What’s the Difference Between Liposuction and Liposculpting?

If you’ve recently lost weight and you’re looking to target stubborn areas of fat, you may be looking at body contouring procedures. Most people consider liposuction first since it is so well known and one of the most common (if not the most common) plastic surgery procedures performed. But when doing your research, you may have also come across the term “liposculpting.” What is liposculpting, and is it really all that different from liposuction?

Liposuction vs Liposculpting

Liposuction has many benefits. Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes fat cells from the body. It’s a popular procedure that can be used to reduce fat in almost any area of the body, such as the hips, abdomen, thighs, and arms. It can even be effective to slim areas of the face, such as the jawline. The procedure is usually performed under general anesthesia and involves using a tube device known as a cannula to remove fat from the body.

Liposculpting, on the other hand, is a more minimally invasive procedure for contouring the body. There is no medically accepted definition of “liposculpting,” but generally surgeons use this term to mean removing smaller areas and pockets of fat with the help of ultrasound-assisted and laser-assisted technology. The “sculpting” part of the term is meant to suggest more subtle refinement.

Which Procedure is Right For Me?

The truth is that if you are considering body contouring, you don’t need to spend a ton of time weighing the benefits of liposuction versus liposculpting. More importantly, you need to evaluate several board-certified plastic surgeons and get a recommended treatment plan based on your anatomy and goals.

Pay some attention to the technique your surgeon recommends, but don’t get hung up on whether a certain type of liposuction device or brand name will yield better results. The best results for any body contouring procedure depend primarily on the skill and experience of your plastic surgeon.