Liposuction in Tampa, FL

Are you a Tampa resident who is considering liposuction? Dr. Traci Temmen is considered one of the very best liposuction surgeons in Tampa because of her 5-star rating on Google.

If you’ve ever stood in front of the mirror and imagined what you would look like without that one extra roll on your midsections, or that stubborn thigh or belly fat, you may be one of the many cosmetic surgery patients who can benefit from lipo. Liposuction is one of the most common cosmetic surgery procedures performed in the United States and is gaining in popularity every year. Liposuction surgery in Southwest Florida and Tampa is very common, due to the beach weather and focus on physical fitness and looking toned all year-round.

We’ve included before and after lipo photos, and information about the cost of liposuction on this page to help you make the best decision for your surgery.

The following video explains Dr. Temmen’s approach to liposuction

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Interviewer: What is liposuction?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Liposuction is a very popular cosmetic surgery procedure. We perform a lot of it here at Temmen Plastic Surgery. In general, long cannulas are used through tiny incisions in the skin to literally suction the fat from the body.

Interviewer: I’ve heard it’s a popular procedure. Is it popular?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Yes! It’s one of the most popular, if not the most popular, surgeries that we do here. Nationally, liposuction, breast augmentation, or rhinoplasty, or a nose job, are always the three most popular procedures.

Of course, not everyone is a candidate for liposuction. People that are still in the process of losing weight should wait until they’ve lost all of their unwanted pounds before proceeding with surgery. And like with any elective surgery, patients need to be healthy and capable of withstanding general anesthesia. So, patients with diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, or blood clotting disorders are not candidates for liposuction.

Interviewer: Is liposuction a good substitute for diet and exercise.

Dr. Traci Temmen: No, liposuction is not a good substitute for diet and exercise. Liposuction is not a surgery for weight loss; it’s a procedure for body contouring. The best candidates for liposuction are those that are at or near their ideal body weight, but have areas of fat that are resistant to diet and exercise. Liposuction is for fine sculpting of the body, not general weight loss.

Interviewer: So can liposuction get rid of cellulite? Every woman has it!

Dr. Traci Temmen: No, unfortunately liposuction cannot get rid of cellulite. Cellulite is caused by fibrous septae between the skin and underlying fascia. When doing liposuction, you can sometimes reduce the appearance of liposuction, occasionally make it worse, but you can’t get rid of it.

Interviewer: So what procedures do you use for liposuction? What’s involved?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Here at Temmen Plastic Surgery, we do mostly the standard tumescent liposuction and power-assisted liposuction. Tumescent liposuction is the standard liposuction that almost all plastic surgeons use. With tumescent liposuction you infiltrate the area to be liposuctioned with a little fluid. Then, using a cannula attached to a vacuum pump, you physically remove the fat from the body. Power-assisted liposuction is similar, only the cannula that we use is attached to a motor causing it to vibrate and this makes the removal of fat a little easier for the surgeon and a little gentler to the patient. I’m sure patients out there listening have heard of all kinds of liposuction including water liposuction, laser liposuction, and ultrasound liposuction. But really, all of these types of liposuction are basically the same: the laser, the water, the ultrasound, the power, the surgeon-assisted liposuction. The only thing these do is break up the fat, but you still need to remove the fat from the body with a cannula attached to a vacuum pump.

Interviewer: What type of anesthesia do you use?

Dr. Traci Temmen: At Temmen Plastic Surgery we do liposuction for body sculpting, which is fairly aggressive liposuction. Whether that is liposuction alone, a Brazilian butt lift that also includes liposuction, or an abdominoplasty in which we do liposuction, we usually perform these procedures under general anesthesia. That means that the patient has a breathing tube in their mouth and they are completely asleep for the surgery. Occasionally, when we do small areas of liposuction or maybe a touch-up on one of our previous patients, we may be able to do that under local anesthesia with IV sedation.

Interviewer: Dr. Temmen, is liposuction permanent?

Dr. Traci Temmen: The fat that is removed from the body during liposuction is gone forever. I’m sure that most people have heard that if you have liposuction that fat is just distributed around and you’ll gain weight in other areas of the body. In fact, my sisters were convinced that that was true, but it isn’t true. When you do liposuction, you remove fat cells from the area of the body where liposuction was performed. If after liposuction a patient gains weight, they will continue to gain weight throughout the body but not have a predisposition to gain it where liposuction was performed.

Interviewer: So, what’s recovery like?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Recovery from liposuction, like most of our elective procedures, is performed as outpatient surgery, meaning the patients go home the same day. I see all my patients the day after surgery to make sure they’re going well, feeling good, and walking around. Drains, if they’re used, will come out in about five to seven days. The patient wears garments, compression garments, to help with healing and shaping the body for six weeks. Most patients are able to return to work and three or four days.

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Why Choose Dr. Temmen

Dr. Traci Temmen, at Temmen Plastic Surgery, is a specialist in liposuction, body contouring, and body sculpting. She is known by her patients for her perfectionist nature, discerning eye, expert surgical skill, and easy bedside manner. On the cutting edge of liposuction and three-dimensional body sculpting techniques, Dr. Temmen is able to perform transformative liposuction with a fast recovery, minimal downtime, short scars, and dramatic results, all in the comfort of her boutique plastic surgery suite, the Temmen Plastic Surgery. If you are finally ready to get the body you have always dreamed of, call Dr. Traci Temmen, liposuction surgery specialist, today!

Liposuction Procedure Details: Dr. Temmen’s Approach

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Your Results May Vary

Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery procedure that removes unwanted fatty deposits from the face, body, and extremities. These stubborn fatty deposits are often the result of genetics, rather than a lack of exercise or obesity, and are resistant to diet and exercise. Patients considering liposuction are often generally pleased with their body but have one or two “trouble areas” that have plagued them since adolescence or early adulthood.

Dr. Traci Temmen performs “SAFE” liposuction, which stands for separation, aspiration, and fat equalization. First, the unwanted fatty areas are separated from the surrounding body structures by infiltrating a wetting or “tumescent” solution placed through tiny incisions. Additional separation is performed by breaking up the fatty particles using traditional liposuction, power-assisted liposuction, laser liposuction, or water liposuction techniques. After fat separation, the excess fat is aspirated and removed through the same small incisions using long liposuction cannulas. After aspiration, the remaining, desired, thin layer of fat is equalized, or smoothed, to ensure a defect-free, natural-looking postoperative result.
This three-step technique (i.e. separation, aspiration, and fat equalization) ensures that Dr. Traci Temmen’s plastic surgery patients receive incredible, three-dimensional, and life-changing liposuction results while minimizing the chance of deformities or complications.

Cost of Liposuction

Like all cosmetic surgery, cost should not be the determining factor when choosing a liposuction surgeon. Because of the high level of skill required to perform this surgery well, only plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery should be considered. Dr. Temmen is proud to be one of the few board certified female plastic surgeons in the Tampa Bay area to offer advanced liposuction and body sculpting surgery.

The cost of liposuction varies by plastic surgeon and by region of the country. In the Tampa Bay area of Florida, the average price of liposuction to a single area starts at around $7,900 including surgeon fees, anesthesia fees, and facility fees. The cost increases with the number of areas treated, revision liposuction surgery, complexity, and increases in planned surgical time.

Please visit our pricing sheet for more information regarding the starting costs of liposuction in specific areas.

Dr. Temmen and the staff at Temmen Plastic Surgery offer convenient payment options. They accept check, credit, card, and CareCredit, a credit card that offers special financing and low monthly payments for cosmetic surgery procedures.

Are You A Candidate for Liposuction and Body Sculpting?

The best candidate for liposuction is a patient with isolated fatty deposits that are resistant to diet and exercise. Common areas of the body targeted by liposuction are the abdomen, belly, flanks, back, thighs, knees, ankles, upper arms, and neck. Patients should be at or near their ideal body weight and generally have good skin quality. Small degrees of skin laxity or sagging can be improved with liposuction, but true skin excess requires surgical excision in addition to liposuction. Patients who are unhappy with previous surgery and require a liposuction revision may also be good candidates for “SAFE” liposuction.

To guarantee each patient the best results and safest liposuction surgery possible, Dr. Traci Temmen performs a thorough history and physical examination on every patient considering body-sculpting procedures. As with all consultations, Dr. Temmen and her staff take the time to explain the surgery in detail, describe expected results, and answer every possible question. Dr. Temmen wants every patient to be well informed, comfortable, and secure when choosing her practice for his or her cosmetic surgery needs.

Who is Not a Candidate for Lipo and Body Sculpting Surgery

Unfortunately, not everyone is a good candidate for liposuction or body sculpting surgery. Patients that smoke, have complicated medical problems (e.g. heart disease, diabetes, blood clots), or are considered obese with a BMI >30 are not candidates for liposuction. Dr. Traci Temmen requires that patients stop smoking for at least 6 months to 1 year, have medical conditions well controlled, and have reached their ideal body weight before proceeding with body contouring or liposuction surgery.

Additionally, to obtain the best results possible, women who have recently had a baby should postpone surgery for at least 6-9 months to let their skin and soft tissues contract before undergoing liposuction surgery.

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Scarring – What to Expect

Because long, narrow cannulas are used to remove unwanted fat from the body during liposuction, the resultant scars are very small and thin. Liposuction scars are very short, generally only ¼ to ½ inch long, and are placed in well-hidden areas of the body. Dr. Temmen takes great care to place each liposuction scar in an area of the body where it will be least visible and heal with the least amount of scarring. After a year, it is often difficult for a plastic surgeon or liposuction patient to even find the resultant scars. The number of liposuction scars and exact location are dependent on the area of the body targeted for liposuction.

Lipo Recovery

Dr. Traci Temmen performs her cosmetic liposuction and body sculpting surgeries in an accredited, private surgical suite, custom-made for plastic surgeons. Depending on the length and complexity of the planned surgery, Dr. Temmen performs liposuction under general anesthesia (i.e. the patient is completely asleep and breathing with the assistance of a respirator) or local anesthesia (i.e. the patient is awake or slightly groggy, breathing on their own, and given local anesthesia to eliminate pain). Liposuction surgery will generally take 1 ½ to 2 hours to complete, depending on the number of areas treated. Patients recover in the luxury of a private recovery suite with a recovery room nurse dedicated solely to them and their comfort.

Dr. Temmen’s liposuction patients usually have drains placed in the areas of the body treated with liposuction. These drains help speed recovery, decrease postoperative complications, and are generally removed in one to five days after surgery. A postoperative compression garment is worn for six weeks to aid in healing and shaping of the body following liposuction. Compression stockings must be worn for two weeks following liposuction to decrease the risk of blood clots and promote circulation. Most of Dr. Temmen’s liposuction patients are able to return to work within 3-5 days, drive when they are no longer taking narcotic pain medications, and return to full exercise by six weeks.

Liposuction Risks and Problems

With proper patient selection and by performing the “SAFE” liposuction technique, Dr. Traci Temmen is able to keep liposuction risks and complications to a minimum. However, there are still risks and known problems associated with liposuction and body sculpting surgery that cannot be totally eliminated. The most common problems associated with liposuction are postoperative rippling, deformities, or asymmetries. Minor liposuction defects can usually be treated with compression garments, time, and lymphatic massage therapy. However, some patients may ultimately desire revision liposuction to correct postoperative deformities.

Other minor risks of liposuction are postoperative blood or fluid collections that can usually be managed with prolonged drains or minor in-office procedures. Occasionally, superficial infections may occur following liposuction that can be managed with antibiotics in the clinic.

More serious risks or complications of liposuction include wound-healing problems, blood clots in the legs or lungs, or more serious infections requiring hospitalization for intravenous antibiotics. All of these risks can be minimized with proper patient selection and postoperative care. Thus, Dr. Traci Temmen, and most other credible plastic surgeons, will not perform liposuction surgery on patients who have high-risk medical problems or are extremely over weight.

Plastic surgeons like Dr. Traci Temmen, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, are trained not only in liposuction surgery, but also in diagnosing and appropriately treating the complications and risks associated with cosmetic liposuction and body sculpting procedures.

Liposuction Before and After Photos

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a liposuction before and after photo is priceless! Dr. Traci Temmen and her many satisfied liposuction and body contouring patients are proud to show case her before and after liposuction pictures in the Gallery section of this website. Feel free to look through the website and print off your favorite before and after liposuction photographs to discuss with Dr. Temmen at your liposuction consultation. In addition to those on the website, Dr. Temmen has many more liposuction before and after photos available for viewing during your liposuction consultation.

Please note that many of our liposuction before and after photos are taken six weeks to three months after surgery, thus areas of swelling and scar visibility will continue to decrease for up to one year following surgery.

For more information on Dr. Traci Temmen, liposuction, and all other cosmetic body sculpting and contouring procedures, please contact the practice by calling (813) 771-6393.