I’m a 46-year-old woman. I’m in generally good shape

Question:
I’m a 46-year-old woman. I’m in generally good shape, but I have the common problem of a stubborn belly pooch that I want to get rid of. Since it’s not too big of a pooch, I would rather leave it if it’s going to make my skin look bad. Does liposuction sometimes distort and ripple the skin?

Answer:
I currently use laser lipolysis to address excess abdominal fat. The SlimLipo procedure that I perform uses laser energy to melt fat and another laser wavelength to tighten skin. If you have considerable excess skin and fat of the abdomen, a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty may be the procedure you are more likely to get optimal results with. However, if you have a normal amount of skin and excess fat, laser lipolysis is an ideal procedure to have. Rippling of the skin is generally caused by liposuction technique issues. Although it can occur, care is taken during laser lipolysis to avoid damage to the skin and focus the laser energy on the excess fat.

Posted by Dr. Philip Schoenfeld