• Do you dread shopping for bathing suits - especially that moment when you see your derriere in the dressing room mirror?

• Do you walk down the beach tugging at your bathing suit bottom, self-consciously trying to cover your buttock flab?
• Do you envy women who can "walk away proudly" in a swimsuit, knowing they look great from all angles?

There isn't a word of truth in it.

FACT: Many people's bodies reach homeostasis at 10 or 15 pounds above the "fashionable" weight dictated by society. They're genetically programmed that way.

Hard-Wired to be Different Their metabolisms, hormones and dozens of other balancing mechanisms in their bodies are hard-wired for a different look than the one in the fashion magazines. They might be pear-shaped, hourglass-shaped or just generally zaftik. It's the way their ancestors looked. It evolved in cultures that had different climates, foods and attitudes than ours. Fish Out of Water These unfortunate people spend their lives as "fish out of water." They jump through hoops trying to "will" the fashionable body circa 2000 A.D. It's a losing battle - one that carries a terrible payload of discouragement and self-hate. Liposuction Can Save Your Self-Esteem Are you a "fish out of water"? Are you tired of this game where conceding to your body's normal urges sets you up for feelings of embarrassment and failure? Exasperated Most of the patients who come to my consultation room to discuss liposuction are at exactly this stage of exasperation. They've tried every diet on the planet. They exercise a few times a week. But those stubborn areas of fat won't disappear. They want an answer. Liposuction is often the answer they've been waiting for.

Improved Contours
After their surgery, their contours are improved, misplaced fat cells have been permanently removed, and they no longer face a daily struggle against the inevitable.

These patients continue to watch what they eat and exercise regularly. Liposuction isn't a reprieve from self-discipline.

Lipo Pushes the Re-Start Button
But it evens the playing field. It presses the "re-start" button on your body so you continue life on a doable maintenance program - not an uphill sprint against reality.

Power-Assisted Liposuction
We use Power-Assisted Liposuction (PAL) to re-contour your body so you can wear today's fashions, including swimsuits.

PAL was developed to add precision to the fat-removal process. With PAL we can target fat cells in the upper thigh and buttock area precisely. The results are better than with traditional liposuction. The fat is removed more easily, with less stress to the body, and the result is smoother and more streamlined.

Is the fat removal permanent?
Yes. The fat cells in the treated areas are gone. The localized fatty deposits that existed prior to liposuction can no longer balloon up out of proportion to the surrounding areas.

Should you gain weight after liposuction, the fat will be deposited in different areas of your body.

How will my skin look after surgery?
The changes following liposuction are similar to what you'd see if you could lose an equal amount of localized fat through diet and exercise.

As with diet and exercise, dimples, ripples and stretch marks can't be removed.

Will PAL get rid of cellulite?
PAL is not a treatment for cellulite.

What will my recovery be like?

You will wear a snug elastic dressing, girdle, or body stocking over the treated area for the next several weeks.

• You'll go home after the procedure and rest for at least 24 hours.
• After 2 or 3 days you may resume non-strenuous activities.
• You may gradually increase your activity as tolerated.
• Serious exercise will have to be postponed for 14-30 days or more.

It's Worth A Little Discomfort
Have you finally had it with diets, weight-resistance machines and always hiding your thighs and buttocks from public view?

Then come in for a consultation. We'll show you what we can do, based on results we've given to hundreds of other patients. We'll let you decide. Will this be the year you sashay down the beach proudly, your mind free to savor your surroundings?

We hope so.

It's Not an Either/Or Proposition Liposuction and Weight Loss Can Work Together

While some people demean liposuction as the lazy person's alternative to diet and exercise, recent news reports show weight management physicians using lipo as an adjunct to a healthy weight reduction program.

In one study, Dr. Sharon Y. Giese, assistant professor of plastic surgery at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, studied 14 women who received liposuction surgery after beginning a supervised program of diet and exercise. "In carefully selected overweight persons," said Dr. Giese at the conclusion of the study, "large-volume liposuction is not only an effective tool for helping those individuals to achieve long-term weight control, but it can facilitate further weight loss."

A Three-Phase Weight Loss Program
Dr. Giese integrates liposuction into a three-phase weight loss program targeted at overweight individuals who are not medically obese. Patients begin by making modifications in their diet and exercise habits. Liposuction is performed approximately four to six weeks after those lifestyle changes are introduced.

Patients then continue with their diet and exercise programs.

Physiological and Psychological Benefits
Dr. Geise believes the physiological and psychological benefits of liposuction help these women achieve further weight loss through their own efforts.

"A typical weight-loss program results in shrinking of fat cells and loss of lean muscle mass. As a result, metabolism goes down, weight loss may plateau, and patients may be disheartened about sticking with their program. A primary reason why liposuction is so effective in helping patients lose weight and maintain that loss is that it permanently decreases the number of fat cells without reducing lean muscle mass."

The Results Are Conclusive
Two years post-liposuction, 12 of the 14 women in this study weighed less than they did before surgery. Of the remaining two women, one had returned to her pre-surgical weight and the other weighed more than she did before liposuction.

This compares favorably with solely diet-based weight loss programs. As we all know, the majority of dieters end up weighing more than their beginning weight after two years.

Liposuction Can Prevent Diabetes
Perhaps more importantly, 8 of the 14 women were prediabetic at the time of surgery. Dr. Giese confirms that the liposuction they received appears to have prevented the onset of diabetes.

Lifestyle Changes Must Occur
Liposuction can never replace the need for lifestyle changes.

"We like to encourage patients to lose some weight first by changing their diet and becoming more active so that they establish realistic long-term lifestyle goals," Dr. Giese concludes. "However, by adding liposuction to that initial weight loss, we can take these overweight patients about halfway to their goal, and that can be a great psychological motivator."

Don't Stay Stuck
If you're stuck in a yo-yo dieting syndrome, unable to get a grip on your weight, don't lose hope. Adding one element to the mix that you've never thought of before can sometimes change everything. Whether that one element is liposuction, a new type of exercise, hormone adjustment or something else, there is a solution for you.

Even Breast Reduction Can Jump-Start Weight Loss
This may seem odd, but I have seen patients finally achieve weight loss by getting breast reduction surgery for their heavy, oversized breasts. These patients had made good-faith efforts to exercise but their large breasts made the effort too cumbersome.

Once their breasts were reduced to fit their bodies more comfortably, they were able to "take it to the next level" with regard to exercise. I have seen this occur over and over, and it is tremendously rewarding to be able to surgically "jumpstart" someone's weight loss plan.

Call Our Office
If a consultation about liposuction and monitored weight loss interests you, call our office and make an appointment with me. I have colleagues who specialize in this. I'll be happy to evaluate your situation from a medical perspective and make the appropriate recommendations.

And of course, I'm always happy to see you again and catch up with what's going on in your life.