Liposuction

Dr. David Whiteman offers liposuction at Southern Plastic Surgery in Duluth, Georgia using multiple techniques including ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL), tumescent, super-wet, and power-assisted liposuction (PAL). Treatment areas include the abdomen, hips, flanks, thighs, arms, buttocks, cheeks, neck, and chin. The practice also offers SculpSure non-surgical fat reduction for patients seeking a non-invasive alternative. Body contouring is available for post-bariatric patients following significant weight loss.

Liposuction at Southern Plastic Surgery in the Atlanta area is performed by Dr. David Whiteman with access to a full complement of liposuction techniques, allowing the operative approach to be matched to the specific anatomical characteristics and goals of each patient. Tumescent liposuction is the foundational technique: a large volume of dilute local anaesthetic solution containing lidocaine and epinephrine is infiltrated into the target fat compartment prior to aspiration. The epinephrine causes vasoconstriction that markedly reduces intraoperative bleeding and post-operative bruising, while the lidocaine provides a prolonged local anaesthetic effect. Once the target area is fully tumesced, a small metal cannula connected to a vacuum source is introduced through a discreet stab incision and passed in a controlled fan-shaped pattern to aspirate the fat cells. Super-wet technique uses a slightly modified infiltration volume ratio and is often preferred for high-volume cases. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) adds an ultrasonic energy component to the cannula, which emulsifies the fat cells prior to aspiration — a technique that is particularly effective in fibrous areas such as the back and male chest (gynecomastia), where mechanically dense fat is resistant to standard suction-only approaches. Power-assisted liposuction (PAL) uses a rapidly vibrating cannula tip to mechanically disrupt the fat before aspiration, reducing the surgeon's physical effort and enabling more precise cannula movement with less tissue trauma in the surrounding areas. Treatment zones at the Duluth practice include all major body areas: the abdomen (central, upper, and lower), flanks and love handles, hips, outer and inner thighs, medial knees, arms, axilla, back, buttocks, submental area (double chin), and buccal (cheek) fat. For patients seeking non-surgical fat reduction, SculpSure laser-based fat reduction is available as an office-based procedure. For post-bariatric patients following massive weight loss — whether through diet and exercise or bariatric surgery — Dr. Whiteman provides body contouring procedures addressing residual fat deposits alongside significant skin excess, often combining liposuction with abdominoplasty, thigh lift, arm lift, and other excisional procedures in a staged plan designed to safely achieve a transformed body silhouette.