Dr. Kelly Sullivan is one of the nation’s preeminent plastic surgeons, and she has developed multiple innovative surgical procedures that create beautiful, natural results with minimal downtime. Patients have traveled across the country and from overseas for her services, and many doctors and nurses have selected her to perform their own surgeries, as well as the surgeries of their family members. Dr. Sullivan has received many professional and personal awards and recognitions for her work both in her office, at the hospital, and in her community. Some of her most recent awards include America’s Top Plastic Surgeons, What’s Up Top Docs, Talk of the Town, Most Compassionate Doctor, Patient’s Choice Award, CASA Community Leadership Award, the Daily Record’s “Top One Hundred Women in Maryland,” the YWCA TWIN award, the Kevin E. Reichardt Community Leadership Award, and Castle Connelly’s Top Doctors. Haute Beauty discusses with Dr. Kelly Sullivan how liposuction is performed, men’s requested body areas and the normalcy of men seeking liposuction.

Photo Credit: ShutterstockHB: How is liposuction performed?

Liposuction is performed through a small, inconspicuous incision. I inject a sterile saline solution with adrenaline and anesthetic to minimize bleeding and improve patient comfort and safety. Then a thin, hollow tube called a cannula is manipulated back and forth to loosen the excess fat. The dislodged fat is then suctioned out of the body using a surgical vacuum or syringe attached to the cannula. These techniques may be used to reduce localized fat deposits of the thighs, hips, buttocks, abdomen, waist, upper arms, neck, back, inner knee, and chest area. Liposuction takes approximately one to four hours depending on the complexity of the procedure and the number of areas addressed.

HB: Which body areas are most requested by men?

The most requested body areas are love handles, chest, and abdomen. Sculpting with lipo removes fat cells in areas not wanted. For this reason, men turn to liposuction to help contour their bodies and achieve a muscular shape.

Photo Credit: ShutterstockHB: Why are there more men seeking liposuction?

Men are slower to come around to plastic surgery simply because they believe it is not “manly enough” or “cool.” There is pressure to stay looking young, fit, and feel your best. Even more, COVID has forced people to look at themselves and self-reflect on their bodies. In our practice, men may ask me if they are the only ones that do liposuction and I always assure them they are not and it’s completely normal.

HB: What is aftercare and recovery like?

For aftercare, I usually recommend: medications for pain or infection prevention, creams or lotions to promote healing, special support garments, wound care procedures, and bed rest – for a short time only. These recommendations are on a case-by-case basis.

Follow-up appointments should be expected so I can monitor liposuction surgery recovery. Liposuction surgery will cause some bruising and swelling, however, the downtime is not long. It is important to gradually increase activity to rebuild strength and promote circulation without endangering wound healing. The final result can be seen about 6 months post-surgery after the swelling has fully gone down.