Body Contouring
There is a reason Tim Sayed, MD, MBA, FACS has chosen to bring South Beach techniques to the beaches of Southern California. As our society also shifts to a focus on wellness — including newer, scientifically driven recommendations for diet and exercise — having a body that looks and feels good is becoming highly prized. We also are seeing patients undergoing medically supervised weight control, and even surgical weight loss procedures, which can set patients up for being healthier and looking better when coupled with plastic surgery body contouring techniques. Dr. Sayed understands how challenging it can be to get your body where you want it to be and we also understand that nobody has a “perfect” body. It’s about trying to look your best with a combination of genetics, healthy living, and, for some patients, surgical enhancement of your best assets.
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Dr. Sayed offers an innovative medical weight loss program that can help patients qualify for an aesthetic procedure. Dr. Sayed partners with Fruit Street Health, a state-of-the-art telemedicine system that allows healthcare providers to monitor patients as they revamp their diet and lifestyle.
The term “mommy makeover” is commonly used to describe a combination of procedures that help reverse some of the effects of pregnancy on the female physique. These include corrections for sagging breasts, reduction of excess fat in the midsection, removal of extra skin, tightening of the abdominal muscles, and sometimes, transfer of fat to the buttocks for better gluteal projection.
Dr. Sayed has learned some of the most sophisticated techniques for Brazilian butt lift in this challenging and demanding market. He has also learned ways to try to keep his patients out of trouble, as this is a procedure that requires good planning, safe execution and excellent communication. There are lots of plastic surgeons sensationalizing the BBL procedure on social media – sure, Dr. Sayed wants you to check out some of his before and after results too – and we would like to help you understand this procedure well and make a smart selection of your surgeon if you are a candidate. While gluteal augmentation can also be done with implants, Dr. Sayed has an overall preference for doing it with the patient’s natural tissues, as this helps improve the contour of the back, abdomen, hips and other areas while simultaneously enhancing the buttocks.
Abdominoplasty is a popular form of body enhancement that helps remove sagging lower abdominal skin and fat, and can tighten the abdomen to a more youthful appearance. Most common for mothers in their 30′s and 40′s, tummy tucks play an important role in restoring a youthful physique for many patients. Dr. Sayed usually advises that these procedures be done after all planned childbearing is done, but has also performed abdominoplasty on younger and older women, those who have not had or don’t plan to have children, and even male patients with extra tissue around the midsection. Tummy tuck combined with liposuction can be a very transformative procedure to treat the central abdomen, love handles, and overall contour of the belly. Many patients also combine this procedure with breast enhancement (breast augmentation and lifting) as part of a complete “Mommy Makeover.”
The key to body contouring is diet and exercise. It also helps if you are genetically programmed not to accumulate fat deposits in troublesome areas. Liposuction, while not an actual weight loss procedure, is a very powerful tool to help improve the body’s contours in areas that may not fully respond to fitness regimens. Problem areas that are especially treatable by liposuction include the central abdomen, the love handles (flanks), the inner thighs, the outer thigh (saddlebag) areas, the bra lines, the armpit regions, the upper arms, the neck (especially the submental areas below the chin), and the male breast. Dr. Sayed has treated hundreds of patients with liposuction, particularly using the Vaser-assisted approach which uses ultrasound energy to help break up the fat cells, allowing for a more controlled fat removal and better skin tightening and redraping after removal. Liposuction can be performed alone or in combination with tummy tuck, breast surgery, facelifting, or other procedures in selected candidates. It is important that you understand that the purpose of liposuction is to improve the contours in properly motivated patients – you can not expect lipo to be a weight loss solution but it can serve as a supplement to improving your weight through medically supervised means.
Hi-def liposculpture involves performing targeted liposuction overlying the “inscriptions” of the rectus abdominis muscle, the midline, the outer border of the 6-pack, and other important boundaries of the abdomen, to bring the skin closer to the muscle with fat removal.
Many patients work out on a consistent basis and wear clothing and swimwear that shows the midriff. Male and female patients can benefit from liposuction, especially in order to enhance the results of abdominal exercise. Lots of devoted patients work out their “abs” and core musculature, but are only able to achieve a certain level of definition of the so-called six-pack. Hi-definition liposculpture can further enhance the appearance of a muscular abdomen, and is most effective in relatively slender patients who maintain a regular exercise program. It is not a substitute for exercise and this is a real commitment as the results of hi-def liposculpture can often be permanent. Keep up those side bends and situps!
Some patients with significant weight problems require more advanced techniques, including bariatric surgery, to lose weight and improve their health. LapBand, intragastric balloon, gastric bypass, and other procedures have helped hundreds of thousands of patients to lose substantial body weight and transform their lives. For many patients, losing weight is only part of the process as they are left living in a “skin suit” that is too large for their now slimmer core. Have you ever had clothes that are now too big for you after losing weight? An amazingly gratifying finishing touch to this long and impressive journey for many patients is contouring the excess skin through post-bariatric body contouring operations. Conceptually similar to taking in extra cloth by a tailor, body contouring by a plastic surgeon involves removing the excess envelope of skin and soft tissue that is now redundant after weight loss. These can include upper body lift (upper abdomen, arms, batwing area), lower body lift (extended tummy tuck, belt lipectomy around the back, thigh lifts), and a series of staged procedures depending on the areas of excess skin. Some of our most grateful patients – and dramatic extreme makeovers — have been those whose lives we have positively impacted through post-bariatric body contouring surgery.
One of the common procedures done after weight loss, but also in patients who have not had bariatric surgery, is the brachioplasty, or arm lift. This involves removal of excess tissue on the upper arm — the flappy arm problem — which is a source of self-consciousness for many patients, especially when wearing sleeveless tops and gowns. Current techniques can help conceal the scars in certain positions, although some markings after removal of significant skin may remain. However, the correction of the girth of the arm with a nice pleasing shape is well worth it for most patients.
In recent years, it has become apparent that many women have significant self-consciousness about the appearance and/or function of the vaginal area, especially after childbirth. Women who have delivered multiple children vaginally often develop changes in the musculature and the external genitalia which may negatively impact their intimate lives and create self-esteem issues around sexuality. Labiaplasty to address excess labial tissue can be highly gratifying, and Dr. Sayed can work with other surgeons and gynecologists to help manage vaginal laxity.
We can discuss this in more detail in the discreet and private setting of the office. Dr. Sayed and a female staff member will sit with you for a consultation where you can feel comfortable discussing any concerns.
