Laser liposuction in Peoria & Phoenix, Arizona

At last, a trimmer, healthier, better-looking body can be yours. Imagine having the body you’ve always wanted. What would it mean to you if you never wanted to turn away from a full-length mirror again? Or how great would it feel not to come home empty-handed from shopping for new clothes.

Well, it’s all possible. In fact, Dr. Richard Fisher at Peoria Cosmetic Surgery, Phoenix AZ, has helped many people just like you feel more confident, secure, and just plain happy with their bodies. Many of those people didn’t think anything would help. The decision to have liposuction to contour your body can significantly change your life for the better.

You can jog on the treadmill for hours, workout endlessly in the gym, starve yourself with the latest “fad” diet and still not have the figure you want. Those “bulges” and trouble spots simply refuse to go away. And to make matters worse, after the age of 30, the amount of fat you gain and where you gain it is largely due to your genetics.

This kind of fat is notoriously stubborn and doesn’t usually respond readily to diet and exercise. This means you can run on the treadmill until you’re blue in the face and it still won’t make much difference.

Instead of trying to hide your stubborn hips, stomach, arms, “love handles”, “muffin tops”, thighs or butt, you can now do something about it. Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing the body you’ve always wanted and feeling good about yourself for a change.

Wouldn’t that be fantastic?

Well, that’s what liposuction can do for you. Every day hundreds of people are tuning to liposuction to contour their bodies, to achieve that trimmer, healthier, better-looking body for good.

Liposuction is a well established safe, nearly painless cosmetic surgical procedure with little downtime, the results of which are enjoyed by about 300,000 Americans every year.

Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty or liposculpture is the surgical targeting of excess fat from fatty deposits between the skin and the muscles underneath. Developed in the late 1970’s by doctors, liposuction has become one of the best methods to eliminate unwanted body fat and achieve more desirable body proportions. Currently, because of its safety, effectiveness and convenience, it is currently the most common cosmetic surgical procedure performed worldwide.

Our liposuction procedures in Peoria and Phoenix, Arizona are performed in the sterile environment of our accredited in-office surgical suite. An intravenous is placed to administer mild conscious sedation, a twilight sleep allowing our patients to be comfortable while a dilute local anesthetic solution is placed under the skin in the area to be liposuctioned. When the area to be treated is bathed in this dilute anesthetic solution it becomes numb and pain free. This process is known as tumescent anesthesia, a revolutionary technique developed by a California dermatologist in the late 1980’s allows for the safe and bloodless targeting of excess fat in the outpatient setting.

After the tumescent anesthetic is administered, a few small incisions about 1/4inches in length are made in the skin. One end of a slender hollow metal tube with holes at the end of it, known as a cannula is placed under the skin into the area to be treated. The other end held by the surgeon and attached by flexible tubing to a suction device is moved back and forth, targeting the fat. The procedure is painless and virtually bloodless.

Various different cannulas and liposuction formats have been developed over the years to shorten the plastic surgery, improve patient comfort, and results. We use power cannulas ones in which the tip either moves mechanically back and forth under the skin reducing post liposuction swelling and bruising. This is known as power assisted liposuction or PAL.

After the liposuction procedure, our patients are placed in a specially designed removable compression garment to keep them comfortable and reduce swelling and bruising in the postoperative period. These garments are sheer and worn under clothing for a variable period of time.

Liposuction can benefit both men and women. There are no age or weight limits for this surgical procedure. Good candidates for liposuction are with 20-30 pounds of their ideal weight and in good health. If you don’t quite fit these criteria, don’t worry; we have had remarkable success in helping those quite obese improve selected problem areas.

It is very important to have realistic expectations as to exactly what liposuction can and cannot do. Although liposuction can often result in a remarkable improvement in your contours, it cannot achieve perfection. Additionally, skin with a rippled or dimpled surface (cellulite) usually cannot be improved with liposuction.

No two people will respond the same way to the procedure, even if they have similar physical characteristics. Variations in skin, underlying bone and muscle structure, the location and amount of fat to be targeted, personal health, and habits such as smoking will all factor in to the final result.

Most important, liposuction is a contouring procedure, not a weight loss procedure. We can affect a dramatic improvement in your figure and not see you lose a significant amount of weight. You may weigh just about the same after the procedure, but you will look much better.

Most important, liposuction is a contouring procedure, not a weight loss procedure. We can affect a dramatic improvement in your figure and not see you lose a significant amount of weight. You may weigh just about the same after the procedure, but you will look much better.

We have added the Vaser ultrasonic device to our liposuction procedure to give our patients better results with less swelling and bruising. This device emits pulsating ultrasonic energy from the tip of a slender metal probe, similar in shape and size to that of a liposuction cannula. After the tumescent anesthesia has been injected into the fat compartment to be treated, and prior to the liposuction itself, we insert the Vaser probe through the same tiny liposuction incisions and move it back and forth for several minutes in the area to be treated. The ultrasonic energy breaks up the fat, targeting it at its supporting structures, much the same as plucking grapes from the vine. After Vaser treatment, liposuction is easier, the fat flows more readily and abundantly with less bruising and swelling following the plastic surgery. Using the Vaser ultrasonic probe prior to liposuction simply gives much better results in most patients than liposuction without it.

For many patients, laxity of the skin overlying an area of fat deposition can be as much of a problem as the fat itself. A new technology called Renuvion (JPlasma) has emerged as the best way to date to tighten loose skin without actually cutting it. The Renuvion handpiece consists of a hollow tube, again about the size of a liposuction cannula and that is inserted through the same tiny incisions that the Vaser probe and liposuction cannulas use. The handpiece is inserted under the skin to be treated after the area has been liposuctioned. It emits energy in the form of activated helium gas which in turn tightens the skin overlying the area. (We devote an entire section on this website to Renuvion (JPlasma) going over in detail how it works.)

More and more our liposuction procedures today combine the efficient fat targeting afforded by the Vaser ultrasonic probe with the effective skin tightening of Renuvion (JPlasma) in a single procedure using the same tumescent anesthesia, the same small incisions, and the same post operative care. Our patients now enjoy even better results, more dramatic improvements in their contours, less swelling and bruising with these new additional technologies.

Enough fat is targeted from each site operated on to give a desirable contour. The actual amount varies from site to site, and person to person. Sometimes as little as one ounce of fat targeted on the neck can result in a dramatic improvement. However, in larger areas such as the torso it’s not uncommon to target upwards of a gallon of fat. With the Vaser, we can now get more fat out than ever before.

Most people can notice a substantial improvement in their body contour when they remove the garment for the first time, one to three days after the procedure. However, the tumescent anesthetic injected to “numb” the areas sculpted takes about two days to drain and absorb. Postoperative swelling can briefly obscure the results for several weeks. By eight weeks, ninety percent of the healing and remodeling of the fat compartment operated on and contraction of the skin over this area has occurred. Your new contours are visible by then and will continue to improve for up to a year.

Usually the tiny incisions made during the procedure to introduce the cannulas are so small they rarely require any stitches and disappear altogether in several months.

With the removal of the fat cells, fat in the treated areas does not return unless you gain a great deal of weight. In this circumstance while some fat may come back in the treated areas, it tends to accumulate in areas not treated by liposuction.

Once the tumescent anesthetic has been placed in the area to be treated, the liposuction itself is almost completely painless for most patients. After surgery, there can be mild to moderate soreness or aching for several days. The post-operative discomfort is similar to that you may experience after a hard workout and is easily controlled by over-the-counter pain pills. Severe pain after liposuction is very rare.

You can resume activities after liposuction in as little as two days. It is best, however, to give yourself adequate time to recover depending on how extensive a procedure you undergo. We encourage our patients to participate in light activities as soon as possible so as to promote the drainage of the tumescent fluid and minimize swelling. Those who engaged in heavy lifting, weight training, contact sports, and competitive athletics will have to postpone these activities until their healing is more complete.

In general, after a major liposuction procedure you should reserve a minimum of four days for recovery before returning to a sedentary job and two to three weeks before resuming heavy activity.

As with any surgical procedure there are certain risks involved. However, tumescent liposuction even with the Vaser and Renuvion (JPlasma) is one of the safest cosmetic surgical procedures performed. You can expect some swelling, bruising, numbness in the operated areas. These are temporary and resolve in two to four weeks. Rarely fluid or blood pockets can form under the skin and have to be drained. Other complications such as infection, heavy blood loss, skin loss, blood clots and even cardiac arrest while possible are very rare. The use of the local tumescent anesthesia and minimal conscious sedation as opposed to general anesthesia, care pre-operative evaluation, meticulous sterile surgical technique, close monitoring of vital signs during the procedure, diligent recovery immediately after plastic surgery all serve to ensure your safety and greatly reduce any possibility of complications.

Pre-operatively, a careful medical history and physical examination along with some basic blood work are required. Patients are instructed to avoid certain medications that can cause excessive bleeding such as aspirin. Post-operatively, patients must wear a special garment that we order for them. Tight but comfortable, they compress the skin over the area liposuctioned, ensuring proper remodeling and skin contraction.

In our experience, about 5% of patients require a small touch-up procedure for an area that hasn’t done as well as it should have. We charge only a modest set-up fee in these circumstances and with the plastic surgery itself done for no charge. The majority of patients undergoing a second liposuction procedure do so because they are so pleased with the results of their first surgery, they want additional areas treated.

Liposuction is a plastic surgery and as such is not covered by health insurance. The charge for this procedure varies according to the size and number of areas in the liposuction is performed, consequently, the work involved. We accept most major credit cards, and depending on your credit score, we can help you arrange third party financing if necessary.

Most of our patients consider the cost of liposuction an important investment in themselves, one they will enjoy for many years to come.

Many different specialists now offer liposuction including: plastic surgeons, dermatologists, gynecologists, general surgeons, emergency room physicians, family physicians, etc. Choosing a physician based on his specialty does not insure a good result. Your surgeon should have completed additional specialized training in liposuction. He or she should have considerable experience in the procedure, willing to show you before and after photographs and even have you talk to some of his patients. It is advisable to check your state medical board website to see if there have been any problems with the physician you have selected.

Most important, choose a surgeon with whom you feel comfortable, someone who listens to your concerns, is easy to talk with, and places your safety above all else. Ultimately, the decision to have liposuction done and who should do it is a personal one. No one can decide for you.

I personally have been performing liposuction since 1999, now nearly 20 years as of this writing and have done many thousands of procedures. Over the years I have gone to extraordinary lengths to obtain the best training both here, in Europe and South America to afford my patients optimal results safely. My safety record to date is impeccable and patient satisfaction with my work high. Every year I attend as many workshops, preceptorships and conferences as possible to constantly upgrade my knowledge and skills in liposuction. When breakthrough new technologies and other innovations become available to enhance the results of liposuction and I am comfortable that they will truly benefit my patients, I spend the time, energy, and money to learn to use them and bring them into our practice.

Since 2005, our office-based plastic surgery has been regularly inspected by an independent agency the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) to insure we offer the highest standards of surgical care. We do this on a voluntary basis; it is not required by the Arizona Medical Board.

My experience in liposuction is extensive and my results are excellent. See for yourself. Review our before and after photographs. And if you wish, whenever possible, we will arrange for you to speak with one of our patients who have undergone liposuction with us.

Liposuction is a wonderful procedure. While it’s no magic formula for happiness, it’s hard to find a cosmetic procedure that makes people feel so good about themselves, something that can be done so easily, safely, and affordably.

I really enjoy helping people improve their figures and their self-image with liposuction. And I’m intensely proud of both my results and my safety record. So, if you are considering liposuction, come in for a complimentary consultation and let’s talk about it.

Richard Fisher, MD
Peoria Cosmetic Surgery