If you’ve found yourself looking in the mirror noticing a few extra pounds here and there, you’re not alone. Over the last few months, people everywhere have been restricted in participating in their regular daily activities. These limitations may have led to excess, undesired weight gain. Unfortunately, it is often much harder to lose weight than it was to gain it. However, some excess weight won’t budge even with a good diet and a regular exercise routine.
A healthy diet and regular exercise are always a good place to start. It is a good practice to stay in shape after any weight loss or body contouring procedure, and getting your body at a stable weight is the key to long-term results.
When excess weight won’t budge even with a good diet and a regular exercise routine, medicine and technology can help. Procedures such as liposuction, a tummy tuck, Coolsculpting, and Kybella are all options to eliminate stubborn, unflattering bulges.
Kybella, liposuction, and Coolsculpting are all great ways to eliminate a double-chin. Of these three options, Coolsculpting is the least invasive, as it doesn’t involve surgery or injections. It has no downtime, but it can take several weeks to see the final results, and two treatments are often recommended. Liposuction of the neck area has the most immediate and predictable result. It allows the surgeon to determine exactly where to remove pockets of fat. The patient’s new profile is visible immediately after the procedure. In most cases, liposuction can be done safely and comfortably in the office under a combination of local and oral sedation. However, there is a recovery period, about 10-14 days, and patients will need to wear a compression bandage 24 hours a day for the first week (except when showering) and at night for several days. Kybella is a simple injection, and it only takes a few minutes to administer it. However, there is quite a bit of swelling for a few days after the injection. A second injection is usually needed, and it takes approximately 12 weeks to see the final result.
For the upper arms, liposuction and Coolsculpting are both effective methods of reducing excess fat. These treatments will only eliminate fat. They do not treat loose skin. If you have skin laxity in the upper arms, an arm lift may be the better option. Small bulges of fat along the bra line are successfully treated with Kybella as well.
If the midsection is your problem area, then liposuction, Coolsclupting, or a tummy tuck might be the solution. Coolsculpting is a great choice for dealing with love handles. For parts of the back, around the bra line and the stomach, liposuction is very effective and can cover a large area in one treatment. Liposuction may also be more cost-effective than Coolsculpting. For women with a “baby bump” or excess skin in the stomach area, likely from pregnancy, a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty would be the best method to treat these issues. A full tummy tuck tightens the underlying muscles that may have separated during pregnancy and removes excess fat and skin. A mini-tuck only removes loose skin and abdominal fat.
Those that are experiencing weight gain in the thigh area have several options. Kybella can be used effectively to treat smaller areas such as rolls above the knee. For inner or outer thighs, liposuction is often the best option. Coolsculpting can be used effectively, but liposuction can be more cost-effective when treating larger or multiple areas of the body.
If you’ve put on a few extra pounds and want to see what your best options are, schedule a personal consultation with one of our award-winning, board-certified plastic surgeons at Gulf Coast Plastic Surgery, Drs. Peter Butler, Jocelyn Leveque, and Nathan Patterson.
