Our plastic surgeons specialize in complex and revision cosmetic surgery. Patients from near and far come to us with problems and unsatisfactory results after having liposuction and body contouring procedures performed elsewhere. Most patients are referred from other plastic surgeons or physicians, but many patients are self-referred. In fact, Dr. Simeon Wall Jr. is recognized internationally as the originator of SAFELipo®, a comprehensive body contouring process initially developed to address the needs of patients who require revision liposuction. Patients travel to Shreveport, Louisiana from across the U.S. and the world because of The Wall Center's reputation for handling these complex cases.
While the reasons for needing revision surgery vary, they all require specialized techniques and specific surgical skills to successfully perform these longer, more complicated procedures. Due to the challenges these procedures present – including internal scar tissue, compromised blood supply, previous incisions, and a variety of other challenges – they usually require more time, expertise, and experience to perform, and require more intensive preoperative and postoperative care and management. It is important for patients to understand that all of these factors involved in complex and revisionary body contouring procedures usually result in these surgeries costing significantly more than the original procedure(s) did, and in many cases, the costs can be several times higher.
If you're disappointed with an earlier liposuction or tummy tuck procedure, request a consultation at The Wall Center to find out if we can help you with revision body contouring at our world-class Shreveport practice.
We're quite accustomed to hosting patients from out of town, out of state, and even overseas. Here's our guide to settling in for your visit to the Shreveport area.
Tummy tuck surgery and liposuction are very popular and effective procedures, usually yielding high patient satisfaction when performed by qualified, experienced, and caring "real" plastic surgeons. These procedures can also produce disappointing results, especially in the hands of unqualified or inexperienced "cosmetic surgeons." Patients seeing us for problems resulting from previous liposuction typically have:
Many patients also have complications – including scar tissue, dermal adhesions, skin burns, and skin color changes – caused by the excessive heat of ultrasonic or laser liposuction. In Shreveport, the accomplished surgeons at The Wall Center can evaluate you to see if revision surgery would be helpful for your specific situation.
Besides revision liposuction with SAFELipo®, we can help correct or improve unsatisfactory tummy tuck surgery. Some common reasons patients see us for revision surgery after tummy tuck include:
A consultation is necessary to determine if you are a good candidate for revision surgery. Our surgeons will be honest with you about what you can realistically expect from a corrective procedure. Many times, there are limitations that prevent even the most skilled surgeon from achieving ideal results. Unfortunately, some revision patients are not offered surgery if our plastic surgeons don't feel like they can help significantly.
However, patients and other plastic surgeons from around the world recognize The Wall Center as one of the top practices for revision surgery, and regularly refer complex and revision cases to us. Our number one goal is to have a happy patient, so you can be assured that our plastic surgeons will give you honest treatment recommendations, whether that includes surgery or not.
The Wall Center offers virtual consultations on a select basis depending on how far a patient lives from us and the needs of each individual patient. It is usually recommended that potential patients send us specific photographs, video, or both, through our virtual consultation process. For more information on virtual consultations, contact us.
At your consultation, your plastic surgeon will review your general health and discuss the specific conditions that require revision. Each case is unique and more complicated than a first-time procedure. Revision surgery usually takes longer to perform, and may even involve multiple procedures to correct adequately.
Using fat transferred from another part of your body, fat grafting can add lasting, natural-looking shape and volume.
Our goal is a safe and satisfying outcome that will last. To help attain that goal, we require that patients are nicotine-free for at least a month prior to the surgery and for at least 6 weeks after surgery to ensure proper healing and minimize the host of problems seen in smokers and users of nicotine products. We also strongly encourage our patients to be at the weight they expect to maintain in the foreseeable future.
Scar tissue and other issues related to the initial surgery are among the reasons revision surgery is much more complicated. The specific nature of your procedure will depend on whether you are getting revision surgery for a liposuction procedure or a previous tummy tuck surgery.
Your procedure will be performed at The Wall Center's accredited, certified, and licensed ambulatory surgical center (certified by Medicare, accredited by AAAASF, and licensed by the state of Louisiana). Depending on the extent of your procedure, the surgery may be performed using either local or general anesthesia, with the vast majority of these surgeries being performed with the patient asleep. If local anesthesia is chosen, you can ask for a sedative so that you feel fully relaxed and do not experience pain during the procedure.
Revision tummy tuck surgery usually involves targeted or comprehensive SAFELipo of the problem areas, and may involve scar revision, procedures for the umbilicus, careful skin elevation and excision, or additional tightening of the abdominal muscles. Your recuperation experience will depend on the extent of your procedure. Your surgeon usually incorporate SAFELipo® into your tummy tuck revision even if you do not have a significant amount of excessive fat, in order to help tighten and smooth the skin, assist in the dissection, and minimize damage to blood vessels and blood supply.
To extract excess fat evenly and gently, SAFELipo® is performed in a 3-step S-A-F-E process, consisting of: fat Separation, fat Aspiration, and Fat Equalization. In contrast to some other types of liposuction, SAFELipo® does not generate any heat, and allows treatment of the deepest and most superficial fat. The absence of heat minimizes damage to the skin, blood vessels, nerves, and remaining fat layer. In addition, the unique fat separation and equalization process typically provides beautiful results without the lumpiness and waviness that can result from all other liposuction techniques. In our experience, SAFELipo® not only produces more dramatic and smoother results than traditional tumescent, UAL, or laser liposuction, but it also results in little to no bruising and can shorten downtime.
Incisions will heal quickly, and you should feel much more like yourself after only a few days. Soreness usually subsides within 1 to 2 weeks, and most swelling is resolved within the first 8 weeks, although in revision liposuction procedures, it can take many months or even up to a year for all swelling to completely resolve from these previously operated on areas of the body.
While body contouring surgery isn't about weight loss, it can be a great way to target certain "trouble spots" when you drop the extra pounds. Quickly calculate your body mass index (BMI) here.
Helping patients who have been disappointed with their surgical results is one of the most gratifying things that we do. Restoring beauty and confidence is one of the primary reasons our surgeons chose the field of plastic surgery. Their uncommon level of skill and years of experience with these types of procedures enables them to correct or improve many problems from previous procedures.
It's important to remember that body contouring surgery is not weight loss surgery and, by following a healthy diet and fitness plan with long-term weight maintenance, the positive results will last longer.
Patients come from all across Ark-La-Tex and around the globe to receive world-class care at The Wall Center for Plastic Surgery and Jade MediSpa. We frequently see patients from many communities:
Take the first step today and request your consultation or call (318) 562-1433. Ask about our special programs for patients who travel, including our beautiful on-site guest suites. We can't wait to greet you!