Body Procedures

Plastic Surgery in New England, Southern New Hampshire, Near Boston and Maine in Portsmouth

Diet and exercise are important in the fight against fat, but sometimes, they simply aren't enough. Persistent fat deposits can cling to problem areas like your hips, thighs, abdomen, and buttocks, refusing to go away no matter how much you exercise. We we offer body contouring surgery, near Boston and Maine at our Southern New Hampshire facility in Portsmouth. If you have areas of fat that won't go away, Atlantic Plastic Surgery Center can help, using body contouring procedures such as liposuction and abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) surgery. First and most importantly, Dr. Gray spends as much time as is necessary with each individual patient to learn what that patient wants liposuction to accomplish for their body.

Liposuction

Liposuction (or suction-assisted lipectomy) has become one of the most frequently performed procedures in plastic surgery. There is no age limit for liposuction, appropriate for late teens through the 70's.  Fatty deposits are mostly inherited traits and everyone is born with a finite or set number of fat cells.  We do not make anymore after the teen years.  Any weight that is gained enlarges these cells and weight loss decreases the cells in size. Liposuction is actually a surgical vacuuming of fat cells, which decreases the number of fat cells in the area treated, making that area which was disproportionate to the rest of the body, smaller and more in balance.   Our Southern New Hampshire office near Boston and Maine in Portsmouth offers liposuction with proven safety, minimal scarring, and outstanding results.

Liposuction is highly effective for removing localized areas of fat with the goal of improving contour and is most succesful in patients with good skin elasticity. Liposuction is frequently used to treat fat from the hips, thighs, buttocks, and abdomen, knees, calves, arms and neck. Men most often seek liposuction to treat love handles and enlarged breasts, referred to as gynecomastia in men. The procedure is not an alternative to weight reduction but can be very effective in removing fat from areas that do not respond to diet and exercise programs.

Liposuction is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. A narrow tube, called a "cannula," is inserted into a small incision made in an inconspicuous place. Dr. Gray manipulates the cannula to break up fatty areas beneath the skin and suction out the fat. The amount of fat removed varies, but precise removal of fat can produce dramatic changes in contour of the body. Scarring is very minimal; in time, the scar simply looks like a small scratch.

Most people return to normal activity within just a few days.  Strenuous activity should be avoided for a week.  Results can be seen immediately with the final results arrived at in about 3 months when the majority of the swelling has receded.

Contact our Southern New Hampshire facility, near Boston and Maine in Portsmouth, for more information about liposuction.

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Abdominoplasty

Also called a "tummy tuck," abdominoplasty removes excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen and tightens the muscles of the abdominal wall. For the past four years, Dr. Gray has been performing the Brazilian Lipo-Abdominoplasty which reduces fat from the entire abdomen and does not require a second operation. It is a safer operation with better results than the typical tummy tuck. The tummy tuck can quite dramatically reduce a protruding abdomen, but it will leave a curved scar across the lower front of the abdomen, sometimes from hip to hip, depending on the extent of the original problem. Often, liposuction of the hips and/or thighs can be done at the same time for a better body contour.

With proper diet and exercise, results are long lasting. Dr. Gray will discuss your expectations with you at your consultation at Atlantic Plastic Surgery Center's offices in southern New Hampshire, between Boston and Maine in Portsmouth. He strives to help you ensure your goals are realistic. At Atlantic Plastic Surgery Center, we want you to have good results and be satisfied with your outcome.

Who is a good candidate for abdominoplasty surgery?

• Men and women who are in good health but who have fat deposits around the abdomen that are out of proportion to the rest of their body and that are resistant to diet and exercise.
• Men or women who have lost a large amount of weight and are left with loose, hanging skin.
• Women who have pregnancies in which the abdominal muscles have been badly stretched, weakened, or separated beyond that which can be returned to a normal contour.
• Older patients who have lost elasticity in their skin and, perhaps, been somewhat overweight.
• Weight is no longer a concern because lipo-adominoplasty has vastly increased the blood supply compared to the conventional tummy tuck.

What happens after your abdominoplasty surgery?

It may take you a few weeks to a couple months to feel completely like your old self again. Some people return to work after two weeks, while others take three to four weeks. An exercise program, starting slowly at first, will help reduce swelling, lower your chance of blood clots, and tone your muscles.

Incision lines, placed so that they will easily be hidden by clothing, will diminish after your plastic surgery but will be permanently visible. They may even appear to worsen during the first three to six months. In six months to one year, they will flatten and lighten in color.

Abdominoplasty will make your abdomen remarkably flatter and firmer. Your clothing will fit better and your self-esteem will be boosted. It is important to remember that you will have a permanent scar, but it will heal and fade over time. Your results will be permanent unless you gain or lose a significant amount of weight or become pregnant. Contact Atlantic Plastic Surgery Center to find out more about abdominoplasty and other types of plastic surgery. Boston, Massachusetts and Maine are near our southern New Hampshire offices, and we even have patients come to us from across the country. Come to us to find out why.

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