Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Joseph Fata has decades of experience helping Indianapolis-area patients achieve the body they desire with the liposuction procedure. It’s a tremendously effective way of removing stubborn deposits of fat that simply won’t respond to diet or exercise.
We believe strongly that you should know as much about the procedure as possible before you undergo any type of surgery. You deserve to be given the information you need to make an informed decision. This page will provide you with some important “need to know” information and help you as you research the liposuction procedure.
If you are considering liposuction, call Indianapolis plastic surgeon Dr. Joseph Fata at 317-575-9152 to learn about the options available to improve your shape. Dr. Fata welcomes patients from Carmel, Lawrence, Plainfield, and all surrounding areas of Indiana.
- Our Liposuction Techniques
- Liposuction Recovery
- Possible Liposuction Treatment Areas
- Ideal Liposuction Candidates
- How to Maintain and Enhance Liposuction Results
- Important Things to Remember about Liposuction
- The Cost of Liposuction
- Contact Board-Certified Indianapolis Plastic Surgeon Dr. Joseph Fata
Liposuction Techniques
Unless you are having a tummy tuck or “large volume liposuction,” your surgery will be performed under general anesthesia as an outpatient procedure. Liposuction is performed in two steps: First, fluid is injected to control pain, temperature and bruising using the "superwet" technique, a variation of tumescent liposuction. Then a hollow, metal tube (cannula) is passed through a small incision and attached to a vacuum pump to remove the fat.
In most cases, Dr. Fata uses ultrasonic liposuction in addition to tumescent techniques. With ultrasonic liposuction, the suctioning instrument emits ultrasound waves, which cause the fat cells to vibrate and liquefy. This allows for a less traumatic fat removal with reduced risk for swelling and bruising.
During your liposuction consultation at our Indianapolis office, Dr. Fata will cover the types of liposuction available, discuss the benefits and limitations of each technique, and guide you towards the type best suited to perfect your body.
Recovery from Liposuction In Indianapolis, IN
The advanced liposuction techniques utilized by Dr. Fata help reduce risks and speed the healing process. Nonetheless, there will be swelling, bruising, and mild discomfort following your procedure – and taking time to rest is the best way to ensure the fastest and most rewarding recovery experience.
The first 24 hours following your procedure can be the most difficult. During this time, you may experience discomfort and feel particularly limited in your physical abilities. Allow yourself to rest, lying prone or sitting, during this time to aid the healing process.
Dr. Fata will provide you with a prescription for medications to reduce pain. Most people find heavier pain relievers to be unnecessary after the initial 24 to 48-hour healing period. At that point, if discomfort is still present, over-the-counter medications typically work very well.
You will be encouraged to take frequent walks within 24 hours following your procedure and to resume other activities as you feel capable. The only restrictions in your activities will be on heavy lifting and strenuous exercise. These restrictions may be in place for two to six weeks.
The amount of time needed off from work varies from 48 hours to one week. If your job requires more energetic physical activities, you may need to wait for four or more weeks to resume all normal duties. Be sure you have the bandwidth to take all of the time you will need to fully rest and recover before scheduling your liposuction procedure.
You will return for follow-up visits with Dr. Fata frequently during the first month of recovery. During these visits, Dr. Fata will examine your recovery progress and let you know when it is safe to resume all normal activities. Long-term liposuction follow-ups will be arranged as well, enabling us to continue providing you with the exceptional and caring service you deserve.
Liposuction Treatment Areas
Dr. Fata matches the appropriate liposuction technique to the body part or parts being treated. By offering different types of liposuction, Dr. Fata is able to produce ideal contours with minimal risk of side-effects in nearly any area of the body.
Areas commonly treated by our board-certified plastic surgeon include:
- Ankles and calves
- Inner and outer thighs
- Hips and buttocks
- Waist and abdomen
- Lower and midback
- Chest and arms
- Neck and lower face
In some instances, multiple areas can be treated during a single session. However, Dr. Fata may recommend combining liposuction with other body contouring procedures if you have multiple areas of concern. This will be discussed as appropriate during your initial consultation. Call us at 317-575-9152 to schedule yours today.
Liposuction Candidates
Liposuction is one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures requested at Dr. Fata’s Indianapolis practice, and with good reason: it is capable of producing excellent body contouring results for a wide range of patients. However, liposuction may not be right for everyone. In order to be a liposuction candidate, you will need to be in good health. This is a much more important consideration than your age or even your weight.
Apart from your health, there are a few other qualifications that liposuction patients should meet, including:
- Good skin elasticity – Your skin should be capable of contracting and retaining its new shape over the treatment area for the best possible results. One sign of poor elasticity is the presence of excessive stretch marks. If you have poor skin elasticity, your skin may have a somewhat loose appearance after treatment. However, some of our patients do not mind this fact and are still satisfied with their overall contours after liposuction.
- At or near target weight – Liposuction is not an obesity treatment or an alternative to weight loss; it is a body contouring procedure designed to reduce deposits of fat that have resisted diet and exercise efforts. The average liposuction procedure only removes two to three pounds of fat. Many patients who undergo liposuction are overweight, but they are counseled that they should not expect the same results as someone who is at or near her ideal weight.
- Avoiding certain medications – Drugs that increase the risk of bleeding, such as aspirin, anticoagulants, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are not safe to take before or directly after your liposuction procedure. You should also avoid drugs that interfere with lidocaine, the local anesthesia used in some tumescent liposuction procedures.
Smokers are not good candidates for liposuction. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that slows healing response and encourages thick, unsightly scars. If you are a smoker, you will need to quit all products containing nicotine – including gums, patches, and e-cigarettes – at least eight weeks before your liposuction procedure. To minimize risks, you will need to “stay quit” for at least eight weeks after. Failure to adhere to this will likely produce very unfavorable results.
Patient Testimonials
"Dr Fata and his staff were wonderful to me! They understood what I wanted, explained the process well, and Dr Fata did an awesome transformation on me. I couldn't be happier with the fact that I chose this practice to take care of me."
Dr. Fata is an experienced and board-certified plastic surgeon with decades of experience. During your initial consultation, he will carefully evaluate your candidacy for liposuction and discuss any additional body contouring procedures that may be necessary to assist you in reaching your goals.
Maintaining and Enhancing Your Liposuction Results
Liposuction is capable of significantly improving your appearance, but it cannot achieve perfection or make your figure look 30 pounds lighter. Some of our overweight patients enjoy the contouring that can be achieved with liposuction, but they understand that it is not a weight loss procedure, and they will not be removing large amounts of fat.
On the other hand, losing weight after your liposuction procedure can further enhance your results, evening out areas that cannot be reached by liposuction. As long as you do not go above your current weight after treatment, your liposuction results should be permanent.
The best way to maintain liposuction results is through diet and exercise. To help keep weight off and contours ideally pleasing, you will want to:
- Choose whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and lean proteins
- Avoid processed foods, added sugar, simple carbohydrates, and excessive red meat consumption
- Walk, jog, swim, or engage in some other form of mild exercise for at least 30 minutes a day
- Select a more vigorous workout such as aerobics, weight training, or power yoga for 90 minutes of more progressive exercise every week
Ideally, aim for 3 ½ hours of mild to moderate exercise and 1 ½-2 hours of heavier exercise every week to maintain liposuction results. Enhancement of results will require additional work, such as resistance training, “caveman training,” and boot camp workouts. These should only be done under proper guidance from an experienced personal trainer and are not necessary for basic maintenance. Dr. Fata will talk to you about these things during your time in our care.
The Benefits of Liposuction
Liposuction is the most requested plastic surgery procedure, along with breast augmentation, in Dr. Fata’s Indianapolis practice. If you have excess fat that won't respond to diet and exercise, then liposuction can help you when nothing else can.
- Liposuction works because it removes unwanted fat and the cells that store fat. If you maintain your current weight and muscle tone, results should be permanent.
- Weight loss after liposuction can enhance your results by targeting areas that cannot be reached such as visceral fat.
- Some parts of the body, such as hip rolls, respond better to liposuction than others because the skin is firm and elastic and will tighten more easily.
- Although noticeable improvement in body shape can be obtained in overweight patients, liposuction is not a substitute for weight loss.
- Liposuction is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures in the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans undergo liposuction without experiencing any meaningful complications. That said…
- Like all surgical procedures, liposuction carries with it certain risks. These aren’t significant when your surgeon has decades of experience like Dr. Fata, but an untrained doctor with no special experience in liposuction is not a risk you need to take.
If you have questions about liposuction, please bring them to your initial consultation. Dr. Fata will take the time needed to provide honest and helpful answers, and to help you determine if liposuction is the right fit for your needs.
Liposuction Costs
The cost of liposuction varies depending on the number of areas treated, and typically ranges between $3,400 and $6,700, which includes Dr. Fata’s fee, the anesthesiologist and surgery center facility fee. The cost of your follow-up visits will also be included in this initial fee.
If you take care to maintain your results following liposuction, they can last for a lifetime and have a profound impact on your health and happiness, self-esteem, and even physical ability. However, we fully understand the cost of liposuction can act as a deterrent to some patients regardless of these remarkable benefits.
We believe that you deserve to feel confident in your appearance and are pleased to offer liposuction financing through a local Indianapolis bank. If cash or a personal credit card are not options for you, we will happily provide you with the information you will need to begin the financing process during your initial consultation.
Read More about Liposuction in Our Blog
Contact Our Indianapolis Office for a Consultation Today!
Of course, this isn’t everything you need to know about liposuction. The best way to learn all the relevant facts is to come in for a consultation with Dr. Fata. He’ll answer all of your questions, address your concerns and evaluate your current goals to determine if you are a sound liposuction candidate.
If you are a resident of Indianapolis or surrounding areas of Indiana and you want to learn about liposuction from Dr. Fata, please contact Renaissance Plastic Surgery by calling 317-575-9152 or completing our online form today.
