curves.
3
Balance and Harmony This requires artistic skill and an understanding of how the proportions of the silhouette impact on each other, to enhance or detract from the overall attractiveness of the patient's figure. For a curvaceous woman, liposculpting the hips alone may reduce the contrast between the waist and hips, with the effect of making the waist appear thick and squaring the torso. In this instance, it would be important to treat the waist at the sam e time or to produce a less significant reduction of the hips. In treating the legs, liposculpting the outer thigh may reduce the patient's width on silhouette. However, additional sculpture of the inner thighs and knees m ay be significantly more beneficial in achieving shapeliness of the legs and to provide the illusion of making the legs appear longer . Sculpting the outer aspects of the arms will have the effect of reducing the width of the upper body silhouette, but by contrast, m ay also make the hips appear wider. By studying the patient's figure and carefully planning the liposculpture, an artistic surgeon can create a beautifully proportioned and attractive figure.
4
Areas for Body Sculpturing Virtually all areas of the body can be liposculptured, including the neck, arms, breasts, back, tummy, waist, hips, buttocks, thighs, knees and ankles. Some areas require significantly m ore skill than others. A well-trained and experienced liposculpture surgeon will be able to treat the necessary areas required to achieve a harmonious and wellproportioned figure.
5
Smoothness and Evenness Achieving smooth and even results requires a high degree of technical skill from the surgeon. For smooth results to be achieved the liposculpture must be performed very evenly and the maximum amount of skin contraction must be elicited. The use of micro cannular instruments increases the precision and control with which the surgeon can sculpt and, used properly, can greatly increase the smoothness of the sculpture that can be created. Techniques such as the four handed method for the abdomen, and the long cannula methodfor the inner thigh, further increase the ability to create smooth results in difficult cases. Enhancing skin contraction is extremely important in patients with stretch m arks, loose skin and of larger size, particularly those beyond their thirties where the elastin content of the skin is reducing. The use of specialised superficial undermining techniques has greatly enhanced the degree of skin retraction possible and greatly improves the quality of liposculpture results for these patients.
6
The Patient The liposculpture result created is also dependent on the patient, both by the areas of the figure they choose to have sculptured and the body they present to the surgeon. The patient's skin tone, size of the fat reduction required and underlying muscle and skeletal contours all influence the sculpture that is achieved. It is important that patient expectations are discussed thoroughly prior to surgery. Massage is often a vital part of the postoperative care and how much attention the patient pays to this can effect how smooth their results are.
7
The Surgeon The surgeon is undoubtably the most important factor in creating a beautiful liposculpture. He or she must be both an artist and a surgeon. Different surgeons have different talents and different areas of expertise. Some surgeons, while excellent at other procedures, m ay not have the necessary set of skills to create consistently beautiful liposculpture. In choosing your surgeon, seek someone with specific training in liposculpture, someone with a reputation for beautiful liposculpture, someone whom you feel has the necessary artistic and technical skill to achieve the results you require, also someone who you feel will listen and understands your desires. Make sure you see lots of before and after photographs. This is the best indication of the surgeons capabilities and unless you are very comfortable with the surgeon, seek m ore than one opinion. Liposculpture today is a very refined procedure and with the right combination of surgeon, patient and technique, beautiful liposculptures can be created. ACSM