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Body Sculpting, Temecula

Dr. Kelly O’Neil uses the latest technology in body sculpting called Tumescent Body Sculpting. This technique, developed by a dermatologist, has been used extensively for many years on thousands of patients at The O’Neil Skin And Lipo Medical Center. With Tumescent Body Sculpting, the area to be treated is filled with a sterile fluid. The fluid is a saline solution, which contains local anesthesia medication. The procedure is meant to slenderize, reshape and contour your body. It is not a weight loss method nor a treatment for obesity.

The fat is removed with very small “micro cannulas” that are rounded with no sharp edges, unlike the larger sharp cannulas used in “old style” liposuction. The micro cannulas are connected to a vacuum (suction) machine. They are inserted into the fatty tissue through very tiny incisions. The cannula is gently moved around, very superficially under the skin, and the fatty deposits are suctioned away to improve your body contour. The fat is removed with minimal trauma and bleeding reducing one of the major dangers of liposuction.

Because there is minimal trauma and bleeding there is also minimal bruising and soreness. Most patients return to daily activities or work in two to three days. Patients may return to limited gym and more extensive activities in a week.

The anesthesia is in the fluid, which “numbs” the area to be treated. In most cases the patient is given intravenous sedation to make the experience more pleasant.

Tumescent liposculpture is performed as an outpatient surgery. Some patients return home immediately after their procedure. Others stay one night at a local recovery center to recuperate and are easily able to drive themselves home the following morning.

Tumescent Liposculpture Before and After

Tumescent liposculpture provides excellent results especially when compared to “old style” liposuction techniques (see adjacent before and after photos). Because the fat is expanded with fluid, a greater percentage can be removed. And because small “micro cannulas” are used we can remove the fat very close to the skin (with large cannulas this would cause “ridging” or “grooves”). This results in “skin retraction” and eliminates the need for abdominoplasty (tummy-tuck) in many cases.

Your body has a fixed number of fat cells in any given area. When you gain weight you expand the fat cells that you have. The fat cells are permanently removed with tumescent liposuction. Should you gain weight after liposuction, it goes into the fat cells that remain in your body. The treated areas will be the last areas to pick up fat and can no longer balloon out of proportion to the surrounding areas.

Medical Treatment For Fat Removal, Temecula

Cryolipolysis, also called coolsculpting by Zeltiq, is the latest medical treatment for removing unwanted fat.  Cryolipolysis utilizes a non-invasive cooling devise to break down subcutaneous fat cells.  The body gradually, over three to four months, breaks down the damaged fat cells and reabsorbs them.  The result is a reduction of inches in the treated area and improved body contouring.

It has been found that subcutaneous fat cells are more susceptible to the effects of cold than other surrounding tissues and that body fat may be reduced without damage to other tissues with this coolsculpting device.  Results of cryolipolysis have proven to be long lasting and no adverse effects to blood cholesterol have been noted.

A Coolsculpting session typically takes about 1 hour.  No anesthesia, needles or cuts are required.  It is considered an alternative to other body contouring techniques, such as tumescent liposculpture, liposuction or Smart Lipo (laser lipolysis).  There may be some redness or mild bruising in the treated area which usually resolves in a few days.  Cost is similar to other liposculpting procedures and usually runs around $3,000 per treated area!

Cryolipolysis is primarily designed for patients who are only modestly overweight, as shown in the adjacent before and after photo.  If the fatty layer is too deep the coolsculpture device will not be able to cool the deeper layers and inadequate fat removal will occur. This will result in the need for repeat procedures.  Cryolipolysis is not designed to remove large volumes of fat.  Larger fat volumes or thicker fat layers will be better treated with modern body contouring procedures like Tumescent liposculpture or Smart lipo.

Cryolipolysis is designed to slenderize a body area that is modestly overweight.  If true body contouring is required, tumescent liposculpture or Smart lipo may be the best choice.  Also, if multiple body sites are required, Smart liposculpture may be more cost effective.  But if the offending fat is modest, and only one or two body areas are to be treated, Coolsculpting is a safe non-invasive technique for fat reduction.

Kelly J. O’Neil, M.D.