Lipo 360 in Medellín

Lipo 360, 360 liposuction and 360 liposculpture are names for the same thing: liposuction that treats your whole torso in a single surgery. In an article from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), a member surgeon describes it as lipo of the abdomen done together with the flanks, treating the front and back of the torso. That's why it covers your abdomen, waist, flanks and back. The 360 isn't a technique or a device: it refers to the areas being treated.

It's the same surgery with more areas, done through small incisions in the licensed operating rooms at Q2 in Medellín, never in a doctor's office. Liposuction takes 2 to 5 hours; your surgeon will tell you how long yours will take at your in-person consultation. More areas can mean more fat removed, and the ASPS notes that special considerations are needed when large amounts are suctioned: your health sets that limit. If your surgeon recommends it, you can add a fat transfer to your buttocks (BBL), a 3- to 5-hour surgery under general anesthesia.

The ASPS describes a good candidate as an adult close to their ideal weight, with firm, elastic skin and good health, who doesn't smoke or vape and has clear goals. Lipo 360 isn't for you, or not right now, if:

• What you're looking for is weight loss.
• Your weight goes up and down.
• What bothers you most is loose skin on your abdomen: lipo doesn't tighten it.
• You have a condition that makes healing harder.
• You smoke or vape and won't quit before surgery.

Your surgeon makes the final call, with your pre-op test results.

Every surgery carries risks. For liposuction, the ASPS lists these, among others:

• Anesthesia risks.
• Bruising, swelling or fluid buildup.
• Infection or poor wound healing.
• Irregular contours, asymmetry or rippling.
• Changes in skin sensation.
• Deep vein thrombosis and heart or lung complications.

The CDC reviewed deaths of US citizens after cosmetic surgery abroad and identified obesity and having several procedures in the same surgery as risk factors for embolism. That's why your surgeon decides what gets added to lipo 360, and we don't operate unless your pre-op tests are in order.

You get your pre-op tests, stop smoking or vaping and go over your medications with your specialist: the ASPS warns that aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal supplements can increase bleeding. We tell you what to stop taking. An adult takes you home and stays with you the first night.

The ASPS says the compression garment helps control swelling. The first week, you take short walks and have lymphatic drainage massages. If fat was also moved to your buttocks, you avoid direct pressure on them as your surgeon instructs. Your surgeon decides when you're cleared to fly after lipo.

Some things lipo 360 doesn't fix.

• If you have extra skin on your abdomen or diastasis recti: a tummy tuck, which is often combined with lipo, or a mini tummy tuck if the extra skin is minimal and below the belly button.
• If only one area bothers you: liposuction of that area or, if you'd rather not have surgery, cryolipolysis (in Spanish).
• If you want to lose weight: medical weight loss.
• If your breasts and abdomen changed after pregnancy: a mommy makeover.

At your consultation, we'll tell you what makes sense for you.