Table of contents:
1-What is body contouring?
2- Why is it performed?
3-What does it consist of?
4-Preparation for body contouring
5-Aftercare after the procedure
6-Alternatives to body contouring
What is body contouring?
Body contouring includes all those techniques, surgical or not, that have the purpose of remedying skin imperfections. These affect 80% of women, who are more prone to suffer from them due to the hormonal changes to which they are subjected.
However, men are increasingly undergoing modern body remodeling procedures, such as liposculpture, liposuction, facelift and reconstructive surgery.
Why is it performed?
Body remodeling allows changing the shape and harmony in certain areas of the body that have lost skin elasticity.
It is an intervention that interests both men and women, both of whom are becoming more and more aesthetically conscious. Men focus on the abdomen and “love handles”, while women focus on the hips and buttocks, paying special attention to the dreaded cellulite.
What is body contouring?
Body contouring offers many options, both surgical and non-surgical.
– Non-surgical:
1) Anti-cellulite creams and lotions: have a superficial effect.
2) Ultrasound: treatment used in aesthetic medicine to improve skin appearance, tone and hydration. It consists in the application of heat, which causes the dilation of hair follicles and sweat glands, reactivating the creation of collagen and increasing blood flow.
3) Radiofrequency: eliminates adipose tissue without affecting the surrounding structures and, therefore, does not damage the organism. It is a treatment that uses electromagnetic waves to eliminate fat cells and cellulite and achieve a tightening of the skin.
– Surgical techniques:
1) Abdominoplasty: surgery of the abdominal wall where excess skin and fat are removed, in addition to repositioning and strengthening the muscles in the area.
2) Gluteoplasty: elevation and remodeling of the buttocks.
3) Lifting: the most sought after are the lifting of arms or legs. Both allow the tightening of a certain area through the elimination of excess skin.
4) Liposuction: it is a surgical intervention that serves to shape the silhouette or figure of a person, remodeling certain areas of the body such as the hips, abdomen, buttocks and thighs.
5) Mesotherapy: stimulates cell regeneration in order to achieve a firmer and more elastic skin and eliminate cellulite. It works by infiltrating different active ingredients that make the cells more receptive to the vitamins and other substances that are then injected.
The most commonly used techniques are radiofrequency,
lifting and liposuction
Preparation for body reshaping
Prior to the surgical intervention techniques, the specialist prescribes clinical tests to know the patient’s history.
Other than that, the preparation will depend on the body reshaping technique chosen to be applied, but in general, if the patient is a smoker, the need to quit smoking for a certain period of time before surgery will be indicated. The same happens in most cases with patients taking anti-inflammatory drugs.
Aftercare after surgery
In all body contouring techniques the results are immediate, although they cannot be perceived correctly until the inflammation in the treated area subsides. This occurs after 2 or 3 months, in the case of surgical interventions.
Most of the surgeries are performed on an outpatient basis; only in special cases is an overnight stay in hospital required. In the case of liposuction or lifting, hospitalization may be necessary, at least 1 or 2 nights.
Attention is required with respect to postoperative feeding, generally based on liquid food during the first 24 hours. All normal daily activities can be resumed after a few days, and sports activity after 20 to 30 days after surgery.
Finally, in the case of interventions performed on the abdomen, it may be necessary to wear a compression garment for a certain period of time.
Alternatives to body contouring treatments
Although body contouring techniques are able to shape the body and reduce localized fat, it is important that they are not viewed in isolation. That is, at the end of one of these treatments it is necessary that the person performs physical activity and maintains a healthy and balanced diet.