Are You a Good Candidate for Lipo?

What Everyone Should Know Before They Decide

As the technology of the media grows, I find that I am growing a little cynical.

My particular gripe is with fashion magazines and the way the editors sometimes like to manipulate images. It seems like every month, there is another model or actress who comes forward to complain about their images being manipulated in ads or magazine covers to make them look more attractive -- as if being 100 pounds soaking wet isn’t trim enough to be on a magazine cover.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Love Hewitt and even Britney Spears have all come out recently to expose the rampant photoshopping of their images in magazines and ads, and as a physician who specializes in helping people reshape and re-sculpt their bodies, it’s quite annoying. You see, the technology in my field has improved over the years as well, but because of the extreme body images being driven by magazines, some people will come into my office wanting more and more extreme results.

So, let me say this -- liposuction is not like photoshop. Liposuction is the most popular procedure in my business, and for good reason. It’s low-risk and high reward, with the vast majority of the patients who make use of the procedure being very happy with their results. However, it is not a magic wand. It is useful, but it is not magic.

As a doctor, my ideal candidate for a lipo procedure is someone who is about 20 percent overweight, who has pockets of fat that have stubbornly remained, even in the face of a sensible diet and reasonable exercise. In most cases, there are usually genetic reasons why these fat pockets remain and that makes lipo a good, high percentage procedure for these patients.

Lipo, however, is not a solution for the clinically obese or for people who have been more than 20 percent overweight for a number of years. It is unreasonable to think that you can solve years of unhealthy eating and poor exercise habits with a lipo procedure. For people in this category, a broader-based solution is recommended. We usually consult with people in this category by recommending first a medical weight loss program and perhaps even refer them to a bariatric physician for treatment. After some weight loss has been achieved, we’ll typically engage that patient with a tummy tuck or similar procedure and sometimes even combine that with some targeted lipo to help them achieve their desired results.

As a woman, I am also concerned about a person’s self-esteem and body image, because the whole reason people want these procedures isn’t just because they want to look better -- they also want and need to feel better about themselves. The outer transformation of their bodies can many times spark an inner transformation of their spirits. To engage one task without any attention to the other is not going to result in happiness, and that’s the main result I always want to achieve for the people who walk in my door. I don’t see myself as just a labcoat -- I’m a person who has taken an actual oath to use my skills to help people. Now, how many jobs do you know of that require you to take that kind of an oath. It’s an oath I take very seriously, as I do my responsibility to my patients.

So, if you are thinking about making a change in your life, I would urge you to consider all these factors before you decide which course you might chart for yourself. And most importantly, see a doctor before you get your heart set on any course of action.

Every day when I put on my labcoat I think of my oath and remember that goal of helping you.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Yvette Suarez

ps -- If you want more information on Lipo, check out my recent appearance on Studio 10 with my Bella colleague Dr. Wayne Lee by clicking here (http://www.studio10.tv/day/tuesday/segment.aspx/254266/Bella_MedSpa).