Liposuction for Men, Treatment Areas and Cosmetic Procedure Options
This information has been medically reviewed by Melbourne-based cosmetic doctor Dr Gordon Ku. LinkedIn Profile here.
Liposuction for men is a procedure that can alter the shape of your body. Our clinic’s specialised lipo procedures for men includes cosmetic surgery for breast reduction (gynaecomastia), beer belly and love handles, as well as chin, neck and face.
As one of the most performed cosmetic procedures for men around the globe, liposuction can dramatically improve your body shape. While a healthy diet and exercise are important for overall health and weight management, liposuction can be an option for those who have specific areas of stubborn fat that they wish to address. If you’re looking for a way to permanently alter the size or shape of problem areas of the body, few cosmetic treatments are as effective as liposuction.
Using a specially designed cannula attached to a suction device, liposuction works by carefully extracting unwanted fat cells from the body while ensuring surrounding tissue remains undamaged. Usually performed in a single treatment under local anaesthetic or general anaesthetic, lipo is a body contouring procedure that is fast and painless and can achieve fantastic results.
Surgical Warning: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
Read more on the Risks of Surgery
Liposuction for Men: Popular Male Liposuction Procedures
While women tend to carry excess fat in their buttocks, stomach, hips, inner and outer thighs, men tend to carry excess fat in different areas of the body. For men, stubborn fat problem areas include chest, waistline, stomach, face or chin.
Man Boobs/Gynaecomastia
‘Man boobs’, also known as gynaecomastia or male breast enlargement, are one of the most common complaints men approach us about. Gynaecomastia surgery is a form of male breast reduction, reducing breast size in men, flattening and enhancing the chest contours.
Usually caused by an excess of glandular tissue and excess fat in the chest area, man boobs can be extremely difficult to treat through a healthy diet and exercise alone. Treating gynaecomastia using liposuction is a surgical procedure that involves certain steps and potential risks. By making a very small incision below the nipple, the problematic fatty tissue can be delicately extracted to produce a firmer, more sculpted chest. Lipo is an effective breast reduction procedure for men which removes excess fat and glandular tissue to restore a more natural shape to the chest.
Beer Belly/Abdomen
The abdominal region is one of the most common areas of the body where men gain weight with many men suffering from the dreaded ‘beer belly’ or ‘pot belly’ at some point in their life. While not necessarily caused by consuming too much beer, a protruding beer belly can make you feel unattractive and undermine confidence.
As a far less invasive procedure than a tummy tuck, liposuction can be used to reduce fat in the abdominal area, but the results can vary depending on individual circumstances. When combined with liposculpture or Vaser high definition liposuction, you can create an even more toned or sculpted abdominal region. By strategically targeting fat located around the abdominal muscles, we can make the underlying muscles more visible to produce a well-defined four or six-pack.
Love Handles/Waistline/Flanks
Whether caused by genetics, age, hormonal changes or a combination of factors, it’s common for men to gain weight around their waistline with undesirable ‘love handles‘ becoming more prominent. Not typically as appealing as the name suggests, love handles can be a major source of embarrassment for men.
Liposuction can be highly effective at slimming the waistline and eliminating love handles to achieve a more pleasing and proportionate body shape.
Buttocks
Liposuction can be used to alter the size and shape of the buttocks, but the results can vary depending on individual circumstances. The strategic removal of fat in the area can be used to reduce the overall size of your buttocks, while also creating a more lifted, rounded or perky posterior.
Upper Arms
Excess fat around the upper arms is another common concern for a large number of men. The upper arms are often one of the last regions of the body to shed excess fat after a period of weight loss, making your arms appear out of proportion to the rest of your body.
Liposuction can be used to reduce fat in the upper arms, but the results can vary depending on individual circumstances.
Double Chin, Neck and Face
Besides body contouring for varied body shapes, liposuction can also be an effective way to treat a sagging or drooping neck, double chin or triple chin (also known as submental fat). Lipo is effective in reshaping your facial profile by removing small fat deposits or addressing a receding chin.
Facial liposuction on areas such as the cheeks can also be a suitable sculpting treatment option for men who want to achieve a slimmer or more youthful facial profile. Some men also choose to combine facial liposuction with other anti-ageing rejuvenation treatments such as a facelift to reduce wrinkles, sagging or excess skin.
Tumescent liposuction technique, liposculpture, laser lipolysis and other liposuction procedures
Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure that removes fat from certain areas of the body. Like all surgeries, it carries potential risks and requires a recovery period. To be a good candidate for liposuction surgery, you should be in good health and without any underlying health issues that could complicate surgery. Lipo is ideal for candidates who follow a healthy diet for weight loss, looking to remove stubborn fat that just won’t go away. Lipo is not a quick way to lose weight from weight gain.
For removal of fat, our surgeons most commonly use the tumescent liposuction technique, which is a liposuction technique performed in a short period of time that offers a speedy recovery with minimal discomfort and bruising.
During treatment, diluted local anaesthetic and adrenaline are infused into the problem area to minimise discomfort. A small incision is made in the treatment area and the unwanted fat cells are extracted under vacuum using a small suction tube (cannula) while also working to sculpt and shape the problem area. An example of this type of lipo is rejuvenation of the neck.
Depending on your individual treatment requirements, your surgeon may recommend the use of another liposuction technique such as:
- Ultrasound Liposuction/Advanced Vaser Hi Definition Liposculpture which allows a more precise extraction of fat cells by using an ultrasound device that melts the fat without affecting vital tissues. Vaser liposuction results in less discomfort and a quicker recovery time.
- Laser Lipolysis which utilises laser light to heat and melt fat and contract collagen fibres to produce tighter skin and a smoother result.
- Power-Assisted Liposuction which adopts a similar technique to tumescent liposuction, using a small power cannula to very delicately move through fat in the treatment area.
- Mega Liposuction which involves the withdrawal of large volumes of fat in a single procedure.
How Liposuction for Men Works: Results and Effectiveness
Liposuction can result in changes to the body’s shape, but individual results can vary. While liposuction can reduce the number of fat cells in a specific area, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important to prevent weight gain in other areas of the body which are unlikely to balloon out of proportion to the surrounding areas if you do gain weight in the future.
To give an indication of the type of results you can achieve with liposuction, here are some examples of what we’ve been able to achieve for other men we’ve treated who were suffering from issues including man boobs, love handles, a beer belly or double chin.
Case example – Man Boobs/Gynecomastia
We were able to achieve a more masculine and sculpted chest for this patient who disliked the excess fat that had accumulated to create the look of ‘man boobs’.
Case example – Beer Belly/Abdomen
We produced a slimmer and flatter abdominal profile with lipo by removing just over 1 litre of fat for this 36-year-old patient who was unhappy with his protruding pot belly.
Case example – Beer Belly/Abdomen, Love Handles and Chest
This 46 year old man had a pronounced waist (love handles) and chest as well as protruding beer belly. By removing 4 litres of fat from his waist, abdomen and chest, we were able to create a more defined and pleasing body shape, whereby liposuction had a sculpting effect.
Case example – Face
This young man wanted to eliminate his double chin. By performing lipo we were able to achieve a more defined chin and neckline.
Liposuction at Me Clinic Melbourne
At Me Clinic, we understand why men consider liposuction and the results they want to achieve. We provide a discreet and understanding environment where you can find out more about liposuction surgery for men and the various treatment options available to you.
Our clinic has many years of experience in performing liposuction procedures. A local anaesthetic or general anaesthetic is used in a lipo procedure, where our specialised cosmetic practitioners remove excess fat through a small, hollow tube called a cannula. The type of anaesthesia depends on the treatment and each patient’s unique needs. Our expert team considers all this to determine the liposuction treatment and sedation to be used for any cosmetic procedure.
Find out more about Melbourne liposuction at Me Clinic or contact us to arrange a personal consultation.
Surgical Warning: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. To be a good candidate for liposuction, you should be in good health and without conditions that could complicate surgery. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
What is the cost of male liposuction?
As every patient we see has different requirements, it is difficult to provide standardised pricing as each procedure is tailored to the individual patient’s situation.
To provide a general indication of what your liposuction procedure might cost, here are the starting prices for some of our popular liposuction treatments for men:
- Man boobs/Gynaecomastia – Starts from $7,500
- Abdomen/Waist – Starts from $8,100
- Upper Arms – Starts from $5,100
- Buttocks – Starts from $4,900
- Chin/Neck – Starts from $3,900
- Face – Starts from $3,160
Your surgeon will discuss the most suitable liposuction treatment option based on your individual requirements and provide a personalised quote. Please contact us here, to arrange your consultation.
Click the following link for full pricing detail on the liposuction cost in Melbourne.
How much fat can be removed by liposuction?
The amount of fat that can be removed by liposuction will vary by patient and by procedure. For example, the amount of fat that can be removed in a liposuction session can vary greatly based on individual circumstances and the specific procedure being performed. But this is the far end of the scale and each patient is unique with varying fat deposits and varied body-sculpting goals. Another example is 1 litre of fat removal for a protruding pot belly. Because each patient is different with unique body goals, our surgeons will carefully assess your needs and your body, and in consultation with each patient, provide advice based on what is best to reduce the amount of fat in various parts of the body safely and effectively.
Targeted liposuction procedures can reduce the number of fat cells in a specific area of the body and reduce stubborn fat. Some men choose to combine liposuction treatments with other procedures. It’s important to discuss with your surgeon the potential risks and benefits of combining procedures.
What to expect with male liposuction?
Even though liposuction is far less invasive than plastic surgery, anaesthesia is used during liposuction—either local or general anaesthetic. The type of anaesthesia depends on the treatment, amount of fat for fat removal, area of the body, as well as what’s right for you. Our expert team considers all this to determine whether a general anaesthetic or local anaesthetic is to be used for any cosmetic procedure.
Liposuction can be performed on various parts of the body with excess fat, with the potential result of a more contoured body. However, results can vary based on individual circumstances. Although liposuction is minimally invasive, small incisions are made in the treatment area to break down and remove specific subcutaneous adipose tissue, also known as fatty tissue. Lipo is suited to healthy individuals to shape various areas of the body, with body contouring effects in designated stubborn fat problem areas. Depending on the surgical procedure and treatment areas, a compression garment may be part of your lipo recovery process.
The most commonly used type of liposuction is the tumescent liposuction technique. Recovery times and experiences can vary based on individual circumstances. This surgical procedure involves injecting a large amount of medicated solution into the problem areas before the fat is removed. The fluid is a mixture of local anaesthetic, a drug that contracts the blood vessels, and an intravenous (IV) salt solution. Depending on your individual requirements, our cosmetic doctor may recommend another liposuction procedure.
How long does it take to recover from male liposuction?
Depending on your liposuction procedure, recovery time may vary. After any liposuction procedure you may feel drowsy, so schedule in some downtime for a full recovery. For a general anaesthetic, because it causes sedation, it’s important to have someone drive you home and stay overnight. Depending on the type of cosmetic surgery, following your lipo procedure you may need to wear a compression garment for a period of time, advised by your cosmetic doctor. On the evening after your procedure, we recommend you rest. We’ll also provide you with an after-hours direct number to make contact with us in the event of any questions, concerns or side-effects. You’ll also be given medication to take to prevent swelling and infection. Here are some rough recovery times for some male liposuction procedures, although recovery time will vary by patient and by procedure:
- Love handle liposuction: Recovery times can vary, and while some swelling or bruising may occur, this typically heals within a few weeks. However, individual experiences can vary.
- Chin and neck liposuction: You may need to wear a chin brace after surgery as a compression garment. The duration can vary based on individual circumstances and the specific procedure performed.
- Upper arm liposuction: Recovery time after upper arm liposuction can vary for each patient. Some swelling, inflammation, or bruising may occur, which typically subsides after a few days. However, individual experiences can vary.