Liposculture and Body Contouring: Blending Art and Science

The human body has caused fascination since the dawn of time, pushing the greatest artists to idolize the human form in the most amazing sculptures and paintings.

Beauty alone does not explain this. The ‘healthy body in healthy mind’ adagio is still relevant today, thousands of years after it first became popular.

Liposculpture takes this tradition into the modern era, chiseling the human shape using its own material: unwanted body fat.

 

Basic Notions About Body Harmony

Da Vinci's 'Vitruvian Man'

Da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’

 

There is a science behind body proportions that painters and sculptors have studied for thousands of years. Here’s its fundamental lesson:

There is no magic formular behind body beauty, perceived aesthetics depend on the overall proportions of the body.

This being said, patterns of aesthetic proportion have been singled out by some of the best students of the human form, including the one and only Leonardo Da Vinci.

The following considerations can serve as a useful guideline. After all, they have remained relevant across centuries, fashions and cultures:

  • The ideal hip-width-to-shoulder-width ratio for women is 1:1 and 1:1.8 for men.
  • The ideal waist-to-hip ratio is not lower than 0.67 for women, reaching 0.8 in classical art
  • The ideal waist-to-height ratio is 0.43 in women and 0.46 in men.

 

What is Liposculpture?

liposculpture by MCAN Health

Liposculpture before and after

Fat shows an absolute lack of aesthetic taste.

We all know that fat gets stored in the most undesired areas of the body, such as the abdomen, the hips or the thighs.

Why doesn’t fat get stored in better-looking areas?

The answer is unclear, but fat stored in the hips, thighs, arms and the abdomen is not only aesthetically unpleasant, it can also be extremely difficult to eliminate.

Stubborn fat represents the main concern for plastic surgeons, and mainly abdominal fat, which is the hardest to eliminate.

 

How Do Plastic Surgeons Deal With Unwanted Fat?

 

To perform a liposculture, surgeons remove and reallocate stubborn fats from undesired areas.

One of the most popular reallocation parts are the buttocks, in a procedure known as a BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift).

Bear in mind, liposculpture is not a weight loss surgery. It is advised only for patients who are not +30% above their ideal body weight!

 

Basic Information About Liposculpture

Liposculpture in Turkey before and after

Male liposculpture before and after in Turkey

 

A beautiful body is not desirable merely because of its proportions, but because of the health and youth it implies.

Liposculpting is the easiest way of achieving results. It requires as much aesthetic sensitivity as technical prowess.

Leaving the artistic aside, here the most fundamental information regarding the procedure:

 

Fat-Removal Methods

 

  1. Power-assisted liposculpture: in this kind of procedure, fat is broken down with the use of a vibrating tool before removal and reallocation.
  2. Ultrasound-assisted liposculpture: fat is molten with the use of an ultrasonic device. This procedure is preferred to remove larger quantities of fat.
  3. Laser-assisted liposculpture: fat is broken down with the use of low-energy laser waves.

 

Anesthesia: General (Full Sedation)

 

  • Usual Targeted Areas: Abdomen, hips, lower and upper back, thighs, arms and jaw
  • Recovery Time: At least 2-3 days in bed, 1 week before returning to work, and 1 month without any physical exercise
  • Risks: Swelling, bleeding, scarring, infection, undesired results
  • Results: visible after swelling is gone, approximately 1 week after the procedure. Final results are visible 1 year after the procedure and are permanent if healthy life habits are maintained.

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Liposculpture

 

Liposculture work of art by Mexican artist Victor Hugo Yañez

Liposculpture as represented by Victor Hugo Yañez

 

There’s good and bad sides to everything in life, liposculpture is no exception.

 

Advantages

  • Liposculpture is the easiest way of acquiring a defined body contour, without any strict diet of exercise regime.
  • Results are permanent if healthy life habits are maintained after the procedure
  • Removed fat can be transferred to other body areas to improve body tonification

 

Disadvantages

  • Patients may have to stay 1 or 2 nights within the hospital under medical care
  • It can take up to 1 month for post-surgical swelling to disappear (in certain cases it may take even longer)
  • Just as any other surgery, liposculpture implies risks of infection and undesired results that should be taken into account

 

Where To Go For the Procedure?

Liposuction Before & After

Liposuction Before & After

 

With the reduction of the plastic surgery taboo, liposculpture has become a much more common procedure, currently practiced everywhere in the world, from Corea and Japan to Brazil and South-America.

The US and the UK, for instance, have high-quality clinics all across the country, and great professionals carry out operations parallel to continuous medical research.

When choosing the right clinic, a series of considerations must be taken into account, such as certifications, reviews and, certainly, the price.

For most patients, pricing is the main concern, so let’s look at a cross-price comparison of some of the most popular destinations for liposculpture.

 

What’s the Cost of Liposculpture?

Body proportions in 2 symmetrical pictures

Fundamental body proportions and Golden Ratio

 

The cost of liposculpture varies due to living costs, government subsidies, labor costs and currency value, on top of personal prestige and recognition of the surgeon/clinic.

Here are the average costs of some of the main medical destinations in the world:

 

  • Average cost of a liposculpture in the US: $5700
  • Average cost of a liposculpture in the UK: £4000
  • Average cost of a liposculpture in Mexico: $3000
  • Average cost of a liposculpture in Turkey: $3500
  • Average cost of a liposculpture in Corea: $5500

 

Bear in mind that quality and reliability are worth much more than a dollar amount.

But this doesn’t hide the fact that similar treatments can be found at very different prices, which explains why traveling abroad for surgery is more popular than ever.

Due to inflation and rising costs, the medical tourism industry has experienced an exponential boom. In fact, it is expected to grow by as much as 300% in the coming decades.

 

Liposculpture or Liposuction?

Liposculture art work Apollo in Versailles

‘Apollo served by the nymphs’ by François Girardon in the Gardens of Versailles

 

The difference between liposuction and liposculpting lies in the second phase of the surgery.

Whereas the former focuses on fat absorption and removal (hence its name: lipo-suction), the latter is further concerned with fat reallocation and body sculpting.

In simple terms, liposuction is a better option for patients wanting a simple fat removal, while liposculpture is advisable for patients looking for in-depth results.

Should you want to consult our experts, you can book a free consultation with one of our advisors:

Book a Free Consultation

We will provide any extra information you require regarding the procedure.