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Plastic Surgery/Thighplasty and cellulite

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Expert: Alan M. Engler, MD, FACS - 3/31/2009


Question
I am a trim, petite person, but I have bad cellulite mainly on the front and inner thighs, including above and inside the knees.  This is something you see - not when pressing it.  When I pull the skin taut from the top, it improves the appearance dramatically.  Does this mean I could be a good candidate for thighplasty and perhaps lipo for the inner knee area?  Thanks.

Answer
from Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com

Hi Allison,

I am generally not a fan of surgical procedures that are intended to address cellulite, nor have I seen impressive result from non-surgical methods.  So I don't think there'a great way to treat cellulite.

The problem with what you're describing is that you're pulling the skin tight and keeping it tight, and with surgery, the skin starts to stretch out again almost immediately and so doesn't adequately maintain the stretch.  It's different if you have significant excess skin, such as after a weight loss, either on your own or with a bariatric procedure.  In that case, the large amount of hanging skin justifies the procedure.

But that's just not really the case for cellulite alone.  Lipo can certainly be done for small amounts of fat, including those on the inner knees.  That can be done even for petite people who have specific areas of fat.

So - yes on the lipo; not necessarily so for the thighplasty!

Sorry about that...

Dr. Engler
www.bodysculpture.com

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Alan M. Engler, MD, FACS

Expertise

Dr. Engler has answered over 3100 questions as a volunteer expert for AllExperts. His expertise includes breast surgery (breast enlargement with implants, breast reduction, breast lifts), liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, facelifts, skin cancers, cysts, etc. Dr. Engler has been listed as one New York`s Top Doctors, and as "One of the World's Most Famous Aesthetic Surgeons" (Aesthetic Surgery, TASCHEN Books, Angelika Taschen, Editor). He is the author of 4 books, including "BodySculpture" (a best-selling plastic surgery book on breast surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks), "EyeScapes" (Plastic Surgery of the Eyelids), "Restylane," and "The Slim Book of Liposuction." Dr. Engler has two US Patents for surgical instruments that he's designed, and has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Tyra Banks Show, The Ricki Lake Show (four times), and the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Videos of his appearances are available on YouTube (search for "DR. ENGLER"), and his discussion of breast implants, also on YouTube is "How to Choose a Breast Implant." His website is www.bodysculpture.com. Thanks for "Likiing" Dr. Engler on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/Alan-M-Engler-MD-New-York-Plastic-Surgery-and-Aesthetics/107206405967267?ref=ts&__a=8

Experience

Dr. Alan Engler is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York and the author of BodySculpture - Plastic Surgery of the Body for Men and Women (ISBN 0966382749) one of the top-selling plastic surgery books on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.

Education/Credentials
Dr. Engler graduated from Yale University (BA, Russian Studies) and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (MD). He did his residency training in General Surgery and, after that, Plastic Surgery, at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and is a Special Lecturer in the Department of Dermatology at Columbia University in New York. He has admitting privileges at Beth Israel Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center, both in New York.

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