How Can I Smooth Lumps and Bumps After Abdominal Liposuction?

Q: I have been unhappy with my lower abdomen area so I had Smartlipo done three years ago. So I went and asked another plastic surgeon in my area what he could do and he said either try Thermage to tighten the skin. Then if I was still unhappy I could go for a revision and do a fat transfer. I went ahead and did the Thermage and now I’m waiting o see whart the results will be. But I don’t think that it is  going to even out the areas. It seems that when Smartlipo was done some fat was left behind and formed these bump and lumps. Since I’m almost 40 years old I thought the Thermage would help. I wasn’t over weight I was just trying to get a little help in sculpting since I routinely workout. And it is very apparent that the surgeon overdid it. And since then I’ve been trying to get used to seeing myself like this. But haven’t really gave up hope yet. What are your suggestions?

A: Abdominal irregularities after liposuction is unfortunately not rare. They appear as lumps and bump as you have described. While the concept of non-surgical skin tightening sounds theoretically appealing, I would not be optimistic that would be a solution to the problem. The problem is differential thickness of the underlying subcutaneous fat layer.

When considering treatment of theses lumps and bumps, you must first decide whether they are problems of fat excess or fat deficiencies. In other words, are these lumps and bumps high spots or is the area between them low spots. That decision is critical because the treatment is radically different. If the lumps and bumps are areas of fat excess, they can be treated by Lipodissolve or dilute steroid injections to cause fat atrophy. Depending upon their topography, they may also benefit by spot liposuction reduction. If the problem is that the lumps and bumps are normal and the areas between them are deficient, then fat injection grafting is the treatment of choice.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana