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NYC Body Contouring

Body Contouring with Dr. Nina Naidu

Despite diet and exercise, stubborn fat deposits and excess skin can become more apparent as we age. Dr. Nina Naidu, a prominent NYC plastic surgeon, offers both surgical and non-surgical options for body contouring that can help address these challenging areas.

For many of Dr. Naidu’s patients, body contouring is about more than removing excess fat. Body contouring is a way to restore a more youthful aesthetic. Body contouring can improve a woman’s physical beauty and enhance her self-confidence. Dr. Naidu and her staff are dedicated to providing women in NYC with excellent results and the highest quality of care possible.

What is Body Contouring?

Body contouring refers to a set of procedures which can remove excess skin and fat on your chest, midsection and buttocks. Procedures can be non-invasive (such as CoolSculpting®) or surgical (such as liposuction or an abdominoplasty).

Body contouring is used to remove areas of fat deposits and skin that cannot be reduced through diet and exercise. It is not a substitute for weight loss or for healthy habits.

Am I a good candidate for body contouring?

You are a good candidate for body contouring if you are at a stable weight, are within 5-10 pounds of your ideal weight, and are in good general health. You should have localized areas which have not responded to diet and exercise. Successful candidates have good skin quality and realistic expectations. The best way to find out if you’re a good candidate for body contouring is to schedule a consultation with Dr. Naidu.

Your First Consultation with Dr. Naidu in NYC

The first part of the body contouring process is a comprehensive consultation in our NYC office. Dr. Naidu will get to know you and your aesthetic goals.

During your consultation, you will need to tell Dr. Naidu about your medical history and your use of medications, nicotine, alcohol or supplements. She will want to know about any previous surgeries. If you plan to become pregnant in the future, Dr. Naidu will advise you whether body contouring is appropriate at this time.

Dr. Naidu will conduct a physical examination of your areas of concern. She will be looking at the degree of fat, the area of fat deposits, and the quality of your skin. Dr. Naidu may also take some measurements to help determine the degree of contouring needed to meet your goals.

Pre-operative photographs are taken at this visit. These photographs are an important part of your surgical planning and are considered part of your medical record. They will never be shown to other patients without your written permission.

At the end of the consultation, Dr. Naidu will let you know if you are a good candidate for body contouring. She will also let you know if you need any additional surgery (such as liposuction in conjunction with an abdominoplasty) to meet your aesthetic goals. Dr. Naidu will educate you about your options for body contouring so that you can make an informed decision. She will never pressure you to schedule a procedure.

Your Second Consultation with Dr. Naidu in NYC

If you decide to proceed with body contouring, you will have a second consultation with Dr. Naidu in our NYC office. At this appointment, Dr. Naidu will help you to select the procedures that will best meet your goals based on your anatomy. These procedures range in invasiveness, cost and recovery time.Your photographs will be reviewed, and pre-operative paperwork will be completed.

Depending on your medical history, Dr. Naidu may advise you to discontinue certain medications prior to your body contouring. If you are a smoker, you may not smoke for eight weeks before or after surgery. For your safety, Dr. Naidu may also order additional screening tests or request preoperative clearance from your primary care physician.

Body Contouring Procedures

CoolSculpting® for Body Contouring

CoolSculpting® uses FDA-approved technology to precisely target and cool the stubborn fat cells beneath your skin. Over the next two to three months, the treated fat cells will crystalize and die, while the skin, blood vessels, and nerves are not affected. The dead fat cells are naturally metabolized by your body – leaving you with a more sculpted shape.

CoolSculpting® is a highly individualized process that can target fat deposits on most areas of your body — including your arms, back, abdomen, and thighs – that do not respond to diet or exercise.

Dr. Naidu begins your CoolSculpting® treatment by marking the area(s) to be targeted at the appointment. Each area takes about 60 minutes and we recommend no more than two treatments per visit.

A gel pad will be applied to the chosen area to provide a barrier between the applicator and your skin. Once the applicator is turned on, you will initially feel both cooling and tugging sensations. Your skin will soon become numb. Some patients report that the treatment is painless, while others feel a temporarily uncomfortable pulling sensation. At the end of the treatment, your skin will be massaged for two minutes.

Because the procedure is totally non-invasive, you can immediately go back to work or return to most normal activities. Dr. Naidu recommends avoiding exercise for one or two days. Dr. Naidu may advise you not to take certain medications following your treatment, as they will diminish the anti-inflammatory response and interfere with the success of your treatment.

Liposuction for Body Contouring

Your liposuction will be performed at an outpatient surgery center in NYC. Although local anesthesia may be sufficient for small areas, most patients are more comfortable with general anesthesia provided by an anesthesiologist. Depending upon the number and size of the areas that are being treated, your liposuction procedure will take between one and two hours.

Liposuction is performed using the tumescent technique. After making a tiny incision, a narrow tube (called a cannula) is inserted deep beneath the skin. Fluid containing an intravenous salt solution, lidocaine (a local anesthetic) and epinephrine (a medication that helps to contract blood vessels and limit blood loss) is injected into the fatty tissue. This method allows fat to be removed more easily through the cannula. It also reduces blood loss, as well as provides excellent pain control both during and after surgery. The scars from the incision used for liposuction are very small and hidden from view.

You will wake up from liposuction wearing a compression garment. This garment must be worn at all times for two-six weeks, depending upon your age and skin quality. Most patients have moderate bruising that resolves within one to two weeks.

You will be encouraged to begin walking the day after liposuction, but must avoid heavy exercise for two weeks. You should anticipate remaining out of work for three or four days after surgery, depending upon the amount of liposuction that was performed. Generally the final results are visible between three and twelve months following your procedure.

Abdominoplasty for Body Contouring

An abdominoplasty is a surgical procedure that removes the excess skin and fat from the lower abdomen and tightens the abdominal wall muscles. This excess skin is caused by pregnancy or from significant weight loss. An abdominoplasty takes between 2-3 hours to perform under general anesthetic. Patients may return home the same day with a private duty nurse.

The evening prior to surgery, you should not eat or drink anything after midnight. This ensures that you have an empty stomach prior to surgery, which is very important for your safety. You will meet with Dr. Naidu immediately before your abdominoplasty. She will make several marks on your midsection for use during surgery, as well as answer any additional questions that you may have.

Once you are under anesthesia, Dr. Naidu begins the surgery by making a horizontal incision beginning at one hip, sloping down to your pubic area, and up to the other hip. Excess fat and skin are carefully removed. The abdominal muscles are tightened with permanent sutures, and the skin is closed. The belly button is also repositioned. Drains are used only in select cases.

You will wake up from your abdominoplasty wearing a support garment and with dressings over your incisions. Your abdomen may feel very sore and swollen. Your drains will be removed 3-5 days after surgery if these were placed. The sutures placed during surgery will dissolve and do not require removal. Following your first post-operative appointment, you will be placed into a compression garment which you should wear for two weeks at all times after surgery. Use of the garment will help to prevent fluid from re-accumulating following drain removal, and will speed reduction of swelling. Swelling may continue for several months, with the final results evident after six months.

Body Contouring Recovery

If you are having liposuction or an abdominoplasty, you must have someone to escort you home following your surgery. Dr. Naidu will also give you a prescription for pain management, as well instructions about how to take care of your incisions.

Many of Dr. Naidu’s patients are very independent and are reluctant to ask for help. However, some level of post-surgical assistance will be required. We strongly recommend that you create a plan to take care of yourself and your family, so that you can focus on your recovery.

Complications of Body Contouring

During your consultation, Dr. Naidu will explain the risks of your procedures so that you can make an informed decision. As with other surgeries, the main complications are bleeding, infection and scarring. Complications can be reduced by carefully following your pre-operative and post-operative instructions.

Cost of Body Contouring in NYC

Please call our NYC office at 212-452-1230 and we will be happy to provide information about the general cost of body contouring. You will be provided with the exact cost of your procedure following your consultation with Dr. Naidu. Insurance does not cover the cost of a body contouring procedure.

Choosing Dr. Naidu for Body Contouring in NYC

Aesthetic and reconstructive surgery comprise a large part of Dr. Naidu’s NYC surgical practice. Dr. Naidu has a special interest in aesthetic breast surgery and reconstruction.

Dr. Naidu completed her undergraduate studies at The Johns Hopkins University and obtained her medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. After completing her general surgery and plastic surgery training at New York Presbyterian – Weill Cornell Medical Center, she performed an additional year of fellowship training at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Naidu is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Schedule a Body Contouring Consultation in NYC

Our office is located at 1021 Park Avenue in NYC. If you’d like to learn more about body contouring – and whether it is right for you – please call our office at 212-452-1230 and schedule an appointment.