Body fat has an annoying habit of ignoring instructions.
You can lose weight, hit the gym, eat well, and still have one pocket of fat hanging around like it pays rent. That’s where liposuction can be useful. It removes localized fat to improve contour in specific areas rather than serving as a method for overall weight loss.
So, where on the face and body are the liposuction treatment areas? Quite a few, actually. The abdomen and thighs may get most of the attention, but liposuction can also refine smaller areas, including beneath the chin.
The trick is knowing where removing fat will genuinely improve your proportions.
Liposuction Isn’t Just for Your Stomach
The abdomen is probably the first place people picture when they hear “liposuction.” It’s certainly a popular treatment area, but stubborn fat doesn’t restrict itself to one neighborhood.
Liposuction may be used to contour areas including:
- Abdomen and waist
- Love handles and flanks
- Hips and thighs
- Upper arms
- Back
- Knees
- Chin and neck
Some patients want one specific trouble spot addressed. Others have several areas treated together to create smoother proportions.
That doesn’t mean every pocket of fat should automatically be suctioned away. Good contouring is selective. Removing too much can create irregularities or make an area look out of balance with the rest of the body.
More isn’t always better. Sometimes it’s just more.
What Can Liposuction Treat on the Face and Body?
Facial liposuction is generally much more targeted than body liposuction.
One of the most common areas is beneath the chin. Submental fat can blur the angle between the jaw and neck, creating fullness even in someone who isn’t carrying much excess weight elsewhere.
Removing carefully selected fat can reveal more of the jawline that was already there.
Body liposuction works on the same basic principle but may involve larger treatment areas. The abdomen, flanks, hips, and thighs are common targets because these areas can hold onto fat despite changes in diet and exercise.
Liposuction can also be used on smaller spots such as the upper arms or around the knees when the anatomy makes treatment appropriate.
What it doesn’t do is tighten significant loose skin or repair separated abdominal muscles. That’s an entirely different job description.
Your Skin Still Has Work to Do
Removing fat is only half of the contouring equation.
Once the underlying volume is reduced, your skin needs to conform to the new shape. Someone with good skin elasticity may see the tissue contract nicely after liposuction. If significant laxity is already present, however, removing fat alone can sometimes make loose skin more obvious.
That’s why a consultation involves more than pointing at the spot you don’t like.
Dr. Steven B. Hopping evaluates fat distribution, skin quality, anatomy, and overall proportions before recommending surgery at The Center for Cosmetic Surgery.
In some cases, liposuction works beautifully by itself. In others, combining it with a procedure that removes or tightens excess skin may make more sense.
Your goals matter, but so does what your anatomy can realistically deliver.
Liposuction Is About Shape, Not the Scale
Liposuction isn’t designed to produce dramatic overall weight loss.
Think inches and contours rather than pounds.
The best candidates are generally close to a stable body weight but have localized fat that hasn’t responded the way they’d like to diet and exercise. Once those fat cells are removed, they don’t grow back. Remaining fat cells can still enlarge with future weight gain, though, so maintaining a relatively stable weight helps preserve the result.
At The Center for Cosmetic Surgery, Dr. Hopping has decades of cosmetic surgery experience and performs procedures in the practice’s private, AAAHC-accredited surgical facility in Washington, DC.
To sum up, there a plenty of liposuction treatment areas on the face and body. From a stubborn double chin to the abdomen, flanks, thighs, arms, and several stops in between.
The better question is which areas should be treated on you.
Call 202-785-3175 or request an appointment online and start your journey toward natural-looking results with a specialist you can trust.
