Advancements like Lipo 360 have revolutionized body contouring, offering a more comprehensive approach that sculpts entire areas—particularly the legs.
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Traditional liposuction has long been the go-to solution for targeted fat removal, often focusing on small, isolated patches of fat. Advancements like Lipo 360 have revolutionized body contouring, offering a more comprehensive approach that sculpts entire areas—particularly the legs, as women experience extensive fat distribution with age—for more symmetrical results. Unlike traditional liposuction, which targets specific problem zones, Lipo 360 treats the entire circumference.
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Traditional liposuction has long been the go-to solution for targeted fat removal, often focusing on small, isolated patches of fat. Advancements like Lipo 360 have revolutionized body contouring, offering a more comprehensive approach that sculpts entire areas—particularly the legs, as women experience extensive fat distribution with age—for more symmetrical results. Unlike traditional liposuction, which targets specific problem zones, Lipo 360 treats the entire circumference.
“The cosmetic surgery solutions that have been available for decades are basically liposuction … and thigh lifts for loose skin,” says Thomas Su, MD, a surgeon at ArtLipo. “However, liposuction has been available only to women who have small isolated patches limited to the inner thigh, outer thigh and the inner knee bulge.”
Lipo 360: A Comprehensive Approach to Leg Contouring
According to Expert Body Scult [1], Lipo 360 treats the entire targeted body part in a 360-degree manner, providing balanced results, in comparison to traditional liposuction that targets specific problem areas for precise sculpting.
Lipo360, specifically for the legs, targets the entire circumference, including the thighs, inner thighs and outer legs, creating a more balanced shape, while traditional liposuction may focus on smaller, isolated areas of the legs. Opting for traditional liposuction or Lipo360 depends entirely on the patient’s individual goals, Su says.
Su says, typically, the women who’ve not been good candidates for traditional liposuction experience extensive fat involving the whole thigh, whole knee or lower legs, making them better candidates for Lipo360 to target all areas in one procedure.
“These surgeries often treat five times as much area and remove five times as much fat as a traditional lipo surgery,” Su says. “While it may not be best for women with small pockets of fat, it provides the most comprehensive and transformative results for women with a medium to larger thickness of fat that surrounds the entire leg.”
The main benefit of Lipo 360 is it’s not limited to small “patch-like” areas on a single side of the leg, but is done circumferentially or all the way around, Su adds. Unlike traditional liposuction intended for “debulking”, Su says Lipo 360 shapes and tightens large areas in a more sculptural way to achieve a complete and slender look for legs, as the appearance of excess fat can affect more than one area of the leg.
Lipo 360 of the Legs vs. Traditional Liposuction Lipo360, specifically for the legs, targets the entire circumference, including the thighs, inner thighs and outer legs, creating a more balanced shape.Courtesy of Thomas Su, MD
Typically patients who receive traditional liposuction are not awake during the procedure as they undergo general anesthesia; however, Lipo 360 allows the patient to remain awake by using local anesthesia. The procedure works around the entire leg, so the patient will have to move into different positions that allow the surgeon to reach all the way around the knee, Su says.
Lipo 360, due to its ability to target more than one area compared to liposuction, the treatment of the legs is customized to each individual, Su says.
“Some women have much fuller thighs and normal knees and lower legs. Others have a thicker mid leg with a bulky knee area [and] the last area is the lower leg where some women have either larger calves, or a thicker cuff around the ankle,” Su says. “It is up to the surgeon to give recommendations based upon the patient's desired look, [but] the important thing is that any or all areas can be included compared to the very limited patch areas offered by traditional lipo.”
Recovery: What to Expect and Why It Takes Longer Than Traditional Liposuction
Lipo360 recovery tends to be a bit more longer than traditional liposuction, Su says, because it targets a larger area, often requiring more downtime and careful post-operative care. While both procedures involve swelling, bruising and the need for compression garments, Lipo360 may take longer to heal due to the broader scope of treatment.
Patients can return to work within a few days to a week, but swelling will take 3-6 months to resolve, Su says. Exercise is usually restricted for one month and a compression garment is worn for several weeks to months.
Lipo 360 of the leg can be broken up into different regions, Su adds, such as an upper thigh 360, knee 360 and calves/ankles 360. These areas can also be combined.
Because this is a much more difficult type of liposuction, Su says it is crucial to find the right surgeon who specializes in this method.
Candidate Qualifications: Safe for Patients of All Ages with Proper Evaluation
When performed awake, Lipo 360 of the knee and legs is a low risk procedure for most patients and can be done safely as long as there are no major health problems. This allows even older patients with good health in their 60’s to have large 360 areas done, Su says.
“With more advanced age or medical conditions, the surgeon must determine what risk is a cutoff,” she adds. “If doing a smaller area such as a knee 360, even a patient in their 70’s can be done safely and get a huge benefit.”
Su does virtual consultations where patients send in their photos and ask questions, as well as complete a preoperative evaluation completed prior to having surgery. Before beginning the procedure, Su will draw along the selected area to show what the anticipated result will look like.
“The knees are a very important part of having beautiful legs as most women recognize, but have been highly underemphasized by most cosmetic surgeons,” Su says. “As women age the knees often gain fat deposits that can be seen as a bulge on the inner knee, but importantly it also can cause bulges on the front and sides.”
Lipo360, specifically for the legs, targets the entire circumference, including the thighs, inner thighs and outer legs, creating a more balanced shape.Courtesy of Thomas Su, MD
Lipo360, specifically for the legs, targets the entire circumference, including the thighs, inner thighs and outer legs, creating a more balanced shape.Courtesy of Thomas Su, MD
