Why Do Love Handles Form, and Is Liposuction My Best Bet in Houston?

The flanks, known as the love handles, are the body area between the ribs and the hips. The site is susceptible to developing fatty deposits, which are generally caused by weight gain.

Exercise and diet can help you successfully eliminate fatty deposits. Fortunately, flanks have several qualities that make liposuction a beneficial surgery to decrease fat in the area.

In addition, the skin on the flanks is relatively elastic, making it easy to conform to the new contours that are formed by liposuction.

What Causes Love Handles?

There are various reasons that love handles form, such as hormonal fluctuations, aging, pregnancy, and genetic predisposition.

It's important to note that even people that are well within their ideal weight range can have love handles. That's because our genetics determine how we distribute our fat, and some of us tend to pack it on the sides of our bodies. 

Nonetheless, the excess fat can be curbed if you implement a proper diet and exercise regime, which surgeons should recommend before turning to liposuction. 

Liposuction surgery is an effective solution for removing fat in the area and is useful for contouring the body. If you maintain your weight after the procedure, your results are essentially permanent.

How Is Liposuction Performed?

Surgeons perform flank liposuction with a particular device called a cannula. A cannula is a narrow tube inserted into your body's fatty layers to remove fat cells via suction.

Most liposuction procedures use the tumescent technique. Tumescent liposuction is when the treatment site is injected with a tumescent solution that consists of saline, lidocaine, and epinephrine. The solution has the function of plumping the fat within the body, detaching it from the skin, and making it easier to extract.

Liposuction offers different outcomes for women and men. It can enhance the feminine shape of women, developing the coveted S-shaped curve to the lower back that accentuates the buttocks.

For men, it can create more of a V-shape from the back's perspective, giving a slimmer and more athletic aesthetic to the body.

The Best Love Handle Procedure in Houston

Instead of opting for traditional love handle liposuction in Houston, head to Elite Body Sculpture to experience the next generation of body sculpting to get the body of your dreams. Despite the benefits mentioned above, most traditional liposuction procedures require large incisions and patients to be put under general anesthesia to lose their love handles fat.

Love Handle AirSculpt® is a minimally invasive procedure that doesn't use a scalpel, needle, stitches, or general anesthesia to remove fat with a high degree of accuracy. Patients notice changes as soon as they step out of the office and continue experiencing improvements for months!

For more information on how we can help you, come to our Houston office to conduct your first consultation.