Body
Conveniently located to serve the areas of Lake Forest and Chicago, IL
Body contouring is a field of cosmetic procedures that utilizes both surgical and nonsurgical methods to improve the shape, tone, and aesthetics of a person’s body.
Losing tone and definition around the body is a common occurrence for many people. Whether it is due to significant weight loss, implications following pregnancy, or the natural aging process, excess skin, pockets of body fat, or simply diminished levels of overall body definition are a frustrating reality for many individuals. If you are struggling with any of these issues, there are treatment options available that can help you achieve the body you desire.
Dr. Michael Howard and the team at Michael Howard Plastic Surgery are some of the Midwest’s leading experts in cosmetic procedures and are the best place to go if you are seeking body contouring procedures that will leave you feeling like the best version of yourself.
To schedule a personal consultation, contact Dr. Howard and his staff online or by calling (224) 271-4250.
Contents
About Body Contouring Procedures
Body contouring encompasses a wide range of cosmetic procedures designed to enhance the body’s shape by eliminating excess fat and skin and tightening underlying tissues. At Michael Howard Plastic Surgery, Dr. Howard and his dedicated team offer several advanced body contouring options to help patients achieve their aesthetic goals. Many of these treatments can be combined to address multiple issues as well, allowing patients to reduce their recovery times while enhancing many parts of their bodies.
BodyTite
BodyTite is a minimally invasive body contouring technology that eliminates fat and tightens skin. It utilizes radiofrequency (RF) energy to melt body fat that does not respond to healthy lifestyle habits like proper diet and exercise. In addition to melting body fat, it stimulates the production of collagen, resulting in firmer, tighter, and healthier skin. This revolutionary technology offers advantages over traditional liposuction and other body contouring systems by providing fat reduction and skin tightening in a single procedure. This procedure can be applied to multiple different areas around the body and often entails minimal scarring and recovery time, which is why this type of procedure is consistently linked with high patient satisfaction. (1)
Liposuction
Liposuction is a surgical procedure that removes excess fat deposits from specific areas of the body to enhance body proportion. It is particularly effective for individuals who have stubborn fat pockets that do not respond to diet and exercise, and it is the second most popular cosmetic surgery in the United States. (2) During a liposuction procedure, small incisions are made around the areas where a patient wishes to reduce fat, and a thin tube called a cannula is inserted into these incisions where the fat is loosened and vacuumed out of the body.
Liposuction can be performed on various body parts and is often combined with other procedures such as the tummy tuck procedure. Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure, but rather a procedure to help people at or near their ideal body weight achieve their ideal body proportions.
Mommy Makeover
A mommy makeover is a highly individualized and comprehensive treatment that utilizes a combination of procedures to help mothers deal with some of the relatively unpleasant side effects associated with pregnancy and childbirth. While childbirth is a beautiful thing, it can leave some mothers with a multitude of unwanted side effects, such as excess skin, a weakened pelvic floor, or uneven breasts. The primary benefit of a mommy makeover procedure is that it combines multiple procedures into one, meaning there is only one recovery period. Mommy makeovers often utilize elements of liposuction, breast reconstruction, or tummy tuck procedures.
Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)
A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, is a surgical procedure designed to remove excess skin and fat from the abdomen while tightening the abdominal muscles to create a more toned and defined torso. Tummy tuck procedures are incredibly common, especially for those with excess skin after weight loss or weakened or separated abdominal muscles (a condition called diastasis recti). This procedure involves an incision to the abdominal area followed by skin- and muscle-tightening surgical maneuvers. It is often combined with liposuction to remove pockets of fat that remain after weight loss. Tummy tucks are popular because of their ability to produce safe, reproducible results and high satisfaction rates among both patients and surgeons. (3)
Benefits
Body contouring procedures encompass a wide range of treatments, each with its own set of advantages. Patients who seek the body contouring procedures offered by Dr. Howard and his staff can expect to experience a variety of potential benefits, which include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Increased body tone and definition
- Enhanced body proportions
- Improvements in body image
When you seek body contouring procedures from Dr. Howard and his staff, the physical benefits you experience as a result of their carefully planned work can leave you with a renewed sense of confidence in yourself. This has the potential to result in improvements in mental well-being and overall quality of life. Patients seeking these procedures after a weight loss journey can benefit by reaching their personal finish lines, finally achieving the ideal body they have been working toward.
To experience these potential benefits for yourself, contact Dr. Howard and his staff online or by calling (224) 271-4250 to schedule a personal consultation.
Ideal Candidates
Multiple factors will determine whether or not you are an ideal candidate for the procedures offered by Dr. Howard, and your eligibility for body contouring procedures will ultimately be determined during your consultation. Generally speaking, ideal candidates are non-smoking individuals in overall good health who are looking to rejuvenate their body aesthetics.
Personal Consultation
If you are interested in exploring the various body contouring procedures offered by Dr. Howard and his staff, the first step is to schedule a personal consultation. This consultation will allow you to explore the various procedures offered by Dr. Howard as well as ask any questions you might have. Dr. Howard will make a conscious effort to get to know you while assessing your health, medical history, and overall goals for your body contouring procedures. From there, he will determine what treatments you are eligible for and create a personalized treatment plan outlining the procedures he feels you could benefit from.
Preparation
The preparation and procedure process will be different depending on the individual and the type of body contouring procedure they receive. Preparation for surgical procedures will differ from non-surgical procedures, and Dr. Howard will provide detailed guidelines for you to follow leading up to your procedure. For more ambitious procedures, patients will likely be asked to refrain from the use of nicotine, alcohol, blood thinners, and other medications that might interfere with the procedure or healing processes. These patients will also be asked to make arrangements for time off from work and transportation to and from our facility.
Procedure
Like the preparation process, each procedure will look different depending on the type of body contouring operation the patient is receiving. Some treatments are quick and minimally invasive, while others, especially surgical procedures, may take several hours and might require the use of anesthesia.
Recovery
Dr. Howard and his staff will walk you through every step of the recovery process, constantly monitoring your healing and results during follow-up appointments in the following weeks and perhaps months. Less-invasive procedures might entail minimal recovery times, allowing patients to return to their day-to-day lives almost immediately. More extensive procedures, such as surgical body contouring procedures, will likely require a longer recovery period. In any case, Dr. Howard and his team will make sure that you are fully prepared for what your post-procedural period entails.
Results
Individuals should commit to living a healthy lifestyle to maintain the results they see from their body contouring procedures. Patients should have realistic expectations about the results they can achieve with body contouring procedures, but also know that they are in good hands with Dr. Howard and his staff. Depending on the procedure, patients might see results immediately, while other procedures might entail patients slowly beginning to see results over time as the body heals. Patience is often key during the recovery process following more taxing forms of body contouring procedures.
Cost of Body Contouring Procedures in Illinois
The cost of your procedure will depend on the type of treatment you receive as well as whether or not any additional procedures are performed. You will receive a detailed cost estimate during your consultation with Dr. Howard.
References
- Theodorou SJ, Paresi RJ, Chia CT. Radiofrequency-Assisted Liposuction Device for Body Contouring: 97 Patients under Local Anesthesia. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. 2012;36(4):767-779. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-011-9846-1
- Wu S, Coombs DM, Gurunian R. Liposuction: Concepts, safety, and techniques in body-contouring surgery. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2020;87(6):367-375. doi:https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.87a.19097
- Klinger M, Klinger F, Giannasi S, et al. Aesthetic and Functional Abdominoplasty: Anatomical and Clinical Classification based on a 12-year Retrospective Study. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open. 2021;9(12):e3936. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000003936