Dr. Teitelbaum wrote a chapter in this textbook on body contouring.
Liposuction and liposculpture are really one and the same. The point of the term liposculpture is to suggest that the surgeon is artistically sculpting the body rather than just randomly sucking out as much fat as possible without regard to shape. Dr. Teitelbaum is the consummate artist and focuses his attention on sculpting the body.
Just look at a picture of Michelangelo's Statue of David to see that a bit of "love handle"—even if it is comprised of fat and not obliques—is critical for a man to look right. While a woman's thighs must be wider than her waist, it is essential that a man's thighs be narrower than his waist.
In 1998, Dr. Teitelbaum was the first surgeon in Southern California to have an ultrasonic liposuction machine. This type of liposuction can be more effective at removing the more fibrous type of fat found in men. Today, he uses ultrasonic liposuction on men with denser fat deposits, and supplements it with power-assisted liposuction as well as other techniques to sculpt the best possible body.
Dr. Teitelbaum was the lead author on this paper investigating the success of the first non-invasive fat reduction device.
The most common areas for male liposuction are the neck, chest, and love handles. Many men have double chins or even slightly fat necks that simply do not seem to belong with their otherwise well-conditioned bodies. This fat deposit can obscure the outline of the jawbone, making the patient look older and less athletic. Chest liposuction is very common and there is an entire section devoted to this issue, which is called gynecomastia. Love handles are the third most common area for which male plastic surgery patients seek liposuction. Some men are incredibly fit, yet their love handles bulge too much and give even thin men a "muffin top." Liposuction in that area is very frequently done with other plastic surgery procedures on men, such as neck lifts or gynecomastia surgery.
Liposuction of the abdomen is also a very common area for liposuction. While some convexity is desirable in the lower abdomen of a woman, a man should be as flat as possible in that area.
It is very uncommon for a man to want liposuction of his legs, but occasionally there are men with excess fat in their outer thighs. This can be very distressing to men because the hourglass shape formed when thighs are wider than the waist is characteristically feminine. Aggressive liposuction on the outer thighs to narrow this area can dramatically improve the appearance of these men.
For more information about scheduling a consultation for liposuction in Los Angeles, call board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Teitelbaum at 310.315.1121 or click here to contact us.
The concepts behind this type of tummy tuck are abstract and in this paper Dr. Teitelbaum explains them to other surgeons.
Common Questions
Is liposuction a common procedure for men?
Nearly half of all of Dr. Teitelbaum’s liposuction patients are men. No matter how hard men exercise and work out at the gym, there are some stubborn fat deposits that won’t go away, even in the very thinnest and fittest men. Of course men with a more average build, and certainly those with a few pounds to lose have parts of their bodies that would be improved with liposuction. These changes are beneficial when undressed, in a business suit, in workout clothes, or in a bathing suit. And since the scars are hidden, liposculpture leaves little of the telltale sorts of signs of plastic surgery that concern men considering plastic surgery.
What are the most common areas men will treat with liposuction?
Men will most often get liposuction under their chins (submental region), chests, and love handles. The stomach is the next most common. Outer thighs are only very occasionally done. Unlike women, upper backs, arms, inner thighs, and knees are never done.
Are liposculpture results as good in men as in women?
The results are actually better in men than they are in women. There are two shortcomings in liposuction in women.. The first is the ability of the skin to contract. Men have thicker skin and tend to maintain more elasticity than women. The other is that with liposuction there is always a risk of seeing some waviness or irregularity under the surface of the skin. The thicker skin and greater number of hair follicles in men obscure those irregularities more than the skin does in women. Finally, fat deposits in men seem to be much more discrete, with delineated boundaries. This allows better sculpting of the treated areas into the surrounding areas, thereby making the result more natural and attractive.
Are there technical differences between doing liposuction in men and women?
The fat in men is sometimes more dense and fibrous than it is in women. For this reason, Dr. Teitelbaum has power liposuction and ultrasonic liposuction devices available to use whenever necessary on his male patients. These instruments allow him to more smoothly and gently sculpt his male patients.
How can liposuction of the neck (submental liposuction) benefit men?
Dr. Teitelbaum believes that male handsomeness is strongly related to having a well-defined lower jawline and lean neck. There are many men who shouldn’t lose a pound yet have a double chin. Some do not quite have a double chin but have fullness in their neck that is unattractive. Others have just enough fat along their jawbone so that their jaw is not well outlined and visible. Even men who need to lose weight can still look much better if they have submental liposuction. What is great about this procedure is that no one can ever tell that you had the procedure done. Friends will usually not comment, but when they do they will only state that you look great; they will notice you look good, but won’t know why or even suspect that you had plastic surgery.
Can liposuction be done of the chest?
It is simply amazing how much better men can look after liposuction of their chest. Whether overweight or of normal weight, many men carry excess fat in this area. Sometimes the fat is just proportional to their being overweight. Though patients who are overweight ideally should lose weight, it turns out that chest fat is often very difficult to lose with weight loss. But even so, reducing the fat in the chest makes close fit so much different and makes men look so much dramatically thinner that many chose to do it even when they should lose weight. Other chest liposuction patients are men who have lost weight whose chest remains prominent. Finally,t here are men who have gynecomastia – abnormal breast development. When the tissue is hard, it has to be cut out by the surgeon. But when it is soft it is called pseudogynecomastia and that can be treated by liposuction. The fat in a man’s chest is often very fibrous and tenacious, making it resistant to ideal volume removal and sculpturing by standard liposuction techniques. For these reasons Dr. Teitelbaum frequently uses ultrasonic liposuction or power assisted liposuction to help him sculpt the most ideally shaped chest.
When is liposuction ideal for a man’s stomach?
Some men have extra fat on the inside around the organs, and some men have extra fat just under the skin. Liposuction only works for the fat that is under the skin. Men that can sit down and pinch a roll of skin and fat probably have fat under the skin (subcutaneous fat), and this is well treated by liposuction. But there are some men with very firm bellies who cannot really pinch a lot of skin and fat. It can be obvious even to them that the fat is on the inside. Surgery cannot do anything for them at present. Their only option is weight loss. But for the countless men who have too much subcutaneous fat, liposuction can work wonders. It works not just to make men thinner, but it is indeed very effective at sculpting a nice contour to their abdomens. Liposculpture can help emphasize a six-pack and the results can be very beautiful.
Does liposuction of the love handles work well in men?
Liposuction of the love handles is one of the best areas for liposuction in men. Many guys have shredded six packs yet still cannot get rid of their love handles. The skin is thick, the area contracts nicely, and the results are amazing. It is important to recognize that the ideal male physique does have some sense of love handles – just look at a photo of Michaelangelo’s David or other similar work of art. If the love handles are entirely removed the man can become overly “hourglassed” appearing which is both feminizing and unattractive. Dr. Teitelbaum uses liposuction not simply to make you thinner, but to make you look better.
If you do liposuction in one area does it come back in another area?
Fat is stored when food is consumed and not burned. So if you have a relatively stable weight, then this is simply not an issue. If you are going to gain weight, then you will have fewer fat cells in any areas that were treated, so proportionately fat will go more to other areas. When liposuction is done to put someone into better balance, then this isn’t a problem, because they will gain or lose weight in a more proportional manner. The people who have trouble with fat going elsewhere were people who were overweight and had liposuction in one or two areas that weren’t necessarily disproportionate. When those folks gain weight, then the fat does seem to go somewhere else.
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